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<\/p>\nDebbie, living in a quiet neighborhood, becomes close to her elderly neighbor, Mrs. Jenkins, and begins to care for her. But when Deb\u2019s mother has to undergo surgery, she has no option but to go home and care for her mother\u2026 only for her to receive a horrible phone call from Steve, Mrs. Jenkins\u2019 son, accusing her of not doing enough.<\/p>\n
Look, I didn\u2019t want revenge on anybody, especially not for just being kind to an elderly neighbor.<\/p>\n
I live in a quiet neighborhood, and my next-door neighbor, Mrs. Jenkins, is an 82-year-old widow. She\u2019s frail, lonely, and honestly, sad. It\u2019s like she\u2019s been forgotten by her own family. Her only son, Steve, lives just 20 minutes away but rarely visits.<\/p>\n
Whenever I saw her on the porch, she seemed so lost, staring off into the distance. My heart went out to her, so I started helping where I could.<\/p>\n
For over a year, I\u2019ve been running small errands. Groceries, appointments, clearing her driveway of leaves in the fall and snow in the winter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what I\u2019d do without you, Debbie,\u201d she said to me one morning after I dropped off her groceries, including some freshly baked bread for her breakfast.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m here for anything you need, Marlene,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Honestly, it wasn\u2019t much, but I felt good knowing that I was helping. Especially since her real family was so absent.<\/p>\n
\u201cSteve?\u201d she said one day when I asked about him. \u201cThat kid means everything to me, but I know I don\u2019t mean as much to my son. It\u2019s okay. You\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n
She would always smile like I was her favorite person.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This man, who barely knew his mother\u2019s daily life, had the audacity to accuse me of not doing enough.
\nBut things took a dark turn when I had to leave town for a few weeks. I couldn\u2019t help it, my mother was in the hospital after being diagnosed with fibroids and cysts that needed to be removed.<\/p>\n
I had to be there with her. There was no way about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m coming, Mom,\u201d I said. \u201cDon\u2019t you worry about a thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, Deb,\u201d my mother whined. \u201cI don\u2019t want to disturb your routine. Dad\u2019s here, I\u2019ll be fine with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom, I work from home. I can work from anywhere,\u201d I said sternly. \u201cAnd anyway, Dad\u2019s idea of taking care of someone is making chicken noodle soup. That\u2019s pretty much it. You\u2019re going for invasive surgery. You need me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before I left, I stocked Mrs. Jenkins\u2019 house with groceries, made sure that she had everything she needed, and asked our neighbor Karen to check in on her from time to time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be back as soon as I can, Marlene,\u201d I said. \u201cDon\u2019t you worry about a thing. And I\u2019ve asked little Josh to come over and check your mail. He knows that if there\u2019s anything in your mailbox, he has to bring it right to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you, darling,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019re too good to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought I\u2019d covered all my bases.<\/p>\n
Ten days into my stay with my parents, my phone rang while I was cooking dinner. I didn\u2019t recognize the number, but I picked up anyway.<\/p>\n
\u201cDebbie?\u201d the voice snapped when I answered. \u201cAre you the neighbor who\u2019s supposed to be taking care of my mom?\u201d<\/p>\n
It was Steve. Mrs. Jenkins\u2019 son. The man who barely showed up for his own mother.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"