The poor mother was confused when the old lady raced out of the store without disclosing her name, so she decided to follow her. What she discovered along the way broke her heart.
Jenny Ferguson was depressed as she walked along the aisles of a grocery in California, looking for diapers for her four-month-old daughter Anne. She was a single mother whose boyfriend had left them, claiming he wanted to live as a free man.
Jenny was upset when he abandoned her because she was an orphan with no living relatives who could support her. But 9 months later, as she held her daughter in her arms, she realized that keeping Anne was the best decision she’d ever made. Anne had big blue eyes like her, and she was lovely — the most beautiful baby in the world to her.
However, as Jenny browsed the aisles for Anne’s diapers, she was in tears due to the exorbitant prices, regretting her decision to become a single mother. “Things won’t work this way for long. I don’t think I can provide a good life for Anne,” she reflected sadly.
Suddenly, her gaze was drawn to a shelf where a set of three diaper packets was on sale. She counted her coins and crumbled dollar notes and discovered she could easily pay for them.
Jenny’s mood lifted up in no time, and she quickly dashed to the cashier with the packets. “Hi. Could you please ring this up for me?” she asked the clerk, hiding her excitement.
The cashier looked at her from head to toe, giving her a dirty look. “That’s $30, woman. You got the money on you?”
“$30?!” cried Jenny. “But there’s a discount! They should be a lot cheaper!”
“I’m sorry, lady, but the deal has expired. You’re late! So, if you have the money, I’ll pack this for you, or you can move aside because other customers are awaiting their turn.”
“Oh, no,” she whispered, teary-eyed. “I – I don’t have the money for it. Can you please give me a discount? You can see I have a baby. Please….”
The cashier laughed. “Nice try, woman. But your tears won’t work here. You shouldn’t have come in the first place if you couldn’t pay your bills.”
Jenny couldn’t control her tears at this point. She looked at Anne and burst into tears. “Sorry, baby…mama could – couldn’t…” she had been whispering to Anne when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and saw a woman, somewhat in her late 80s, standing behind her.
“Oh, don’t cry,” she said. “I will pay for you. Come along with me.”
She took Jenny’s hand in hers, purchased some baby food, fruits, and bread, and told the cashier to ring everything up. “We’ll take everything, including the diapers. Ring it up for this woman. The bill is on me.”
Jenny couldn’t stop crying and thanked the older woman for her help. “I appreciate that so much, ma’am. I’m sorry I didn’t even ask you your name. You’re—”
“Oh, lady,” shrugged the woman. “There’s no need to worry. I should leave now….” She rushed out of the store without even revealing her name. Jenny thought this was odd, so she decided to follow the woman that day.
She noticed the old lady strolling to the far end of the neighborhood to an old, dilapidated house. She wanted to approach her and ask if she was fine, but baby Anne started crying, and she had to rush home. But she returned to the old lady’s house the next day.
When the older woman opened the door, Jenny was shocked. The woman looked pale and weak, and she was having trouble breathing.
“Ma’am, are you okay? Let me help you,” Jenny offered.
Jenny rushed the elderly lady inside, and when she looked around the house, she noticed mold and dust blanketed the entire house. There were only a few bottles of water in the refrigerator and some stale groceries in the garbage in a kitchen corner.
Jenny poured a glass of water for the old woman and offered it to her. “Please have some water, ma’am. You’ll feel better.”
The woman took a few sips and a deep breath. “Thank you so much, sweetie. What brought you here?”
“I just wanted to thank you, ma’am, for everything you did for Anne and me. But you didn’t even mention your name yesterday. So…” she said, embarrassed, “I followed you because I was curious.”
“Oh,” the elderly lady laughed weakly. “I’m very sorry. My name is Catherine Fisher. I wasn’t feeling good yesterday. I haven’t eaten in days, and I can’t stand for very long,” she admitted shyly. “I went grocery shopping yesterday, but you needed the money more, so I decided to help you.”
Jenny felt guilty for contributing to the woman’s weak state and decided to help her. She requested her to look after Anne until she came back from the grocery store. She spent all of her money on a packet of soup mix, which she prepared for Mrs. Fisher. Later, she picked up a broom and dustpan, and within a few hours, Mrs. Fisher’s house was spick and span.
“Mrs. Fisher, your house is all done! Now we just—” Jenny had started speaking upon entering the living room when she saw the old woman crying.
“Mrs. Fisher, what happened? Are you all right?”
The older woman wiped her tears away and pointed to a painting that hung above her fireplace. It featured a young man smiling and holding a baby in his arms.
“They are my son and husband,” Mrs. Fisher revealed. “Years ago, they died in a plane crash. I was so exhausted and weak that I couldn’t even clean their picture. Now that I can see it without dust, it appears as if I have them back with me. Thank you so much, sweetie.”
“Oh, Mrs. Fisher,” Jenny consoled her. “It’s okay. I’m here, and Anne is here too. You know, actually, I was wondering….if you don’t mind….you could move in with us. I don’t have a mother, and Anne would love to have you as a grandmother!”
The older woman threw her arms around Jenny and wept her heart out. “Oh, I would love that, honey. I would surely love that,” she whispered.
With that, Mrs. Fisher sold her old house and moved in with Jenny and Anne. She utilized the proceeds from the sale of the property to repair Jenny and Anne’s house, which was in need of repairs as well. Later, Jenny took up a better job and could give full attention to her career, as Anne had her lovely grandmother back at home to look after her while her mother was away.