Mrs. Brighton had no idea that helping two gorgeous youngsters make their way home would lead her to relive a wonderful part of her own history. Mrs. Brighton awoke early and sat on the blue seat outside the local grocery shop. With her huge eyeglasses and silk scarf, a cane that served as an umbrella, and bellbottoms embracing her legs, displaying a pair of nude stockings around her ankles, she looked like she belonged in another age…
She sat cross-legged on the seat, holding up an open newspaper to hide herself from the sun, as if she had nothing to worry about. But the way she checked her watch every two minutes suggested she was bothered by something. “Shouldn’t the shop have been open by now?” Mrs. Brighton pondered. “What am I thinking? This is the peaceful town where I grew up. Why would it have altered so much in the previous four years?”
Mrs. Brighton folded the newspaper when she saw two little children standing in front of her, holding hands and unable to see the store’s signboard. “Tom, I warned you we’d missed a turn! We’re now lost “While bickering with her twin brother, the small girl stomped her foot. Her button nose had become bright crimson with rage. “What a cutie!” Mrs. Brighton smiled and thought to herself. “Oh, Millie, come on. We are not helpless. We just…don’t know where we are. Let’s take a couple more steps together.”
In defiance, the fiery young girl batted her brother’s hand away and sat down on the sidewalk. Mrs. Brighton was interested to see how the brother would respond when she began weeping. She watched the kid attempt again again to understand the signboard, and then, with a dejected expression on his innocent face, he sank down next to his sister and sobbed with her. “Oh, God…what happened?” Mrs. Brighton’s heart sunk, and she made the decision to approach the children. “Good day, you two! What’s the problem?
Why are you so depressed on such a beautiful day?” The youngsters exchanged glances and paused before responding to the elder lady. Millie was taken aback that the lady knew the truth. She happily nodded. “So, what exactly are you two doing out on the street by yourselves? Shouldn’t you be watching cartoons at home?” “We should, but we had to go. For our father…” Tom was crying again as he attempted to explain.
For a month, Tom and Millie’s father was unwell and bedridden. Their father was everything to them, but he lost his work due to a severe illness. That month, the guy had saved the last of his money to purchase food for the next week. However, as his condition deteriorated, the youngsters decided to steal the money and sneak into a pharmacy in the hopes of obtaining some treatment for the sick guy.
“There is no one else except our father. We believed we recalled how to go to the pharmacy. Every day, we walk past it. But now…we’re at a loss. And we have no idea how to go back home. It’s all my fault!” Tom sobbed, burying his face in his hands. Millie’s rage had subsided, and she hugged her brother, kissing him on the cheek. “This is not your fault. I’m not upset with you. I’m just…”
Millie was mid-sentence when the grocery shop owner came to a halt, carrying a new batch of cinnamon buns in his basket. “…hungry?” Mrs. Brighton deduced from the small girl’s gaze following the package of cinnamon buns inside the shop. Mrs. Brighton continued, unaffected by the lack of reaction from the youngsters “Here’s what we’re going to do. I’ll give you my name and any other information you need to know about me.
Then you may put your faith in me and give me your address and house number. I’ll drive you home, check on your father, and then bring him the medication he need.” Millie and Tom exchanged another fleeting glance and agreed. “Great! Mrs. Brighton is my name. Now go ahead and ask me anything.” Millie, the six-year-old twins, paused for a few seconds before blurting out, “What’s your favorite color, Mrs. Brighton?”
“That’s simple. Red! “The elder lady smiled as she saw the children’s innocence. The youngsters were willing to put their faith in their new adult friend, but what she did next won them over. “Let’s start with some cinnamon buns. I believe you must be quite hungry. I’m sure I am!” Mrs. Brighton patiently waited while the youngsters savored each and every piece of the cinnamon buns.
She rolled her eyes at the shop owner for being late, grabbed a few extra rolls for the children’s father she was going to meet, and drove to their street and home number as advised. Mrs. Brighton’s two hosts were even more charming than the property itself. They assisted her in removing her coat and finding a spot for her umbrella and pocketbook.
Looking around, she was drawn to one wall in particular, which was covered with gorgeous photographs.
They were all pictures of the twins with their father, but when she went in closer, she saw something that stole her breath away. Mrs. Brighton saw a shockingly familiar portrait among the collage of photos on the wall – it was of herself. “How is this possible? Why would a stranger have my photograph in his home? This makes no sense… Mrs. Brighton pondered this as she raised the photo frame and examined the photograph.
And then it all came back to her in a split second. “Where is your father, Tom and Millie? I had to see him.” “Michael? Please open your eyes. You’ll never guess who I am!” Mrs. Brighton delighted at seeing the familiar face. Michael carefully opened his sleepy eyelids, and his face wrinkled into a grin as soon as he got a good look at the woman’s face. “Mrs. Brighton, please? Oh my goodness, what a delightful surprise!” Michael couldn’t believe he was in the company of the sweetest lady he’d ever met.
He sat up in bed, clutched her hand, and memories from five years ago flooded back… Michael had just moved into the neighborhood, and this was meant to be the start of the scariest period of his life. He was 27 years old and split between the joy of his newborn twins and the tragic loss of his wife, who died shortly after giving birth to their children. He wasn’t ready or equipped to raise children on his own, and he found himself scrambling,
failing, and hating himself for failing to undertake the most basic chores of caring for his children. Many others in the area had raised their eyebrows and expressed sympathy, but only one lady had come on his door and offered to assist. “Hello there, son. I live next door to you, and I saw you the other day attempting to put your wailing infants to sleep. I simply wanted to tell you that you’re doing well.
It’ll just get louder from here on out, and there’ll be a lot to learn, but you’ll get there. Most importantly, you are not required to accomplish this alone. I’m a nurse at the local hospital, and I’d be happy to teach you the ins and outs of…parenting. Whatever you need.” Michael owed everything to the bond that formed there. Mrs. Brighton taught him all he needed to know for the next year, from changing diapers and preparing baby formula to massaging the infants when they didn’t seem to stop wailing.
Mrs. Brighton also babysat the twins on weekends, enabling Michael to focus on his business ideas and take up side employment. “And then you were gone one day. Exactly like that…” Michael returned to the present, wiping a tear from his face. “I apologize, son. I had no choice. My only daughter had contacted me one night and said she was sick and despondent. She claimed she wanted to visit me and be with me out of nowhere.”
“So when she summoned me to her house on the opposite side of the nation, I hopped on the next available aircraft. And that made all the difference for her.” “I gave her the final four years of my life, assisting her in healing from loneliness and recovering her health and self-esteem. And a week ago, she married a beautiful guy she met. I knew I wanted to return to my former neighborhood soon after I escorted my kid down the aisle.” Michael listened closely, visualizing Mrs. Brighton’s generosity in rescuing her daughter.
“Just as it saved me,” he thought as he sobbed again and observed Millie and Tom crying. “So, here I am again, your neighbor! Thanks to these wonderful little beings, I made my way straight back to you “Mrs. Brighton embraced the children. “And now I know I’m here at the proper moment!” said the old lady, her voice purposeful. “Michael, come on. Tell me about your problems. Whatever it is, son, we’ll get you all well.”
Michael couldn’t recall the last time somebody had asked him how he was. And yet, sitting in Mrs. Brighton’s soothing, uplifting company, he had never felt better. Mrs. Brighton assisted Michael in recovering from the back injury that had lost him his work in the months that followed. In turn, Michael lived up to his title as “son” by meeting all of Mrs. Brighton’s demands. Her biggest pleasure, though, was watching Millie and Tom show up every day to spend hours with her.