Cindy Brooks believed her destiny was set when her ungrateful children abandoned her in a nursing home and sold her property. When they returned to see her two years later, they learned that someone had rescued their mother and brought her home with him. Cindy Brooks was passionate about her work. She had worked for decades at her antique business, but the timing felt right for her to retire and enjoy her years stress-free. She had saved a lot of money and was looking forward to her golden years…
She had had a life-changing incident just a few years before when she and her husband, Eric Brooks, divorced. She had been devastated! For the four decades they were married, Eric had been more than simply her husband, but also her confidante and companion. Everyone’s ideal marriage had been theirs. Unfortunately, they had grown apart over time, with their hopes and life objectives diverging once Eric quit his job to attempt farming.
They agreed it was preferable to split ways peacefully rather than hate one other. Eric moved to Texas, leaving Cindy and their two children behind. “What will I do without you, my love?” she pondered as she looked through her husband’s old photographs. Despite the divorce, she kept photographs of him on the fireplace mantle at their house in Louisiana’s Oasis community.
She would frequently cry when she thought about her spouse. The couple married young and had children at a young age. Cindy often wished they had waited a bit longer before having children so that their children, Emily and Jonathan, might be with them for a little longer. They were all grown and had long left home to start their own lives, homes, and occupations, leaving her with the house to herself, which was obviously lonely for an elderly lady.
She was retiring at the age of 70 and had no idea what she wanted to do with her life. She was surrounded by a close-knit community, but it was not how she envisioned her golden years. She wanted to spend time spoiling her grandkids, but there was one hitch. Her children didn’t come to see her very frequently, and the visits had become even less frequent in recent years. She hoped that her new life would enable her to visit them often and spend time with her grandchildren.
She was about to get the shock of her life. Cindy awoke one morning to the persistent ring of the doorbell. “Who could be here this early? It’s just early morning! “Cindy grumbled as she strode downstairs, her robe slung over her shoulders. She couldn’t believe her eyes as she opened the door! Emily and Jonathan were standing there! They came to see her mere hours after she had prayed. “God does answer prayers!” she said.
She leapt into the arms of her children, tears streaming down her lovely, flushing cheeks. Her elation, however, was short-lived as she heard her son say: “We’re not here to make nice, mother! We are coming to transport you to your new residence.” “But…but…this is where I live. What exactly do you mean by “my new home”? “Cindy thought, all the prior joy drained from her face.
“Now that you’re retired, we want to move you to a nursing home where you’ll always have someone looking after you,” Emily said, speaking for the first time since her mother opened the door. “I don’t need someone to look after me. I’ve always taken care of myself and will continue to do so without anyone’s assistance “Even as Emily made her way inside the home to begin packing her mother’s luggage, she yelled at her children.
Cindy was inconsolable. When her children came to see her, it was to take her to a nursing facility. She was weak as a result of her disappointment in her children. She gave up after shouting her voice hoarse and attempting in vain to fend off her children, and gradually withdrew into a calmly resigned demeanor as her children loaded her into their vehicle and took her away to the nursing home, miles away from the place she had called home for decades.
Cindy had no idea that her children had already listed the property for sale and collected a portion of the proceeds. It was in a posh area and had cost them a pretty penny. The three scarcely talked as everyone looked preoccupied with their thoughts – Jonathan and Emily were clearly silently planning vacations with the earnings from the home, while Cindy, sitting in the rear, questioned her parenting, sometimes letting out a dejected sigh.
Jonathan and Emily drove away from the nursing facility after dropping their elderly mother off at the registration desk, anxious to return to their houses and celebrate their success. Cindy was heartbroken! She had thought her children were playing a cruel joke on her throughout the long journey, but everything felt so genuine now. She was brought to her room swiftly and knowing her destiny was sealed, she shut the door and wept herself to sleep.
Life at the nursing home was not as difficult as Cindy had anticipated. She started making friends and enjoying the company when she recovered from her first fright. She really enjoyed strolling around the grounds and gathering flowers with her pals. Days passed, then weeks, and one day, on her fourth month there, she was wandering around the gardens with a friend when she observed a vehicle parked in the lot. The vehicle and the driver seemed to be familiar for some reason.
“I recognize that truck…and the driver!” she exclaimed to her buddy, who had been choosing the lovely flowers that had usually brightened their otherwise dismal days. “Is it your son?” pondered the buddy. “No, I can’t tell from this distance, but it doesn’t seem to be Jonathan,” Cindy said, running toward the vehicle. After a year and eight months…
Jonathan and Emily ran inside the nursing home’s reception area after parking their automobile there.
“We’ve come to visit our mother, Cindy Brooks,” Jonathan said loudly to Angela, the receptionist. “Cindy…Brooks? Cindy hasn’t visited in at least a year and eight months!” Angela replied, opening a tab on her computer that displayed the release dates of her residents. “What do you mean she hasn’t come? What happened to her?” Jonathan inquired, his voice rising. “Your mother was removed from here,” Angela whispered, terrified.
“Where was it taken? Who is it? And with whose permission?” Emily shouted as Jonathan gave Angela a menacing look. Later that evening, the two knocked on the turquoise blue door of the location Angela had given them, hoping to find out who had kidnapped their mother. They were taken aback when they identified the owner of the mansion as their estranged father, their mother’s ex-husband, Eric.
Eric, an ardent farmer, had supplied goods to the elderly home for many years. While doing his deliveries one day, he observed Cindy wandering around the gardens with other neighbors. Eric first assumed he was wrong since he couldn’t imagine a lady as nimble and powerful as Cindy in a nursing home, so he went to meet Angela at the reception. Angela had told him how Cindy’s children had put her there and then departed, and how no one had come to see Cindy throughout her stay. Eric quickly established Cindy’s guardianship.
“I had many wonderful years with her, therefore I will take care of her,” he informed the nursing home administration before packing Cindy and driving her home. Eric lived alone until he was in his 80s. He never remarried after his divorce from Cindy and relocated to another state to start again. And now, after years of battling, the two had found one other again and reconnected.
“How come you came seeking for me after leaving me for so long?” Cindy questioned. “We’re sorry, mum,” Emily replied. “We really regret what we did to you. We were too consumed by greed to prioritize your needs.” “We came to the nursing home to apologize and make up for the anguish we caused you,” Jonathan said, pulling a piece of paper from his luggage. “We repurchased the home for you,” he said, handing over the house deed to his mother. Cindy was taken aback!
She couldn’t believe how fast her children, who had been so antagonistic to her just two years before, had turned over a new leaf. “Do you mean it?” she questioned, tears streaming down her cheeks. Emily and Jonathan begged their parents for forgiveness, and Cindy, as usual, responded, “On one condition.” Emily said, “Whatever it is, mum.” “I want you two to bring your kids over often so they can spend time with their grandmother and grandpa,” Cindy said with delight.
“Done and dusted!” Emily and Jonathan both responded in tandem. Cindy and Eric eventually sold Cindy’s house, remarried in a modest garden ceremony attended by their children and grandkids, and spent the rest of their days doting on their grandchildren, just as Cindy had anticipated of her sunset years.