tears almost welled in her eyes. Then he pulled her in for another big hug and held on for a long time.

“I’m so sorry, Mom. I… I don’t know what came over me when I saw you at that store,” he said, not letting go of his mother.

Victoria was all too happy to keep holding her son.

“Were you ashamed of me?” “At first, I thought it was that. I couldn’t believe my mother was a cleaning lady. But then, after I received that call from your neighbor, I realized that I was more embarrassed with myself,” Matthew answered.

“What?

My neighbor?” Victoria asked, pulling a bit away to look into her son’s eyes. “Yes, Mrs. Atkinson.

She said she lives in this building. We met when you moved, and I gave her my contact information in case of emergencies,” Matthew replied.

“Anyway, she called and chewed me out for not inviting you to Christmas and for not answering your calls. Then she said I should be ashamed of myself for having a successful business and making you work hard just to live.

That’s when it clicked.” “What clicked?” Victoria asked.

“I was ashamed that I never paid you back for the money from your house. I mean, you gave it to us so easily and never asked for anything. And while we now have money, an expensive car, and remodeled our house, you were struggling to pay your bills.

I felt like a failure, and I couldn’t deal with it. I thought I was angry at you, but it was quite the opposite,” Matthew explained, finally letting go.

Just then, Victoria felt a hand on her back. It was Marina.

“I thought I was angry at you too. For not telling us you needed money. For not telling us you were cleaning a store.

But I was mad at myself. You shouldn’t have to work when the money you gave us is more than enough to keep you comfortable for the rest of your life. I can’t believe we never thought about paying you back before.”

“You don’t have to.

It’s ok,” Victoria began, but Marina interrupted her gently. “We have to pay you back, especially after that chewing out from Mrs. Atkinson.

She called me too. She said you worked so hard so our kids could have presents from their grandmother, and so we wouldn’t have to worry about you,” Marina continued.

Victoria smiled and made a mental note to thank Lorena for doing that. “Let’s forget about it for now, ok?” she appeased her children and turned to look at her grandkids.

“It’s time for everyone to open presents!”

They spent the best Christmas as a family. It was one Victoria would never forget. Marina and Matthew eventually paid their mother back, and they started depositing more money in her account just in case.

But Victoria didn’t quit her job.

She liked it. Chatting with her coworkers was fun. She officially retired at 70 years old with a pretty decent amount of money in the bank.

And her children never forgot to invite her and always answered her calls.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a nursing home attendant who got mocked for befriending an older woman.

Source: amomama