A 64-year-old woman raising her orphaned grandson all alone loses her only job after a heated quarrel with her boss. When she thought things couldn’t get any worse, her ex-boss appeared on her doorstep with apologies.
“Ugh, this is ridiculous!” 64-year-old Wendy was stranded in a heavy traffic jam that morning as she frustratingly swore and honked behind the wheel of her old Mustang. “I’ve been sitting here for 30 freaking minutes and haven’t moved an inch. I swear…drivers these days have flushed their humanity down the crapper…Nobody is stopping their darn cars to let a poor old woman pass.”
“Hey, Glams, easy girl…calm down! It’s just traffic, and it happens all the time,” her grandson, 14-year-old Tyler, said while fidgeting with his phone in the backseat.
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But only Wendy knew her fears that morning. And her worst fear was her new boss was joining the office that day, and she didn’t want to be late for work. Not when she anticipated a promotion and a little increment to improve their lives! But the traffic was not cooperating with her, and the cars ahead seemed to be moving at a snail’s pace, and Wendy’s heart had already started pounding…
As minutes ticked by, the grandma’s panic increased. Her sweaty hands were slick on the steering wheel as she kept looking at the dash clock and the traffic signal.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the traffic began to ease up, and Wendy breathed a huge sigh of relief. She stepped on the gas pedal and sped towards Tyler’s school, thanking every force on earth for helping her make it on time.
But as they pulled up outside the school gate, Wendy realized that her troubles were far from over when she saw Tyler’s homeroom teacher approaching her.
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“I understand that being a ‘working’ grandma can be difficult…But that is no excuse for coming late to the office.”
“Oh boy! Why is your teacher coming this way?” Wendy grabbed Tyler’s hand before he could flee. “Did you screw up in class again? Don’t tell me you did, or I’ll turn into a Grinch!”
“Mrs. Lancaster, good morning!” greeted the teacher. “I was just looking for your contact number on the register. Do you have five minutes, please? There’s something really important I’d want to discuss with you about Tyler.”
Wendy was already running late for her office. She knew that her day would turn into a living hell if she didn’t get into her car and speed up in five minutes.
As it turned out, Tyler had gotten into a fight with his classmate, Billy, and had beaten him up. He refused to apologize, arguing he was right, and Wendy was aware of her grandson’s heightened sense of justice.
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After having settled this problem, Wendy sped up, racing the vehicles ahead, and finally reached her office. But the time on the big round vintage clock hanging outside the lobby hit her like a bag of bricks. Wendy was late by 35 minutes! And when she hurried in, the once noisy office was grave silent, hinting that their new boss had already arrived.
Wendy bolted to her cabin, sighing with relief when she reached her table. She put her handbag on her desk and sat down to log into her computer, but before the system could boot, a loud daunting voice of a man spoke from behind.
“Mrs. Lancaster, can you please come to my office?”
Wendy turned around and felt her stomach drop at seeing a tall, middle-aged man grimly staring at her. At first sight, Wendy realized he was the company’s new boss as she’d never seen him around before.
“Yes, sir!” she replied as she hurried behind the man.
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Wendy could feel her heart pounding as she swung the door open and took her seat in her boss’s office, trying her best to be calm. Beads of sweat trickled down her forehead even in the air-conditioned room, and her legs started to tremble.
“Good morning, Mrs. Lancaster!” the man broke her silence. “I’m Joseph McCoy, the company’s new director.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. McCoy!” Wendy rose from her chair for an official handshake, but her boss never reciprocated. And the stern clench of his jaw made it clear that this was not going to be a pleasant conversation.
“Mrs. Lancaster, I received reports from the former manager of this company about the staff, and I noticed you are frequently late for work. Can you explain why?” he asked in a grim and cold tone, wasting no time in getting straight to the point.
Wendy tried to keep her voice steady as she explained about the morning traffic and the meeting with her grandson’s teacher.
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“I drop him off at school every day and traffic these days, you know, sir….” she said. “And today, there were some issues that needed to be sorted out in his school, so I had to be there since I’m his only guardian.” Wendy did not expose her anxiety and finished with a smile, hoping Mr. McCoy would understand and ask her to get back to work.
To her dismay, her boss smirked and shook his head. “I am a single father myself, Mrs. Lancaster,” he said.
“I understand that it’s not easy…But sometimes, you need to set your priorities straight and make certain sacrifices if you want to be successful. Mrs. Lancaster, I think you’re not taking your job seriously!” added Mr. McCoy.
“But being a working grandmother to a teenage boy is not that easy. And kids, these days, especially teenagers! They are into so much ‘fun’ stuff, and as responsible adults, it’s our duty to keep an eye on them all the time to protect them. I’m not just any grandmother…I’m my grandson’s only guardian, and he is my responsibility. I’m doing the best I can, and I will make sure I come to the office on time from now on,” Wendy boldly replied.
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But to her disappointment, her boss was far from convinced. Moreover, he could not digest the fact that an elderly employee had the nerve to defend herself and raise her voice when she was late for work.
“Mrs. Lancaster, I understand that being a ‘working’ grandma can be difficult. But that is no excuse for coming late to the office…You shouldn’t have joined this company if you were not ready to be here on time. You should’ve stayed home and taken care of your grandson!”
“Mrs. Lancaster, I’m afraid we’ll have to let you go….” said Mr. McCoy after a long pause, his words hitting Wendy like a brutal slap on her face.
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