Poor Woman Is Rejected by Her Biological Son After He Finds Out She Works as a Dishwasher — Story of the Day 

A wealthy student rejected his biological mother's efforts to connect with him after finding out she worked as a dishwasher at his school, thinking it was embarrassing.

Laura was 52 years old and lived a life of poverty. She was poor, with most of her salary going to her small apartment rental and utility bills.

Laura worked at a local school in her neighborhood as a dishwasher in the cafeteria. Although the pay was low, she took the job because it gave her meal coupons that allowed her to eat two meals a day. Without them, she wouldn't eat, so her physique was thin and frail.

As she was frail, Laura became clumsy. She could not carry the load of the dishes, so she often broke them. Several times, this happened in front of the students.

Laura worked as a dishwasher at the school cafeteria. | Source: Pexels

After seeing this, the young boys lining up for their food started to mock her. Clive, a wealthy boy, was especially cruel to her. "Why are you still working, grandma? You should be at a nursing home. You clearly can't carry the dishes anymore," he mocked.

The children laughed at his remark, and seeing that people were fond of his jokes about the dishwasher, he started mocking her more often, making Laura sad.

One day, he "accidentally" pushed Laura while she was carrying the dishes towards the front of the line. The plates broke, and Laura was horrified.

"Oopsies," Clive told her as she let go of the plates. "I'm sorry, grandma. I didn't see you there," he said mockingly.

Laura sighed, almost in tears. She couldn't afford to lose her job, and with several warnings for breaking plates, she was already on the verge of losing it. "I will have to pay for all of this," she said tearfully.

Laura would serve the kids every day, even though the workload was heavy for someone her age. | Source: Pexels

Clive shrugged and mockingly told her, "Work overtime, then. You can do it, grandma!"

Laura got a broom to sweep the broken ceramics from the floor. She did so in tears, realizing her hard-earned money would be depleted yet again, and for a reason that wasn't even her fault.

Later that day, she went home and started to think about her son. She was exhausted, and the thought of him as a baby gave her comfort. She reflected on the cruel boy at school and wished that her son had turned out a lot kinder and more compassionate.

After years of not reaching out, she decided to finally call Camille, her son's adoptive mother, for the very first time. When Laura gave her son up for adoption, she requested that at any time, she could reach out in case she wanted to meet him.

Camille and her husband Adam obliged, as they were fond of Laura and were appreciative that she allowed them to take care of her son. They never got to tell Laura her son's name, as they had lost touch before they finalized it.

Clive was a spoiled rich kid that had everything he could possibly need in life. | Source: Pexels

"Hi, Camille," she said over the phone.

"Laura! What a surprise. How are you?" Camille responded.

"I'm okay," she said. "How is my boy?" Laura asked.

"He's fine. He's growing up really fast, actually. Would you like to see him?" Camille asked.

Laura wiped her tears as she heard this. She hadn't seen her son in years and had no idea what he looked like. It took her so long to call because she didn't want to disrupt his childhood. Now that he was twelve, she felt it was the right time to introduce herself.

"I would love that," she said and Camille told her to meet them at the neighborhood park after school the following day.

After putting the phone down, Camille called her son to her room to explain the situation. After a couple of moments, Clive entered the room. "What's wrong, mom?" he asked.

"You know mom and dad love you, right?" Camille assured.

Clive nodded, and it was then that Camille told him the story.

Camille prepared to tell Clive the whole truth about his adoption. | Source: PexelsCamille prepared to tell Clive the whole truth about his adoption. | Source: PexelsCamille prepared to tell Clive the whole truth about his adoption. | Source: PexelsCamille prepared to tell Clive the whole truth about his adoption. | Source: PexelsCamille prepared to tell Clive the whole truth about his adoption. | Source: Pexels

"You see, dad and I haven't been completely honest with you. Twelve years ago, before we had you, doctors told us that we would never be able to have children of our own," she revealed. "We wanted so badly to be parents, and one day, we met a young woman who could no longer afford to pay for her child's hospital bills. We offered to pay for the bills and take her son in. That child is you, my love."

Clive was surprised and confused. He never imagined being adopted, as he shared the same light brown hair as his father. "Why are you telling me this now, mom?" he asked her.

"Well, I made a promise to your biological mother that she could keep in touch. She wants to meet you," Camille told Clive. He didn't think it was necessary to meet his biological mother, as he had everything he could ever need. However, he agreed after curiosity got the best of him.

The following day, Camille picked Clive up from school in their convertible sports car. She drove him to the neighborhood park, which wasn't as clean and exclusive as the park that Clive would go to with his friends. He was worried and fussy. He didn't want any of his friends to see him.

Then Camille saw a woman sitting alone on a bench, waiting. She waved her hand as soon as their eyes met.

Camille picked Clive up from school in her convertible sports car. | Source: Pexels

"Clive, this is Laura. She is your biological mother," she told her son. At that moment, Clive looked up from his phone and saw the poor woman. "I'll leave you two to talk. I'll be in the car, Clive," Camille told him.

"You?" he said, his face registering disbelief. He immediately recognized Laura as the dishwasher from school. Laura was surprised, too, seeing that her biological son was the boy who constantly gave her a hard time at her job.

"Hi, son," Laura smiled softly, trying her best to shrug off the thoughts on her mind about how Clive could possibly be her son. "Would you like to go to the ice cream bar over there? We can get some pistachio ice cream," she suggested.

"I'm allergic to pistachios!" Clive said, irritated. He still couldn't believe the woman was his real mother.

"I'm sorry, son. I didn't know that," she replied.

"Of course, you wouldn't know it. You left me when I was a baby!" Clive's resentment could be felt, but Laura didn't mind it. She understood that Clive had a right to feel the way he did.

Clive revealed he was allergic to pistachio ice cream. | Source: Pexels

Then Laura noticed the pendant around Clive's neck, which was the shape of an angel wing.

"That's a beautiful necklace," Laura complimented.

"It's been with me since I was young. Of course, you wouldn't know that, too," he mocked.

"It reminds me of something," Laura said, reaching out to get something inside her purse. She handed Clive a small box.

"Are you trying to win me over with gifts? Guess what? It's not going to work!" he told her, grabbing the box from her hands, scoffing.

"Of course not. You are my son; I just wanted to see you. I have been aching to see you for years," she said, tears slowly filling her eyes.

"I'm not your son!" Clive yelled, throwing the box away, making it crash on the floor.

At that point, Laura realized there was no convincing her son to open up to her. He was too angry. She nodded her head, gave him a soft smile, and decided to leave, sobbing as she walked away.

Clive picked up the box from the ground and when he opened it, he saw a necklace similar to the one he was wearing. It came with a letter, which he decided to read.

Laura wrote Clive a heartfelt letter. | Source: Pexels

He sat on the bench with the necklace and letter in his hand and read:

"My dear son,

I am heartbroken that I never got to know your name. I am sorry I cannot be there for you as your mother. Your father abandoned me when he found out I was pregnant. I had a difficult pregnancy and had to stop working as I was put on bed rest. When I gave birth, you were diagnosed with an illness that required you to stay in the hospital for a month. As I didn't have any money, I was desperate to save you."

Clive started to cry. He was overwhelmed with what he was beginning to find out, so he had to stop reading to understand it fully.

"

Laura cried happy tears after Clive chose to forgive her. | Source: Pexels

After he finished reading the letter, it was damp with tears. He touched the pendant hanging on his chest and saw that the missing wing from his pendant was on the necklace of his biological mother.

Clive ran to find Laura and eventually caught up with her. He hugged her tightly, realizing that she did everything to save him, even if it meant not being in his life. "I forgive you, mom," he whispered.

"I am sorry for being cruel to you at school. It would be best if you didn't work as a dishwasher. It's too much work for you. I promise we will find you a better job," Clive told her.

Clive asked his adoptive parents to help Laura find a job. Eventually, she was able to find work as a writer for the company Adam owned, which was really Laura's passion since the beginning.

Although Clive continued to live with Adam and Camille, he kept in close contact with Laura, and they became one big happy family.

What can we learn from this story?

• Service workers deserve our respect and admiration. Clive was cruel to Laura in school, thinking lowly of her and causing hardship to her. Service workers should not be demeaned, as they work noble yet difficult jobs that help make life easier for many people.
• The sacrifices our parents make for us make them worthy of respect. Clive looked down on his biological mother for being a dishwasher until he realized the sacrifices she had made for him.

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If you liked this story, you might like this one about a rich woman who prayed for love at a church and later got a life-changing phone call from an unfamiliar man.

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