Boy Gifts His Puppy to Old Widow So She Won't Be Lonely, Years Later She Appears at His Wedding – Story of the Day

A thirteen-year-old boy sees a lonely woman in the park and gifts her the dog he'd longed for. Nine years later, she appears at his wedding with a surprise.

Like every boy there ever was, what Kyle Hrenwood most wanted in this world was a dog. Big, small, it didn't matter. He wanted a pup who'd love him, chase him, play ball, and be what dogs have been to boys since the beginning of time: his best friend.

Unfortunately for Kyle, his mom didn't think he was responsible enough. So year after year, he kept pleading for a pup, to no avail. Kyle never imagined that when his family finally relented, he'd give that longed-for pup away the same day.

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Two days before Kyle's thirteenth birthday, he went to the park to meet his friend Giles. The boys planned to hang out, throw a frisbee around, and maybe get ice cream.

Kyle arrived at the park first and wandered around, waiting for Giles. As he walked, he heard the sounds of a woman sobbing. He was immediately worried. Was the woman hurt?

He walked towards the sound and saw a woman sitting on a park bench, bent over as if she was in pain, her arms wrapped around herself. "Miss," he said. "Are you OK? Do you want me to call anyone?"

The woman raised a swollen, tear-streaked face and shook her head. "No, please..." she stammered. "Don't call anyone..."

Kyle came closer and saw that the woman was shaking. "Did someone hurt you?" he asked.

"Yes," the woman said bitterly. "God!"

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Kyle didn't know what to say, so he cleared his throat. "I'm sorry," he finally said.

The woman shook her head and said, "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. It's just that I'm having a really bad day."

Kyle nodded sympathetically. "Yeah...I can see that. Want to talk about it? I talk to my mom when I get mad at the world, and it helps."

The woman tried to smile. "You are a sweet boy, but I'm afraid talking won't help," she replied. "My husband died two weeks ago, and I feel so alone. We'd been together for thirty years.

"Thirty years! I can't remember who I was without him. I can't stand the silence inside that house. I had to get out or suffocate."

Kyle sat down next to the woman and held her hand. "Would you like me to walk you home?" he asked. "So you're not alone when you walk in."

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"That would help," the woman said. "I'm Deidre. What's your name?"

Kyle introduced himself, and he and Deidre talked for a long time, then he walked her home. Giles was there when he returned to the park, fuming because he thought Kyle had blown him off.

Kyle's encounter with Deidre left him very sad, and he decided to go home. "Mom," he said. "I don't ever want to get married."

"Why not?" asked Kyle's mom, surprised.

"What if you spend like thirty or forty years with someone," Kyle said. "And then they die, and you're alone? Imagine how lonely that is. I don't want that."

"Then you'll miss out on love," mom said. "And that is a pity. You see, Kyle, if you protect yourself from feeling pain, you're cutting yourself off from happiness. You may discover those thirty years alone are not worth living."

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Kyle went off and thought about what his mom had said. Life was so complicated! But the next day, he had one of the biggest surprises and greatest joys of his life.

When he came down for breakfast, there was a big box on the table, and the box was moving! His mom and dad were standing there with big grins on their faces.

Inside the box was a puppy with the biggest, sweetest eyes he'd ever seen! Kyle hugged the dog and it licked his face. "I have a dog!" Kyle shouted. "A DOG!"

He ran to his mom and dad and threw his arms around them. "Mom, dad!" he cried. "You are the best!" He hugged his parents, and tears came into his eyes.

He was part of a wonderful family, and now he had a bonus: a canine best friend! That was when he remembered Deidre alone in her huge house with her broken heart, listening to the silence.

"Mom, dad," he said quietly. "I want to talk to you about something..."

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A few hours later, Kyle knocked on Deidre's door holding the wriggling puppy in his arms. "Hi," he said shyly. "Today is my birthday, and my parents gave me this puppy they adopted from a shelter.

"I started thinking...You need this puppy more than I do. I have mom and dad, and Giles and lots of other friends. This puppy needs lots of love, and I think you'd be great together. What do you say?"

"Give my heart to an animal just so it can die in a few years' time?" Deidre asked bitterly. "I don't think so. I don't need any more pain in my life!"

"My mom said...she said that if you protect yourself from feeling pain, you're cutting yourself off from happiness, too," Kyle said.

Deidre took the puppy from Kyle's arms and looked into its sweet milky eyes. The pup barked and licked her nose, and Deidre laughed.

"You're right, Kyle!" she said. "I do need this puppy. Maybe you can visit us both; I've never had a dog before and may need some advice!"

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Over the next few years, Kyle and Deidre, and Max (that was the dog's name) became great friends. Then Kyle's dad was offered a job in another state, and the family moved away.

Kyle grew up and went to college, and he fell in love because that is what people do. He decided he wanted to have forty or fifty happy years, so he asked his girlfriend to marry him.

On the day of his wedding, just after the 'I dos,' Kyle was surprised to see a dog come running up the aisle. The dog was wild with happiness and started jumping up to lick Kyle's face.

"MAX!" Kyle cried, then he saw Deidre standing behind her dog, and in her arms was a sweet-faced puppy with a big bow around its neck.

"Deidre," Kyle said, and he ran to hug his friend. Deidre looked older but very happy.

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"She is Max's daughter, and I hope she'll bring as much happiness into your new life as Max brought into mine."

Kyle took Gemma and showed her to his new wife, who immediately fell in love with the puppy. "What's this?" she said as she caressed Gemma's silky ears. Kyle saw a key on the ribbon around the pup's neck.

"That is my gift for you," Deidre said. "That is the key to my house because it will be yours one day. One of these days, I will be with my dear husband, and I want you to live those forty or fifty happy years there and fill it with love, children, and puppies!"

What can we learn from this story?

• Healing from grief sometimes means pouring your heart into something or someone else. Deidre learned to enjoy life again when she allowed herself to love Max.
• When you close yourself off from pain, you also lock out the possibility of joy. Love is eternal, even if life isn't. We open ourselves up to pain when we love -- but without that risk, life isn't worth living.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a widowed farmer who sells the farm that has been in his family for generations to allow his only son to follow his dreams, and the next day the boy disappears without a trace.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.