‘He’s the Only One I Have!’ Frail Boy Defends Grandpa Arrested for Stealing Bread – Story of the Day

Joe's daughter wanted to abandon her child, Leo, and give him up for adoption. However, Joe would not allow her and offered to raise him himself. Years later, things got so bad for Joe financially that he decided to steal just to feed little Leo.

Joe was a kindhearted elderly man that tried his best to live his life with love and integrity. Life had not always been kind to him, but he woke up each day choosing to live his life in kindness.

Joe was a widower with one child, his daughter, Ashley. Joe's relationship with his daughter was on the rocks after she decided to put her child up for adoption. This was a decision that Joe simply could not stand by.

Ashley and her husband had a child called Leo. The couple abandoned their child shortly after he was born, fearing they did not have the means to support Leo. Upon hearing that they planned on putting little Leo up for adoption, Joe pleaded with his daughter to let him look after the child.

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After a long back and forth, Ashley finally agreed to let her father raise the child. However, she made it clear that she would keep her distance from the two and wanted nothing to do with little Leo. This caused an enormous rift in Joe and his daughter's relationship.

Years passed since then, and Joe did his best to raise little Leo the best way he could. Just like his daughter, Joe struggled financially to raise Leo, but he was committed to working tirelessly to put food on the table for little Leo.

In his old age, Joe was no longer working. He was dependent on his small pension to feed Leo and himself. His pension was barely enough to keep them going, and they found themselves living hand to mouth.

As time progressed, things became tougher for Joe. So, to make sure his grandson was good, Joe cut all his spending on himself and his needs, prioritizing his grandson.

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In his old age, Joe needed various medications and treatments to make his life a little more comfortable. However, he decided to cut down on such costs so he could attend to Leo's needs which seemed to only increase the older he got.

One day, things took a turn for the worst for Joe after he received an eviction letter due to heavy utility bills. Joe was distraught because he had always paid his bills.

However, after investigating, Joe learned that only he was to blame.

"It seems you have been sending the money to a set of wrong accounts all this time," the bank teller explained to Joe.

Joe had never felt more unprepared in his life. "Well, is there a way I could get it back and update my payments?" Joe anxiously asked.

"I'm sorry, sir. There isn't any way to reverse the transactions," the bank teller shook his head, feeling sorry for the old man.

Joe was heartbroken. All his hard-earned money had gone to waste just like that. Joe was forced to empty his pension fund and savings to pay off his debts and loans. However, he still found himself drowning in debt.

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He had managed to keep a roof over his and Leo's head, but they were completely strapped for cash and couldn't even afford their next meal. Joe had one option: to turn to his daughter for help.

Ashley worked at the till of a local grocery store. Joe, desperate to feed his grandson, went with Leo to visit Ashley and ask for her help. Joe asked Leo to stay outside while he spoke to his mother. Both of them looked pretty frail and thin. Their financial strain was clearly apparent at this point.

"I'll need you to stay here, okay? I just need to talk to your mother for a second," Joe explained.

"Alright, granddad," Leo responded.

Leo knew Ashley was his mother, but after a couple of failed attempts at reconciling, he finally accepted that Joe was his true parent.

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"Hi, Ashley," Joe said, catching her off guard as she was packing some stock on the shelves.

"Dad? What are you doing here?" Ashley asked in confusion.

"We need your help, Ashley. Leo needs your help," a downcast Joe explained.

"Help?" Ashley asked with a scoff.

"We need a little money to get by. Just for food, please, Ashley," Joe pleaded.

"Dad, I told you I wanted to give him away for adoption, but you insisted. It's not my problem anymore," Ashley said, casually continuing with her work.

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"How can you say that? He's your child, Ashley," Joe said, beginning to well up.

"But things have changed. You have a job now. I would have thought you would have taken the opportunity to get to know him better now that you had a stable income," Joe explained.

"Well, you thought wrong. I made my intentions very clear with how I felt about that kid," Ashley said, growing more frustrated at Joe's persistence.

"That kid? He's your son, Ashley. How can you just give up on him like that? I never once gave up on you, even when I didn't agree with your life decisions. I always gave you a chance. Leo's innocent in all this. Don't you think he deserves a chance?" Joe pleaded wholeheartedly.

"Save me the speech, dad. I have enough problems of my own," Ashley barked.

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"You know he asks about you? I told him you were busy getting your life together and that you'd come for him one day," Joe explained.

"Why would you tell him something like that?" Ashley asked.

"Because I honestly believed one day you would," Joe said dejectedly.

"That's not going to happen any time soon. Listen, dad, you made your bed. Now lie in it," Ashley said coldly before storming off.

Joe could not believe how cold his daughter's heart had grown. She was his last hope. As he looked around the store, his thoughts drifted into a very uncharacteristic realm of Joe. For the first time, he considered stealing.

Joe would do whatever it took to make sure his grandson didn't go to bed hungry. He looked around and made sure nobody was watching him, then he grabbed a loaf of bread, tucked it under his large jacket, and made for the exit. As he was about to exit the store, he was suddenly stopped by the security guard.

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"Sir, please unzip your jacket," the security guard insisted.

The minute Joe unzipped the jacket, the loaf fell to the floor. The security guard immediately called the police and took him to the backroom for detainment. As Joe sat in the detainment, he looked at Ashley through the glass window. She could see him, but she made no effort to help him out.

"Please, just talk to Ashley. She's my daughter," Joe pleaded.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! You keep saying that, but when I asked her just now, she said she didn't have a clue who you were. So please, save your sob story for the police," the security guard barked.

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Moments later, the police dragged Joe out of the store and hauled him into the back seat of the police car.

"Please don't take my grandpa! He's all that I have left!" little Leo begged in tears. However, the police paid him no mind, continuing with their arrest.

Leo sat in tears at the store steps as he watched the police leave with his grandfather. A few moments after the police car drove off, the store's owner arrived to find a frail Leo in tears at his business' doorstep.

"What's wrong, little man?" the store owner compassionately asked.

"The cops arrested my grandpa. He's all I have!" Leo explained.

"Sorry to hear that. What did he get arrested for?" the store owner asked.

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"Stealing bread. He didn't mean anything by it. He's a good man. He just wanted to make sure I had something to eat. He stepped in and looked after me after my parents abandoned me. My mom works here, but she did nothing to help him," Leo explained.

"I don't know, sir. I think she just wants nothing to do with me. My grandpa says we'll be a family again once she gets her things together. But, honestly, I've enjoyed things with grandpa. We love each other, even though things have been a little hard. He has always tried his best to look after me," Leo confessed dejectedly.

Hearing this, something in the store owner moved. He knelt to meet the boy's eyes and sighed.

The store owner immediately went to the police station and released Joe. He had to make up a story about the incident, that Joe was meant to take the bread for free in the first place, but the store guard didn't know about this when he called the cops.

While the kind store owner had to pay a fine for falsely calling the police, he was happily able to get Joe out without a hassle.

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The store owner then fired Ashley for how poorly she treated her family. He felt he could not consciously hire someone who could be so heartless.

Instead, he gave the position to Joe, which eventually helped them with their financial troubles. Feeling sympathetic towards the man's age, the store owner gave Joe simple tasks while still paying him handsomely.

What can we learn from this story?

• Look after your family. Ashley turned on her family, which ultimately did not work out well for her. On the other hand, Joe stuck it out for Leo, and things finally came together.
• Love overcomes all. Joe's love for his grandson lasted through and overcame their financial struggles.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a beggar who learns that he has a daughter and starts working hard to get her out of the shelter she lives in.

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.