“Caroline! What are you doing here?” her father, Daniel, said when he opened the door to his 19-year-old daughter who was visiting from college. They lived in Orlando, Florida, but Caroline got into Texas A&M University, so she was rather far away from them.

“Hey, Dad. Can I come in?” she responded. It was raining outside but not cold at all, so he thought it strange that Caroline was rubbing her shoulder. Her entire demeanor suggested nervousness, worry, and something he couldn’t quite figure out. But of course, this was her home. She was always welcome.

“Naturally, darling. Come in,” he stated. “Alice! Caroline is here!”

Daniel finally had something to say. “I can believe her, actually. What I can’t believe was your attitude or what you said. Are you unhappy?”

His wife came down from their bedroom and was delighted to see their daughter. They had not seen her since the Christmas holidays and were not expecting her anytime soon. It was a pleasant surprise.

Alice started talking about making Caroline’s favorite dinner but Caroline asked them to sit down at the dinner table for a second. “I have something serious to discuss with you guys. And it’s not going to be easy,” she began.

“What’s going on, Caroline? Is college too hard? You can always transfer here. There are plenty of options, as long as you don’t choose to drop out,” Alice interjected, but Daniel grabbed her hand.

“Let her speak, and we can come up with solutions,” he told them both calmly.

Caroline breathed deeply before voicing her news. “I’m pregnant. The father doesn’t want anything to do with the baby, so I’m going to take a year off from school to have the baby, and then, I’ll see about returning.”

Daniel took the news serenely, thinking back to when they had gotten pregnant with Caroline. It was under similar circumstances, except he stepped up, married Alice, and provided her with everything. Alice never returned to college and became a housewife because he had already graduated and had a good job.

Now Daniel was worried about his daughter since the father was not stepping up, but he knew they could get through this together. He was about to tell her that she had their support when Alice jumped up from her seat and yelled.

“WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING? NO! THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NOT HAPPENING! YOU ARE NOT LEAVING SCHOOL!”

“Alice, sit and calm down. Let’s talk,” Daniel interrupted.

“Mom, please⁠—”

“NO! I WILL NOT CALM DOWN. YOU ARE NOT LEAVING COLLEGE. YOU HAVE TO GET RID OF THAT BABY!” she continued screaming.

“Alice! You don’t believe in that stuff!”

“IT DOESN’T MATTER! SHE IS NOT GOING TO THROW HER LIFE AWAY LIKE I DID!” Alice shouted, but her eyes filled with tears and her voice lowered considerably. “Don’t you see? I don’t want this life for you! A simple housewife… dependent on her husband for everything… You have to get rid of it! Quickly! We’ll make an appointment!”

“Mom! No! I’m keeping it. I’ve already decided this,” Caroline disagreed, and Alice began shouting again.

“THEN YOU ARE NOT WELCOME IN THIS HOUSE ANYMORE! I WILL NOT HAVE AN ILLEGITIMATE CHILD HERE AND WATCH YOU WASTE YOUR LIFE AWAY! GET OUT! GET OUT NOW!”

Caroline stared at her mother with her mouth open in disbelief and looked at her dad who was watching his wife just as intently, but she could see that something had him worried too. She didn’t want to continue this conversation. She was sure of her decisions, and if they didn’t support her, that was fine by her.

“Alright,” she said, grabbing her bags and heading to the door to leave.

When the door closed behind her, Alice raged once again. “Can you believe her?”

Daniel finally had something to say. “I can believe her, actually. What I can’t believe was your attitude or what you said. Are you unhappy? We had a great life!”

“It’s not what I want for her. I want more for her! She can’t do this! She can’t have this baby. It’s not right to spend your life like I did, wasting away,” Alice continued.

Realizing his wife wasn’t going to change her mind and may even cut out Caroline from their lives just for making her own choices, Daniel left the room to pack his bags. He called his daughter and asked her to meet him somewhere.

They got a hotel room for the night, and soon enough, Daniel rented a small apartment for them, assuring Caroline that he would be there to support her as much as possible. Caroline was so grateful to him.

Daniel filed for divorce soon after, although Alice tried several times to talk him out of it. He refused to listen because she refused to apologize to their daughter.

As a result of the divorce, they had to sell their house, which they acquired after getting married. The amount was divided in half, but Daniel had to pay Alice alimony since she had never worked.

He was okay with that. Money didn’t mean anything to him. All he wanted was to be there for his daughter and his future grandchild. As far as he knew, Alice had to rent an apartment and live alone.

Months went by, and Caroline gave birth to a son, Matthew, and Daniel was there with her through the entire experience, which was just as lovely as when she was born.

More time passed, and he started posting updates of their days with the baby. Thanks to his support, Caroline transferred to a university in Orlando and began attending night classes while Daniel watched the baby after work.

At some point, Alice finally reached out. She wanted contact with them and to meet her grandson, but Caroline didn’t want to communicate at all with her.

“Dad, she kicked me out of the house. All because she couldn’t accept the choices I made for my life,” she explained.

“I support you 100%. This is entirely your choice, and she is no longer my wife,” Daniel replied, shrugging his shoulders and focusing once again on playing with Matthew.

***

When Alice finished reading her daughter’s message on Facebook declining her request, a tear slid from her eyes. But she wiped it away quickly. Her ego didn’t want to acknowledge everything she had done wrong. She looked up from her laptop, stared at the simple apartment she was renting, and she didn’t recognize her life anymore.

Her house used to be warm and happy. Her daughter used to call her often, asking for advice. And Daniel was a strong pillar, unfailing in his efforts as a support system. She had lost them both and, as a result, everything.

It seemed like she would never meet her grandson, all because she reacted so badly at first. She wished she had measured her words carefully and apologized in time to stop all of this. But sometimes, you don’t get a second chance.

What can we learn from this story?

• All actions have consequences, so think carefully before doing anything you’ll regret. Alice kicked her daughter out of the house and lost everything important in life. She would have to live with that regret forever.
• You can only guide your children, but they should get to make decisions over their life. Caroline was sure of her choices when she told her parents about having the baby, but Alice wanted to control her and make her do something against her wishes. That reaction backfired and ruined their relationship for good.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a woman who didn’t know she was pregnant until her labor started in an elevator.

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