Jerry and Carl were twin brothers who impatiently waited for their dad Bruce’s inheritance. One day, they were tired of taking care of him and sent him over to a nursing home. But that decision would backfire on them.
“Dude, let’s just take dad to the nursing home. How much longer do we have to wait for our inheritance? I’m so tired of taking care of him,” Jerry told his twin brother Carl. They had been taking turns taking their father in six months each year.
Their father, Bruce Walsh, was a retired 78-year-old businessman who made a considerable fortune. His sons have always dreamt of inheriting his business, but Bruce was not confident in their skills, so his right-hand, Patrick, ran the business while his sons held managerial positions.
Bruce had been living with his two sons ever since his wife Debbie passed away. He asked them to take him in because he initially did not want to live alone. At first, Jerry and Carl happily agreed, as this meant more time to prove to their father that they should get his entire inheritance when he passed.
However, Bruce came to realize that he should have just chosen to live alone, as that way, his activities and dealings would not be restricted. As soon as he moved in, Jerry and Carl started requesting extravagant things and even large amounts of money for “investments.”
Bruce felt abandoned by his family while he was at the nursing home. | Photo: Pexels
It was clear to Bruce that his children only spent time with him whenever they had requests, so he thought of a way to safe-keep his assets. One day, he asked his right-hand man to become his conservator. This meant that only Patrick had access to his large chunk of funds, and that’d only change once Bruce passed away.
When Jerry and Carl found out, they were furious. They demanded that the conservatorship be transferred to one of them, but Bruce refused. “There is no need for that. Here is a bank account wherein you can withdraw money for the expenses you’re incurring because of me living here,” Bruce said, handing them a passbook.
Jerry and Carl were not convinced. Though the account had a considerable amount of money in it, they knew their father had so much more. One day, they decided to kick him out.
“Dad,” they sat Bruce down one day. “Carl and I have decided to put you in a nursing home,” Jerry said.
Bruce was shocked at their decision. “Why? I have not given you any trouble in the past. Why are you kicking me out now?” he asked.
“Well, we just think it’s finally time our families had a little privacy. We want our houses to ourselves without having to worry about you. And besides, a nursing home would be good for you. They’d be able to take care of you better,” Carl chimed in.
Bruce was hurt. He never thought his children would abandon him as many other children did to their elderly parents. After all, he would stay inside his room the entire day and only come out to eat.
“We’ve already paid for the nursing home fees in full. They’re coming to pick you up tonight,” Jerry said before leaving the room.
Bruce felt helpless. Even if he wanted to buy his own house, he did not have access to his own money. He didn’t even have his own cellphone because his sons didn’t think he needed one.
In the end, he agreed to be taken to the nursing home. If his sons didn’t want him in their homes, then maybe he’d find company elsewhere.
He was taken away in a van to a nursing home in the suburbs that night. His first day there was very sad for him, and he couldn’t help but cry. In his mind, he spoke to his late wife, Debbie.
Our sons have abandoned me, Debbie. I don’t like it here. It’s cold, lonely, and it reminds me that I probably don’t have much time to spend on earth any longer, he thought to himself.
Growing up, Bruce’s goal was to earn enough money to live comfortably. However, he was so good at what he did that he was able to grow his business into an empire, and it allowed him and his family to live comfortably and enjoy some luxuries.
However, he realized that instead of inspiring his sons to work hard, enjoying luxuries so early in life made them complacent and lazy. They knew they always had their dad to run to at the end of the day.
Bruce was surprised to see someone enter the room who looked exactly like his sons. | Photo: Pexels
As days passed, Bruce realized that his children didn’t even bother putting him in a nice nursing home. They had settled for the cheapest one, and it showed.
His nurse was a young woman who didn’t take care of him. She would drop off his food on the table and immediately leave the room, as she was preoccupied with her cellphone most of the time.
So, Bruce would find ways to amuse himself. He would read books, take walks in the garden, or draw. One day, while he was enjoying a book inside his room, a janitor asked if he could come in.
Bruce was surprised to see the man who looked exactly like his sons. “Jerry? What is this, a prank? What are you doing here?” he asked.
Bruce and Steve started to talk. | Photo: Pexels
The man looked completely puzzled and checked Bruce’s file by the door to see whether or not he had Alzheimer’s disease. “Umm, my name is Steve, Mr. Walsh. I’m working as a janitor here. Is anything wrong?” he asked.
“No. Steve, do you happen to have a phone? Do you think I can make a call?” Bruce asked.
“I do have a phone. Sure! I know how lonely it can get here. You can use my phone to call your family,” Steve said, getting his phone out of his pocket.
“Thank you, son,” he said. He then looked through his phonebook for Jerry and Carl’s numbers.
“Jerry?” he said after he picked up. “Dad, Carl and I are at work. He told me to tell you not to call him,” Jerry said quickly.
“I wanted to tell you something,” Bruce started, but Jerry cut him off. “I can’t talk right now. I’ll talk to you some other time,” he said before putting down the phone.
Bruce was determined to find out whether or not Steve was his son. | Photo: Pexels
Bruce was saddened, but he expected to be shut out by his sons. He knew they only wanted something to do with him because of his money. He handed Steve his phone, and the janitor felt sad for Bruce. “Your nurse doesn’t spend time with you at all, and it shows,” he said as he cleaned up.
“She doesn’t, but it’s fine. I can manage. How old are you?” Bruce responded. He couldn’t help but ask.
“I’m 44! How about you, Mr. Walsh?” Steve replied. Bruce’s eyes widened. Carl and Jerry were 44 as well. He was suddenly curious about the coincidence that he wanted to get to know Steve some more.
“My twin sons are 44 too! That’s nice. It’s nice to meet you, Steve,” Bruce smiled. Steve communicated with Bruce with great enthusiasm. He started frequenting Bruce’s room, and they would talk about things that interested them.
It turns out they had a lot in common. They were both huge fans of the Boston Red Sox, and they both used to play basketball when they were younger.
Bruce loved spending time with Steve, and Steve started to see Bruce as a father figure as well. Knowing that nursing home food could be quite repetitive, Steve would bring Bruce some home-cooked meals that they enjoyed together.
One day, Bruce took Steve’s glass and hid it. He had a hunch that Steve was his son, and he wanted to prove it. “Steve, can I borrow your phone? I just need to make one phone call,” Bruce asked one day.
“Of course! I’ll leave my phone with you for a moment. I’m just going to head out and clean a couple more rooms,” Steve said, handing him the phone.
Bruce proceeded to call his right-hand, Patrick. He asked him to visit to get the glass along with his DNA sample so that he could take it to the lab and do a test.
A paternity test was conducted to see if Bruce and Steve were related. | Photo: Pexels
“It’s so strange, Patrick, but I think I have another son. I don’t know how it happened, but there’s a guy who works here at the nursing home who looks exactly like Jerry and Carl, and he is also 44 years old. Just do this for me, please,” he pleaded.
“Of course, Bruce. Anything for you. I’ll be right there,” Patrick responded. True enough, after an hour, Patrick made it to the nursing home. He got the samples and promised Patrick he’d be back once he had the results.
A couple of weeks later, Patrick visited Bruce with the news. “Bruce. You were right,” Patrick said, handing him the envelope. The paternity test read that Bruce was Steve’s father.
“How could this be? I mean, I had a hunch, but how did this happen?” Bruce asked. Patrick promised to investigate and get to the bottom of the mystery, but Bruce became terminally ill in the process.
“I’m afraid I’m running out of time, Patrick,” he said when his right hand visited him one day. He asked Patrick to take care of a couple of things for him, one of which was his will.
“I’m not sure I can get the investigation results in time, Bruce. For everything else you need me to do, I’m happy to do it,” he said.
That same day, Bruce realized he needed to let Steve know the truth before it was too late. Steve had not been coming as frequently because Bruce’s diagnosis saddened him, but he called him to his room that day.
“I have a story to share with you,” he started. “44 years ago, my wife Debbie gave birth to twins. It was a complicated birth, and she needed to be injected with anesthesia for the birth to take place. When she woke up, we were told that the twins were healthy,” he explained.
Steve listened eagerly, thinking it was just another one of Bruce’s life stories. He was used to them by now.
“I am still having this investigated, but when I first met you, the reason why I thought you were pranking me was that you looked exactly like my twin sons—both of them, Steve. I couldn’t understand how it could happen, but a DNA test confirmed it,” he said, handing him a piece of paper.
Bruce handed Steve a sealed envelope. | Photo: Pexels
Steve quickly opened it and saw a 100% paternity match between his DNA and Bruce’s. “I took one of the glasses you used one day and sent it to the lab. You are my third son, Steve. I am heartbroken to learn this so late in my life,” Bruce said, shedding some tears.
Steve looked at his father and wept. He was heartbroken to know that his newfound dad’s life was about to be cut short and that their days together were numbered. “I’ve always longed for my dad. I grew up knowing my late mom adopted me, but I never thought I would ever find my biological dad,” he sobbed.
For the next couple of weeks, Steve spent as much time as possible with Bruce. They took walks outside, enjoyed meals together, and watched TV together. When Bruce succumbed to his illness, Steve was absolutely heartbroken. He stayed by his father’s side, weeping.
The nursing home had called Bruce’s other sons, Jerry and Carl, but they did not arrive until a couple of hours later. It turned out they went straight to the lawyer’s office to claim their inheritance.
“I’m sorry,” the lawyer told them. “You are not a part of the will, so I cannot disclose anything to you.”
“What do you mean we’re not a part of the will?! We’re his only living heirs! Who else would he give it to?” Carl said, slamming the table in anger.
At that moment, Patrick entered the lawyer’s office. “How dare you two come here before paying your last respects to your father! He’s been dead for hours, and you dare to go straight here!” he said angrily.
Jerry and Carl were furious that they were left with no inheritance. | Photo: Pexels
“It’s only right he didn’t leave you with anything. Maybe if you visited him right now, you’d understand why he chose to do that,” Patrick said furiously.
Carl and Jerry shot him a look before storming out of the office. They drove to the nursing home, where they saw their father’s body being wheeled into an ambulance. There, they saw Steve for the very first time.
“Who are you?” Jerry asked in shock.
“My name is Steve. You might not believe it, but I am your brother,” he said, handing Carl and Jerry a copy of the paternity test.
Carl and Jerry scoffed. “Why would he leave everything to you? You just showed up in his life when he was about to die,” Carl said bitterly.
“I don’t know. I did not even know he had a will,” Steve said. Carl and Jerry didn’t believe him and proceeded to contest the will in court that same week. In the end, their requests were denied.
Meanwhile, Steve went to his aunt to find out what happened 44 years ago.
Steve decided to find out the truth from his aunt. | Photo: Pexels
“I didn’t think I would ever have to tell you this story, Steve, but one day, your mom was crying at a fertility doctor’s office after she was told she couldn’t bear children. A man approached her and introduced himself as a doctor who had just delivered triplets,” she explained.
“The man told your mom that the couple only knew they had two children, but what their previous ultrasound scans did not show was that they had a third baby. She was devastated knowing she couldn’t have kids, and when the doctor offered her one of the babies, she agreed,” his aunt said.
“The doctor told your mom that he could give her a son if she agreed to pay him a large amount of money. Desperate, your mom agreed. I’m sorry you had to hear it this way, Steve. Your mom might not have given birth to you, but she loved you very much. You should know that, at least,” his aunt said to a very shocked Steve.
Steve loved his adoptive mom dearly and thought very highly of her. However, he felt hurt at that moment after realizing she had taken him away from his true family and deprived him of the opportunity to get to know them.
So, he did what he could to honor his late parents. He opened a nursing home to care for the aged using Bruce’s money.
Although his brothers continued to loathe him for not giving them any money, he was able to slowly convince them to work with him on establishing nursing homes in their late parents’ honor.
In the end, Carl and Jerry regretted that they spent most of their time with their father, trying to take advantage of him. Steve made them realize that there was more to life than money and that at the end of the day, family matters more than anything.
What can we learn from this story?
- It is not our parents’ responsibility to leave us with an inheritance. Jerry and Carl were so fixated on the inheritance they expected to receive from Bruce that it tainted their relationship with him.
- Family should matter more than any material thing. Jerry and Carl only put up with their elderly father to get their inheritance. However, they failed to realize that the memories they could have made together as a family would have been worth more than any material thing that money could buy.
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If you liked this story, you might like this one about an old lady who would always give to a beggar despite not having a lot of money herself.
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