Monica told her mother, Vivienne, that she was engaged to a new man named Zach. The older woman couldn’t believe it, mainly because he was not wealthy, so she decided to dress up as a poor woman and investigate. She couldn’t have been more shocked at the scene she found in Zach’s house.
Vivienne’s daughter, Monica, had just stormed out of her house. They had a massive argument over Monica’s announcement. She was going to marry a man named Zach. Vivienne couldn’t believe it because she had no idea her daughter had broken up with her boyfriend, Anthony.
Anthony’s family wasn’t as wealthy as Monica’s family, but they were respected in the high society of Hartford. Vivienne dreamed of his daughter marrying well and never worrying about money. However, it seemed that Monica’s new man did not come from money at all. He lived in the small town of Mystic. Moreover, he was a fisherman, and his parents worked blue-collar jobs their entire lives.
For Illustration Purposes only. | Source: Pexels
That won’t do. She can’t marry him! Vivienne thought, trying to calm her rapidly-beating heart after the fight with Monica.
“I can’t marry Anthony, Mother! He cheated on me with at least three women in just two months! Do you want me to be miserable?!” Monica had asked in tears.
“That can’t be true!” Vivienne yelled back, and that’s when Monica decided to storm out of the house.
Vivienne sat in her living room and thought about what to do. She had to fix this somehow. If Anthony was really a cheater, it made sense that Monica became attracted to someone outside their society. But what if this Zach was with her for her family’s money? Men could be gold-diggers too.
She had to check out Zach without her daughter. It had to be a scenario where he was forced to act as himself and not the version he wanted Monica to see, so she came up with a plan.
The following day, Vivienne took a taxi and arrived in Mystic, Connecticut, wearing the most horrible clothes she could find in her old boxes. She wore a stained skirt which she purposely ripped on one side and a sweater that smelled like mothballs. It was perfect. She would see Zach and observe how he acted around regular people.
Luckily, Mystic was such a small town that everyone apparently knew where Zach lived. Vivienne just asked a lady at the local grocery store, and she pointed her in the general direction.
For Illustration Purposes only. | Source: Unsplash
She reached his house, which was worse than Vivienne could’ve imagined. It looked run down and had an unkempt garden. She saw beer bottles and cigarette buds lying around as she approached the front door. Monica has never seen this house before, Vivienne thought, convinced of it. There’s no way her daughter would’ve fallen for a man who lived like this.
She wanted to run but had to get this done, so she raised her finger and rang the doorbell. A man with a gray, sweat-stained shirt answered the door. He was clearly in his 20s. This had to be Zach. He had a bottle of beer in his hand and an unshaven face.
“Yeah?” the man said.
“Oh, hello,” Vivienne began tentatively. Now that she was there, she had no idea how to talk to him or what to say to discover what kind of personality he had.
“Lady, what do you want?” the man continued irately now.
“I’m sorry. I was wondering if you could help me. I’m a bit lost,” she finally blurted. “Are you Zach?”
“Yeah, that’s me. What do you want?” Zach asked and belched. Vivienne couldn’t help looking disgusted, and he laughed.
Suddenly, a woman started yelling from inside the house. “Zach! Where did you put my lighter? You’re always losing stuff! YOU IDIOT!”
Zach turned from Vivienne and started shouting at the woman. “I’m the idiot? I’M THE IDIOT! You’re the one that loses everything as soon as it gets here. I don’t know where you put it! Don’t blame it on me!”
For Illustration Purposes only. | Source: Pexels
“I can’t believe I’m still with someone like you! I’m going to leave you tonight!” the woman screamed some more, and Vivienne heard the distinct sound of breaking glass. She raised a hand to her chest.
“THE DAY YOU LEAVE WILL BE THE BEST OF MY LIFE, CRAZY WOMAN!” Zach snapped loudly and turned back to look at Vivienne. “Look, lady. Get to the point. I’m busy.”
“That’s your girlfriend?” Vivienne breathed. It was the only thing that came to her mind after that horrible display. These people were awful.
“None of your business, old woman. Now, go away,” he bellowed and slammed the door in her face. Vivienne jumped as the door closed and couldn’t believe her daughter was actually dating that man.
This is awful. Monica was not only going to get her heart broken again, but this man was clearly abusive and dangerous to women in general. Vivienne had to stop it. But first, she had to go back to Hartford, which meant finding a taxi in this small town.
She started walking the streets and noticed the other houses around the block. They were old and tiny, just like Zach’s, but others maintained them. At least, not everyone was bad in this area. They were covered in snow this time of the year. Suddenly, a woman came out of one of the houses, saw Vivienne, and waved.
Vivienne smiled and waved back, not knowing what else to do. The woman started walking towards her. She was around her age and had the kindest smile in the world.
“Hey, there! Do you need help? Are you lost?” the woman asked.
For Illustration Purposes only. | Source: Pexels
“Oh, no. Don’t worry about it. I just need to find a taxi and go home,” Vivienne answered and tried to walk away. But the woman wouldn’t let her.
“Wait. I’m Georgia. It’s getting really cold out here, and sometimes, it’s hard to find a taxi on the main road. Come inside, and I’ll call one for you,” she suggested.
“I’m Vivienne. Nice to meet you. That’s such a kind offer, but I don’t know….”
“I insist,” the woman continued and urged Vivienne inside.
They chatted a while, and Georgia called the cab company in town. Apparently, all the drivers were busy, and none of them wanted to drive all the way to Hartford.
“Oh, dear. What should I do? I have to get to Hartford tonight,” Vivienne muttered, biting her bottom lip.
“A taxi from here to Hartford is so expensive. Are you sure? Maybe, you can stay here, and tomorrow, you can take the bus,” Georgia noted.
“Oh, it’s alright. Someone else is paying the taxi,” Vivienne lied. “It’s important for me to get home tonight.”
Just then, someone opened the front door and came in. “Hey, Ma!”
It was a handsome man in his 20s who looked remarkably like Georgia with a kind face and smile. Georgia hugged him and introduced him to Vivienne. He was visiting his mother and brought over fresh fish he had caught that day.
“Oh, boy. I meant to ask. Do you know anyone going to Hartford tonight?” Georgia asked her son after stashing the fish in the freezer.
For Illustration Purposes only. | Source: Pexels
The man stood in the middle of the living room and pursed his lips. “Oh, I don’t. Why?”
“Vivienne has to get there tonight, but none of the taxis in town want to take her,” Georgia replied.
“Well, why don’t I take her? I was thinking of going to Hartford this weekend and buying some stuff. But I guess tonight works too,” Georgia’s son offered.
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to put you out. You look tired,” Vivienne muttered, embarrassed.
“Don’t worry about it. Let’s go,” the man insisted and guided Vivienne to his car. It was an old pickup, but he assured her it worked perfectly and would get them to their destination.
They talked during the more-than-one-hour drive to Hartford, and Vivienne was pleasantly surprised by his kind demeanor. Not many people would have offered an older woman a ride just like that, and she hadn’t talked about paying him. He was a kind, hard-working man.
Well, not everyone in that town is as awful as Monica’s new boyfriend. Why couldn’t she meet a boy like this? Vivienne was lost in thought as they entered the city.
“Ma’am. Where exactly are you going? I can take you anywhere,” the man wondered.
“Oh, there’s this gated community…,” Vivienne began, giving him the directions to her area. But she told him to stop at the gates instead of leading him to her house.
For Illustration Purposes only. | Source: Pexels
“Here! Have some money for the ride. It’s what I would’ve paid the taxi,” she said, holding out some cash in her hand and opening the door with her other hand.
“No, no. I couldn’t. I was already coming here anyway,” the man rejected her offer.
Vivienne tried to insist. “Please, take it.”
“No, ma’am. I really couldn’t. I used this ride as an excuse to see my girlfriend, who lives around the area. I should thank you!” the man laughed, and Vivienne joined him.
“Well, then. I appreciate your kindness,” she finally said before getting out of the truck and waving goodbye at the young man.
Oh, I never even asked his name. Jesus, I forgot all my manners, she thought after reaching her house.
Her meeting with Monica’s horrible boyfriend had truly shaken her, but at least, she met some great people that got her home safely. Obviously, she knew that money wasn’t everything, and many average folks were great people. But her daughter had made a colossal mistake.
Why couldn’t she have picked someone like Georgia’s son? He was pretty nice, Vivienne thought as she changed out of the old clothes and into her pajamas.
For Illustration Purposes only. | Source: Pexels
Suddenly, her phone pinged with a message. It was Monica. She said that she was bringing her boyfriend for dinner tomorrow night and hoped Vivienne would be nice.
“Oh, dear. I’m going to have to break your heart tomorrow. But you definitely can’t marry that man,” she muttered out loud, looking intently at her phone.
The following night, Vivienne was worried. Her daughter’s car had just pulled into her driveway, and Zach was coming with her. She had no idea how to explain what she did yesterday and how she ended up at that man’s house. But Monica would have to see reason. That horrible man was sweaty, rude, and had a girlfriend.
There was a knock on the front door, and Vivienne breathed deeply to gather her courage. She was about to start a huge fight with that man, and Monica had to listen to her. But when the older woman opened the door, her mouth dropped. No arguments or screams came out — just a tiny squeak.
“Mom?” Monica asked, frowning at her mother.
The man standing beside her was not that sweaty Zach she had met the previous day. It was Georgia’s son!
For Illustration Purposes only. | Source: Pexels
“Ma’am?” the man asked and looked at Monica with a confused expression. “This is your mother? I gave her a ride from Mystic last night.”
“What? Mom, what were you doing at Mystic?” Monica wondered, placing her hand on her waist.
“Oh, dear. Come in! Come in! This is your boyfriend, Zach?” Vivienne inquired as she guided them inside quickly, breathing heavily. She was ecstatic.
“Yes, Mom. This is Zach. But did you meet him yesterday?” her daughter asked again, refusing to let her change the subject. They both removed their coats, and Vivienne was smiling at them with the most relieved smile in the world.
“Yes, dear. It’s a long story. Sit down…,” she told them and explained everything that happened the day before, including how Zach ended up driving her back to Hartford.
There were two people named Zach in the town of Mystic, and the lady at the store only knew one of them. The rude one. Monica found the whole story hilarious and their original fight had already been forgotten by the time Vivienne finished.
For Illustration Purposes only. | Source: Pexels
The whole night, Vivienne was so friendly to Monica’s Zach. They had dinner and enjoyed a wonderful time. Before the couple left, Vivienne told Monica that she approved and would pay for their wedding if they desired. The older woman never judged Zach for being a fisherman because he treated her daughter like a princess.
Besides, after meeting that sweaty Zach, anyone else was infinitely better.
What can we learn from this story?
- Don’t judge others based on their financial status. Money doesn’t mean anything in the end. Some horrible people have tons of money, and some of the greatest might be working paycheck to paycheck.
- Don’t assume you know what’s best for your children. Some parents think they know what would make their kids happy, but that’s not always the case.
Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.
Hurricane Milton Could Be the Most Devastating Storm in 100 Years!
As Hurricane Milton moves toward Florida’s Gulf Coast, people are preparing for what experts say could be the worst storm in over 100 years. With huge storm surges and strong winds expected, the region is on high alert, and evacuation orders are being issued.
Hurricane Milton is gaining strength fast, and experts warn it could be one of the most dangerous storms in recent times. Many areas are already vulnerable due to past storms, increasing the risk of widespread damage and flooding.
Evacuation orders are in place, and officials are urging people to take the storm seriously and prepare for life-threatening conditions. Safety is the main focus as the storm approaches, and the next few days will be crucial for those in its path.
### Hurricane Milton: A Record-Breaking Storm
Hurricane Milton has grown into a Category 5 storm, one of the most dangerous types on the Saffir-Simpson scale. With winds over 157 mph, it could cause massive destruction along its path.
The National Hurricane Center warns that homes could be destroyed, trees and power lines will fall, and some places might not be livable for weeks or even months. They said, “A high percentage of framed homes will be destroyed, with total roof failure and wall collapse.”
Storm surges could be especially bad, with water levels rising up to 12 feet in some areas. This could be the worst surge the Tampa Bay area has seen in nearly 100 years. Just weeks ago, Hurricane Helene caused floods with an 8-foot water surge.
Milton is expected to bring even worse flooding. While the storm may weaken to a Category 3 by the time it hits Florida, it will still be dangerous. With winds up to 129 mph, even strong homes could suffer major roof damage, and trees are likely to be uprooted.
Many are comparing Milton to past hurricanes like Irma (2017) and Betsy (1965). But what makes Milton particularly dangerous is the debris left behind by Hurricane Helene, which could worsen the damage.
### Warnings from Officials: The Call to Evacuate
As the hurricane nears, local authorities are giving strong warnings to people in at-risk areas. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor warned, “[If you] stay in one of those evacuation areas, you’re gonna die.”
She said that while past storms like Hurricane Helene were bad, Milton could bring destruction on a whole new level. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri echoed this, calling for the largest evacuation since Hurricane Irma in 2017.
“This is going to be bad. Everyone just needs to get out,” he said. Governor Ron DeSantis also spoke of the risks, saying, “There are areas with a lot of debris… if hit by a major hurricane, it’s going to dramatically increase damage.”
Evacuation orders are in place, and local authorities stress that those who don’t leave will be on their own when the storm hits. Many who stayed behind in past hurricanes are now taking these warnings seriously.
### Evacuation Efforts in Full Swing
With Hurricane Milton approaching Florida’s Gulf Coast, evacuation efforts are in motion. Local authorities have ordered mandatory evacuations for several coastal communities, urging people to leave before it’s too late.
Traffic is heavy on highways as thousands of residents move inland to escape the storm. On Interstate 75, northbound lanes were packed with cars heading toward the Florida Panhandle.
Others sought shelter in places like Fort Lauderdale and Miami, which are expected to be less affected. Meanwhile, southbound lanes were nearly empty. Communities hit hard by past storms aren’t taking chances this time.
In Fort Myers Beach, a town devastated by Hurricane Ian two years ago, streets were empty as residents packed up and left, with only a few people staying behind to secure their homes.
Those who remember the severe flooding caused by Ian’s 15-foot storm surge know the danger is real and are taking steps to avoid a repeat of past tragedies.
As Hurricane Milton nears, people in high-risk areas need to know their evacuation zones and routes. The Florida Division of Emergency Management has a “Know Your Zone” tool, helping residents find their zone by entering their address.
This tool is especially important as evacuation orders continue to come for coastal areas along the Gulf Coast. Several counties are advising residents to check both their evacuation and storm surge zones.
Counties like Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee, and Pasco have issued immediate evacuation orders for areas most at risk. Coastal communities in these regions must evacuate quickly.
Other counties, like Polk and Highlands, don’t have mandatory evacuations but recommend sheltering in place. Sarasota, Citrus, and Hernando counties are also monitoring storm surge zones for possible evacuations.
Officials emphasize the importance of knowing your evacuation zone and finding the nearest shelters and safe routes. Those who stay may face the full force of the storm, with emergency services likely unavailable once conditions worsen.
The “Know Your Zone” map offers an easy way for residents to plan their safest escape route. By using this resource and acting quickly, people can protect themselves and their families from Hurricane Milton’s potential devastation.
Leave a Reply