Jake Barlow was sure he had found the love of his life, and he couldn’t wait to marry Kim Tyrell. Jake had been orphaned at a very young age and was raised by his grandparents.

He wanted a big family, a loving family, with lots of children, and so did Kim.  Like Jake, she too had been orphaned very young and raised by her grandparents.

They were a perfect fit — or so Jake thought until he introduced Kim to his grandparents.

Jake met Kim at MIT, which was weird because he later realized their families lived three streets away from each other in their small Montana town — but they had never met.

Jake and Kim dated all through graduation but they had both agreed to only meet each other’s family if things were serious so there would be no bad feelings in the relatively small community.

You can’t build a life on malice and rage.

But when graduation came around, Jake popped the question, which was lucky because a few weeks later, Kim discovered she was pregnant. Jake decided to break the news to his grandparents.

“Grandma, grandpa,” Jake said. “I have some news for you! A Seattle tech company made me a really great offer, and I’ll be taking them up on it.”

“Jake…” said his grandmother, Cara. “You’re moving to Seattle…All ALONE! That will be so lonely.”

“Actually,” Jake said. “I’m getting married to Kim.”

“Married!” cried Grandpa Kevin. “But we never met your girlfriend.”

“But I’ve been talking about her for the last three years!” Jake protested.

“We want to meet her, Jake!” Grandmother Cara said firmly. “Where is she from?”

“Right here,” Jake said. “A couple of blocks away. Look!” Jake fished out a photo of Kim with her grandmother and passed it to his grandmother. Grandma Cara turned snow white and quickly handed the photo back before Jake’s grandfather could see it.

“Bring her to dinner tomorrow night,” she said. “And we’ll see about this wedding thing.”

That sounded a bit ominous to Jake but he decided that his grandmother, who was terribly protective, was just going through a bit of separation anxiety. As soon as she met Kim she’d love her, he was sure. But he was so wrong…

The next evening, Jake brought Kim over and introduced her to his grandparents. Things went wrong from the word ‘go.’ Grandma Cara was ice-cold and rude to Kim who kept looking over at Jake with a bewildered look on her face.

Jake frowned a warning at his grandmother but she just ignored him. Grandpa Kevin kept staring at Kim and asked her surname after which he kept very quiet. Jake couldn’t remember a more awkward or uncomfortable evening.

Things got worse after Jake came back home from walking Kim over to her house. His grandmother was waiting for him. “I want you to call off this engagement,” she said. “This girl is all wrong for you.”

“You don’t even know her! Jake exclaimed.

“I know her family, and they are trash!” Grandma Cara screamed. “Trash, do you hear me? She and her mother and her grandmother are trash!”

Jake jumped up. “I love you, Grandma Cara,” he cried. “But I will not allow you to talk about Kim or her family like that!”

But Grandma Cara had turned into a woman Jake didn’t even recognize. Her face was swollen and red, and thick tendons stood out in her neck. “Her grandmother ruined my life!” she screamed. “I won’t let her ruin yours!”

Grandpa Kevin ran in. “What on earth is going on, Cara?” he asked. “Why are you screaming?”

“Do you know who that cheap piece is?” asked Cara furiously. “She’s the granddaughter of YOUR cheap piece, Tracy! Yes! I knew all about her, so you can stop pretending!”

Grandpa Kevin looked shocked. “Tracy’s grandaughter?” he whispered. “I… I haven’t seen her in nearly 50 years, Cara. This girl has done nothing to you. She doesn’t deserve your hate.”

“What is going on?” asked Jake bewildered.

Cara didn’t answer. She turned around and screamed: “If you marry that girl, you can forget about seeing me or your grandfather ever again!”

“NO!” cried Grandpa Kevin. “I won’t allow you to hurt Jake like this. Listen to me Jake, if you love this girl, marry her. Follow your heart. I didn’t and I’ve regretted it for 50 years!”

“How can you say that?” Cara cried and burst into tears.

“I was unhappy,” Grandpa Kevin said quietly. “I begged you for a divorce, and you told me I’d never see my children again. So I gave up the love of my life. I stayed, Cara. So leave the kids alone!”

Jake married Kim, but Cara wasn’t invited even though Grandpa Kevin was the best man. At the reception, Kim and Jake announced the pregnancy, and Kim’s grandmother finally told Kevin the truth.

“Fifty years ago, your wife came to see me,” Tracy confessed. “She told me she was pregnant, and that I was only one of your many lovers. So… I didn’t tell you I was pregnant.

“Kim is our son’s daughter. Jake and Kim are half cousins. I should have told you before. I’m sorry.”

Grandpa Kevin started crying. “I never even knew my son,” he sobbed. “I would have stayed with you…”

Tracy shook her head. “I could never have taken my happiness at the expense of someone else’s. It was better this way — and now we are family.”

Cara was devastated to be left out of her grandson’s life, and when Kevin flew to Seattle to be there for the baby’s birth, she begged to be allowed to go along. Fifty years too late, she apologized to Kevin.

When she held her grandchild in her arms for the first time, Cara wept. “I’m sorry,” she whispered to Kim. “So many years and so much bitterness, and this is the sweetest moment of my life. Thank you.”

What can we learn from this story?

• You can’t build a life on malice and rage. Cara had held on to her husband through blackmail and deception, and fifty years later, the truth came out.
• Making someone choose between two loves is the greatest of cruelties. Cara was so focused on her revenge that she didn’t think about her grandson’s happiness.

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