They steered clear of her front yard and never offered her any baked goods and juices they sold every summer, which other neighbors happily supported. One day, Amanda went to the grocery store. There, she met Jane, a 50-year-old neighbor whom she hadn’t spoken to. Jane was at one of the aisles, looking at junk food. “We shouldn’t be eating that kind of junk now that we’re older,” Amanda told her. Jane politely smiled and told her that her household always had chips available at home for their guests. Amanda shook her head and told her which ones to buy. “Then at least go for the organic ones,” she said, pointing at those she thought were better.Amanda always thought she knew best, and the entire neighborhood knew it. So instead of arguing with her to mind her own business, Jane thanked her for her suggestions.Coincidentally, Amanda and Jane met again at the checkout counter. There, Amanda decided to invite Jane to their book club. “You must get bored on the weekends. You should join our book club,” she said, handing out a flyer. Jane smiled and accepted. “Sure. I’ll see you on Saturday,” she said as she took her grocery bags and left the store. Amanda was pleased that she had recruited another member to their club. That weekend, Jane showed up. The routine at the book club would always be the same: they’d talk about a book for an hour, eat sandwiches and drink tea for another hour, and chatter the night away.Jane showed up for another two weeks before she started to be absent. Amanda couldn’t believe that Jane would pass on the opportunity to join their book club. What appalled her even more, was that Jane didn’t answer her phone whenever she called.A month had passed, and Jane was still nowhere to be found. Irked that her need for order was disrupted, Amanda asked the other women if they’d seen Jane. “Is she out of the country or something?” The women replied that they didn’t know where Jane was, as they had not heard from her since they last saw her. Amanda shrugged off the thought and carried on with her life until one day, she decided to walk outside for a breath of fresh air. She saw Jane walking down the street, caressing her round belly with her hand.The following day, Amanda couldn’t wait to tell the book club members what she’d seen. “I swear that Jane is pregnant!” she blurted out immediately. Another woman chimed in, saying she also saw Amanda that week and that her belly looked big. Amanda shook her head.”At her age, she should be babysitting her grandchildren, not giving birth! It’s disgusting!” Amanda said, judging Jane behind her back.”Tell me about it,” another elderly woman said. “What’s the baby going to call her? Grandma? Imagine going to parent-teacher conferences with gray hair while all the other moms are in their thirties.”At that comment, the book club members laughed in agreement.”Who would want a child from her?” Amanda laughed mockingly. A couple of days later, Amanda saw Jane at the grocery store. She was standing near a food shelf caressing her round belly with her hand. Amanda rushed to Jane with a burning interest to learn the name of her baby’s father. Before getting to her question, she decided to poke fun at Jane, who was looking at a shelf of peanuts. “You know, pregnant women shouldn’t eat peanuts. It can cause allergies!” Amanda scoffed as she got closer. Jane turned to her calmly. “I’m not allergic to peanuts, and my doctor told me I’m completely healthy. I do have the go signal to eat peanuts,” she replied.”It doesn’t matter! You’re putting a child in danger. You’re so selfish,” Amanda said without hiding her annoyance. As Jane was about to respond, she suddenly felt sick. She covered her mouth with her hand and ran to the nearby toilet. “Ugh. Disgusting. That’s why women your age shouldn’t be having babies!” Amanda called after her. Suddenly, Jane’s daughter appeared with her husband. “What’s the matter? Why are you yelling at my mom?!” she asked. “I was teaching your mom a lesson. She is very selfish to be buying junk food while pregnant. She is putting the baby in danger,” Amanda said. “Besides, how can she even sleep around? Isn’t she a widow?” Jane’s daughter was appalled. “First of all, ma’am, with all due respect, my mom’s pregnancy is none of your business,” she said. “But since you are all up in her business, the truth is, I’ve been trying to get pregnant for two years, but each pregnancy ended in a miscarriage. I tried surgery, I tried IVF, but nothing helped. The doctor said our chances were zero to none. Adoption was not something I wanted to do…” Jane’s daughter explained.Jane had just stepped out of the bathroom when she heard her daughter confronting Amanda. She decided to step in and continue the story. “I offered to be a surrogate mother for my daughter, so she and her husband could have the child they dreamed of. This is my daughter, Billie, and her husband, Timothy Watson,” she said. Amanda was stunned and immediately felt embarrassed for how she had acted in the past couple of months. What stunned her even more was hearing Billie’s husband’s name. “Timothy Watson…” Amanda muttered as if trying to recall where she heard the name from. Then it hit her. Timothy Watson was the heir of a multi-million-dollar corporation in their state, particularly the one Amanda used to work in.”I’m so sorry,” she immediately said. “I didn’t know that Jane gave you such a wonderful gift by having your baby. Really, I’m sorry.””You don’t have to apologize to me,” Billie said. Then she looked at her mom, hoping Amanda got the message. “I’m sorry I judged you without knowing your story, Jane. I hope you can forgive me,” Amanda said in tears. She had been put in her place, and it taught her a valuable lesson about minding her own business. Jane forgave her, and Amanda vowed to be better. When Jane gave birth, Amanda was the first to visit her at the hospital after her daughter and son-in-law. Amanda made sure to ask if Jane needed any help, and she aided in her recovery by taking care of the baby every time she visited Jane’s house. In the end, Amanda changed her ways, and she became good friends with Jane.
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