A policeman’s son befriends a homeless man and his dog and brings them food every day. Then the dog appears unexpectedly and alerts him to an injustice.At twelve, Brian Devlin was small for his age, and not very athletic. His father, Gary, didn’t really understand his shy, bookish son. His son was nothing like him…
He had been a tall, strapping, boisterous boy, always up to his ears in mischief. Gary tried to build his son’s self-confidence, but the harder he tried, the more Brian seemed to pull away.
Brian was smart, that Gary couldn’t deny, and he had a scholarship at a prestigious private college on the other side of town. The boy was scared of taking a bus, but since the school was close to his work, Gary picked him up every afternoon.
Gary was a desk Sargeant at the local precinct, and by the time his work ended at 5:00 p.m., the school day was long over. In the winter, Brian waited in the library and did his homework. But in the summer, he sat on the school steps and waited for his dad, soaking up the sunshine.
One afternoon, when Gary arrived, Brian wasn’t on the steps. He was outside the school gates petting a dog. Brian looked up at his dad with a happy grin.
Don’t make assumptions about people before you know who they are.
“Look, Dad,” he cried, then he said to the dog, “Dance!”
The dog hopped up onto its back legs and did a little jig, front paws up in the air and its tongue lolling out happily.
“Isn’t that so cool?” the boy asked.
“Yes,” Gary said, surprised by the enthusiasm Brian was showing. “Whose dog is that?”
“It’s Carl’s,” Brain said, and pointed at a man sitting on the pavement and leaning back against the school fence. The man was in his forties and he was clearly homeless.
A ragged bundle of blankets lay on the ground next to him, and he was unshaven. The dog, however, was well cared for. It was a Golden Retriever, and its fur was groomed and gleaming.
The man shrank back when Gary looked at him, so he said to his son, “Come on, now, it’s time to go.”
On the way home, Gary said, “Listen, Brian, I want you to stay away from that man and his dog, OK?”
“Carl’s OK and I love Goblin!” Brian protested.
“Goblin?” Gary asked. “Is that the dog’s name? Well, I’m sure Goblins’ a good dog, but I don’t want you befriending vagrants, Brian. Do you understand?”
“But dad…” Brian protested.
“Not another word,” Gary snapped.
The next day, when Gary came to fetch Brian, the boy was studiously sitting on the steps reading a book, but that night, his wife co
mplained that half a roast chicken was missing.
“I don’t understand!” she cried. “I set it aside to make sandwiches for Brian’s lunch and now it’s gone!”
Gary looked over at Brian and the boy looked so innocent that he was immediately suspicious. Was Brian taking food to school for that vagrant and his dog?
Gary started keeping an eye on the pantry and noticed that tins of sausages kept vanishing. He now knew that his son was stealing so he could feed the dog and the homeless man every day. Gary felt a pang.
His son, who had such difficulty making human friends, had bonded with the dog. It was a pity it belonged to a vagrant, a man who might be dangerous.
Two days later, Gary got off work early and when he arrived at the school, he caught Brian outside the gates. He had a bag in his hand and he was saying: “Hey guys, I have your favorite spaghetti, Carl. And for you boy, your favorite sausages!”
“BRIAN!” he thundered. “What are you doing?”
The boy looked up at him, and for the first time, Gary saw fear in his son’s eyes. Immediately he felt a surge of anger
It was this derelict’s fault that his son was afraid of him! He stepped forward and clenched his fists. “Get away from that man,” Gary shouted. “Get into the car!”
That night, Gary and his wife sat down and talked to Brian about the dangers of befriending strange men. Brian shrugged it off. “Dad, I know about stranger danger and bad touching. Carl is NOT like that, he’s nice. You can tell he’s a good person because Goblin loves him so much, and Goblin’s the BEST, smartest dog.”
“Brian,” Gary said quietly. “I’m sure Goblin’s a great dog, but you know what? Hitler had a great dog and he loved him, and I’m sure the dog loved him back. A good dog does NOT make this vagrant a good person. Please stay away from him, Brian!”
“NO!” shouted Brian, and he pushed back his chair. “Carl is my friend and I love Goblin! Why do you always have to spoil everything? I HATE YOU!”
That night, Gary made a decision. He was going to solve this problem his own way…
That Saturday, Brian woke up early to the sound of anxious barking. He thought sleepily, “That sounds just like Goblin!”
Brain jumped out of bed and looked out of his window. It WAS Goblin, and he was standing on the porch barking anxiously and looking very unhappy.
“Goblin!” Brian cried as he opened the door, and immediately the dog ran to him. Goblin put his head in Brian’s lap and started whining. “What’s wrong, boy? Where’s Carl?”
But the dog just whined and shivered so Brian decided to do something he’d always been afraid to do before — go to his dad’s work and ask for his help.
Gary was stunned when he saw Brian at the precinct with the dog by his side. “Brian!” he gasped. “What are you doing here? How did you get here?”
“Dad!” he cried. “I think something bad happened to Carl. Goblin came looking for me and he’s very scared…” But Goblin wasn’t looking scared, he was looking up at Brian’s dad and growling.
Brian had never heard Goblin growl before. “Dad!” he asked. “What have you done?”
Gary flushed. “Carl was loitering near a school and he was warned off twice, so we arrested him!”
“But dad!” Brain cried. “He did nothing wrong! He’s not well, he needs help…You don’t know anything about him! He’s a veteran and he was in the bomb squad and he worked with sniffer dogs to find explosives. That’s why Goblin’s so well trained. He’s a good man and you arrested him because he’s sick!”
“He’s not SICK!” Gary cried angrily. “He’s a bum!”
Brian had tears in his eyes. “No, dad,” he said softly. “He doesn’t drink or anything, and most of the time he talks to people who aren’t there. He needs help.”
Gary was ashamed of himself, mostly because he couldn’t admit that there was a part of him that was jealous of Carl and his easy friendship with his son.
He did some investigating and discovered that Carl had a sister in a neighboring state who had been looking for him for years. He contacted Carl’s sister and she was overjoyed.
She took Carl home and enrolled him in an outpatient mental health clinic immediately. Goblin went too, of course. Brian missed Carl, but mostly he missed Goblin.
Then one day his dad came home with a big grin on his face and a strange lump under his jacket. He lifted out a wriggling puppy and presented it to Brian. “There you go,” he said. “You have to name him!”
Brian started crying, he was so happy. “Goblin,” he gasped. “His name is Goblin Two!”
What can we learn from this story?
Don’t make assumptions about people before you know who they are. Gary assumed Carl was a drunk and a danger before he knew anything about him.
Kindness and compassion are the greatest of virtues. Brian’s empathy led him to befriend Carl, and he helped him find his way back home.
I Sent My Boyfriend Roses to His Workplace as a Sweet Surprise, but He Threw Them in My Face – I Taught Him a Good Lesson Later
It’s not every day that a man receives a bouquet from his girlfriend. So when I sent roses to my boyfriend’s workplace as a surprise, I thought he would be flustered and happy. The man who greeted me that evening was the exact opposite. The roses ended up in the trash can.
A woman holding roses | Source: FreePik
My boyfriend, Mike, is a mechanic. We’ve been together for about three years, and recently, it felt like the romance was slipping away. I felt like we were stuck in a boring routine, with barely any spark left in our relationship.
A mechanic fixing a car | Source: Pexels
We still loved each other, no doubt. But we were never really present when we were together. Often, we’d end the day in bed, on our phones, with nothing more than a “good night.”
A couple not minding each other | Source: Pexels
I wanted to remind Mike of how much we still love each other, so, one day, I decided to surprise him with a bouquet of roses at work.
I imagined his face lighting up when he saw the card that read, “Just because. Love, your GF.” It was a sweet reminder that I was thinking about him. I sent the flowers to the shop while he was at work, hoping to brighten his day.
A bouquet of roses | Source: Pexels
I waited the whole day for a message from him, thanking me or letting me know he received it. However, nothing came.
That evening, I was so excited to see him. I was practically bouncing with anticipation when he walked through the door. But instead of the smile I expected, he looked furious. Without a word, he threw the roses in my face and then tossed them in the trash.
Roses in a trash can | Source: AmoMama
“Are you kidding me?” he yelled. “Do you know how many jokes I got from the guys today? They teased me non-stop because of those stupid flowers. You embarrassed me!”
A man yelling at a woman | Source: Pexels
My heart shattered into a million pieces. I only wanted to do something nice for him, and here he was, throwing it back in my face – literally. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.
I was hurt and sad, but mostly, I was angry. I was determined to teach Mike a lesson. That night, I stayed up crying and thinking of a plan. By the morning, I knew exactly what I was going to do.
A woman in tears | Source: Pexels
The next day, Mike walked into the shop, expecting another round of teasing from his coworkers. Instead, he found something completely different.
Each of his colleagues and even his boss were holding a single tulip, a homemade cookie, and a thoughtful note. The notes read, “Thank you for being a great colleague/boss for the man I love.”
Tulips and cookies | Source: Pexels
As Mike stood in shock, his coworkers began to smile and greet him. “No one’s ever done anything like this for us,” his buddy Joe said, munching on the cookie. “Your girlfriend’s something special, man.”
“So this is what it feels like to receive flowers. No wonder girls love it,” another coworker said. “If my wife gave me flowers, I’d probably frame them,” a third added.
A mechanic smiling at work | Source: FreePik
His boss, Mr. Thompson, patted him on the back. “You’ve got a keeper, Mike. If she loves you this much, I might need to consider you more seriously for the next promotion. A man who can inspire this kind of trust and affection is someone we can trust with more responsibility.”
A boss showing approval | Source: Pexels
Mike’s face turned red, but this time it wasn’t from anger. He looked around the room, seeing his coworkers not as tormentors, but as people genuinely touched by my gesture. He realized he had let his pride and embarrassment get the better of him, and he had taken it out on the person who loved him the most.
A man thinking | Source: Pexels
As the day went on, the atmosphere in the shop changed. Instead of the usual teasing and ribbing, there was a sense of camaraderie and appreciation. Mike realized that his coworkers weren’t teasing him out of malice, but because they were jealous that he had someone who cared so much about him.
After work, Mike went straight to the jewelry store. He bought a ring, specifically the one he knew I would love. He also stopped by the florist to get a huge bouquet of roses, even bigger than the one I had sent him. He had a lot of making up to do.
A person holding rings | Source: Unsplash
That evening, when I got home from work, I found the bouquet waiting for me with a note: “I’m so sorry. I love you more than words can say. Please meet me at our favorite restaurant tonight. Love, Mike.”
My heart raced as I read the note. I brought out my new dress and put on makeup. I wanted to feel beautiful tonight, knowing that we were finally in a good place.
Bouquet of red roses | Source: Pexels
I quickly got ready and headed to the restaurant, my mind swirling with emotions. When I walked in, there he was, looking nervous but determined. He stood up as I approached and took my hands in his.
“I’m so sorry for how I reacted,” he said, his voice sincere and filled with regret. “You were trying to do something beautiful, and I was horrible to you. I promise I’ll never take you for granted again.” I immediately hugged him with watery eyes.
A woman hugging a man | Source: Pexels
Then, right there in the middle of the restaurant, he got down on one knee and pulled out the ring. “Will you marry me?” he asked. Tears streamed down my face, but this time they were tears of joy. “Yes,” I whispered, nodding my head. “Yes, of course, I will.”
A man proposing | Source: Pexels
The entire restaurant erupted in applause, and for the first time in a long while, I felt that spark again. The romance was back, stronger than ever.
We spent the rest of the evening talking about our relationship and how we could keep the romance alive. We made a pact to surprise each other more often and to always communicate openly about our feelings.
A couple celebrating | Source: Pexels
The next day, Mike’s boss called him into the office. Mr. Thompson had heard about the proposal and was genuinely happy for us. He told Mike that he had been considering him for a promotion and that seeing how loved and supported he was by me had sealed the deal.
“Anyone who can inspire this kind of loyalty and love deserves to be in a leadership position,” Mr. Thompson said. “Congratulations, Mike. You’re getting the promotion.”
Two men shaking hands | Source: FreePik
Mike was over the moon. He came home that evening with a big smile on his face and swept me into his arms. “We did it,” he said. “We’re going to start this new chapter together, and I couldn’t be happier.”
A couple hugging | Source: Pexels
Our relationship has been stronger ever since. We still surprise each other with little gestures of love, and we make sure to communicate openly about everything. That one dramatic incident ended up being a turning point for us, reminding us of the importance of love, respect, and appreciation.
A happy couple having a meal | Source: Pexels
So, if you’re ever feeling like the romance is slipping away, don’t be afraid to do something bold and unexpected. Sometimes, it takes a little drama to reignite the spark and remind each other of how much you care. And who knows, you might just end up with a ring on your finger and a promotion at work.
Mike was not the only person who was taught a valuable lesson by someone close to him. A stepmom to a daughter also learned a thing or two about respect the hard way.
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