A bus driver mocks a breastfeeding mom on his route, only to be stunned when she’s greeted by his estranged son at the next stop. Keith, the driver, had been grumbling the whole ride, visibly annoyed when the woman began to nurse her baby. “Hey, lady! You can’t do that here!” he shouted. The mother, unfazed, calmly responded, “Yes, I can. I’m feeding my baby.”
Irritated, Keith glanced at the passengers, hoping for backup, but most avoided eye contact. As the bus moved on, he muttered under his breath, louder with each turn. “No decency left anymore. Just pulling out your bosom in front of strangers,” he grumbled. He even mocked the mother, questioning where her husband was and why nobody had taught her better. His frustration festered as he kept driving, casting judgmental glances through the rearview mirror.
As the bus approached the next stop, the woman stood to leave. Keith was still fuming, muttering to himself about how the world had changed for the worse. The doors hissed open, and just as she stepped off, Keith’s heart skipped a beat. Waiting for her on the sidewalk was a familiar figure. A man in a wheelchair, looking up at her with a warm smile.
Keith’s heart dropped. It was his son, Daniel.
He hadn’t seen Daniel in years, not since he was sent to prison. In that time, he’d lost touch with everyone—his son, his former life, everything. And now, in an instant, it all came flooding back. The woman he had spent the last half hour criticizing was his daughter-in-law, and the baby she held was his grandson. The realization was like a punch to the gut, and Keith’s smug superiority quickly turned to shame.
He watched, frozen, as Daniel wheeled closer to his wife, his face lighting up as she bent down to kiss him. Keith’s eyes welled up as he struggled to process what he was seeing. Daniel had been fine the last time Keith saw him—seven years ago. Now, his son was in a wheelchair, and Keith had no idea what had happened or how long Daniel had been like this.
The bus pulled away from the stop, but Keith couldn’t concentrate. His mind was spinning with questions and regret. Memories of his past choices, his life before prison, flooded his mind. He had made so many mistakes, chasing easy money, falling into the wrong crowd, and ultimately losing his family. He had justified it all back then, telling himself he was doing it for them, for a better life. But in the end, it had cost him everything.
As Keith continued his route, the pain of what he had just witnessed gnawed at him. He had missed so much. His son had a family of his own now, and Keith hadn’t been there to see it. Worse, he had unknowingly mocked and belittled them. The guilt was overwhelming, and his hands shook on the wheel.
When his shift finally ended, Keith sat in the empty bus, staring at the steering wheel, lost in thought. He knew he couldn’t let this moment slip away. He had to find a way to reach out to Daniel, to apologize, to make amends—if that was even possible.
But the hardest part was knowing that while he had driven away from them that day, his son might not be so quick to forgive him for driving away from their family all those years ago.