An old man thinks he’s going to die soon, so on his 101st birthday, he calls the police so he won’t be alone. The man has no idea that his life will change forever after that day.
Frank, who was 101, sat at his dinner table and stared blankly at the cake he had bought from a bakery nearby. Even though no one was there to greet him on his birthday, when he woke up that morning, he was confident that he would still be happy and not complain about it.
But just a few minutes after getting ready, Frank felt like he was all alone. He sighed and looked around his house with sadness, worried that this might be his last birthday and he wouldn’t be there for the next one. All of his friends had gone to heaven, and his neighbors were too busy with their own lives to join him in celebrating.
Frank finally got up from the table and went to his kitchen cabinet to get a set of candles. He planned to blow them out and cut the cake by himself. Then he looked at his phone, and an idea came to him.
He wasn’t sure about his idea, so he asked himself, “Should I?” He finally decided to give it a try and called 911.
“I really wanted to celebrate my birthday, but I ended up calling the police. Would you be there to cut the cake?”
“911. “What’s the matter?” “Why?” asked the dispatcher.
Frank was unsure. “Ugh, well, my name is Frank Williams, and I’m 101…”
“Okay, sir.” How can we help you?” The man asked for more information.
“I’m alone today, and I don’t want to be alone right now, you see.”
“Are you in any danger, sir? We know where you are and can send a unit right away. Can you tell us more about what’s going on with you?”
Frank finally said, “It’s my birthday, and I’d like to spend it with someone. I know it’s not really an emergency, but I didn’t know who else to call. I beg you. Help me, please!”
The phone went silent all of a sudden, and Frank could just barely hear whispers.
“All right, sir. I’ll put you in touch with one of our responders. The unit is already moving. When he got back to the call, the man said, “Please stay calm.” Then, on the other end of the line, a woman’s voice came through.
“Please don’t worry, sir. This is Woods, an officer. The woman told Frank, “We got your address, and my coworker and I will be there right now.”
“The fact is…” Frank was about to say something, but his battery died and the call ended, leaving the phone silent. Officers decided to go to the address as soon as possible because they thought the worst. They knew they couldn’t wait any longer.
While he waited, Frank wondered if the officers would really come and stay with him for his birthday. He might have thought that being alone on his 101st birthday was dangerous because he thought he wouldn’t live much longer, but would the police think the same?
After a few minutes, Frank’s doorbell finally went off. He limped to the door, leaning on his cane for support, and saw two officers waiting on his porch.
“My name is Reese Woods, and this is my partner, Officer Simon Caldwell,” the woman said as she showed her badge. “Some time ago, we got a call. How are you doing?”
Frank nodded. “You see, I really wanted to celebrate my birthday, and I ended up calling the police. My daughter was also a police officer once, and she died trying to save a child. I know that this job has some problems, but my daughter used to tell me that the police always protect and serve the people. I’m hoping you’ll stay for my cake cutting….”
As Frank said that, Simon scowled. “Reese, I told you it was a bad idea! Do we have to really stay for this? We should be doing something else!”
But Reese didn’t care about what Simon said. “Sure, sir. I’d be happy to. Yes, you did the right thing by calling us. We protect and serve our citizens, and part of that is making sure that their birthdays are celebrated. “Are we allowed in?”
Frank smiled through his tears and said, “Oh, please, please do.”
Frank led the officers through the living room to the dining table, where he finally blew out the candles on his cake and cut it while the two officers sang “Happy Birthday.”
Frank thanked them with tears in his eyes and gave them big pieces of cake. Then he asked them to stay a little longer with him while he went to make them some tea in the kitchen.
“All of this isn’t necessary! We’re running late!” Simon muttered, trying to hide how angry he was, and Reese gave him a hard look.
“That’s just rude, Simon,” she said in a whisper. “He’s an old man living alone. It is our job to take care of the elderly, women, and every other citizen, so stop being mean!”
Simon didn’t have any other choice, so he agreed to stay with Reese.
Frank brought tea and cookies to the officers and started telling his story. Simon wasn’t interested in hearing it. But he didn’t have any other choice.
Frank said, “My wife and I only had one daughter.” He looked at Reese and said, “She was our world, and she was a beautiful officer just like you.” “But God had different plans. He left her too quickly.
“When my daughter died, my wife couldn’t take the sadness anymore and left soon after. Since then, I’ve been by myself. I know Officer Caldwell doesn’t want to be here, but I’d like to thank him anyway… Officers, thank you so much. Because of you, I had someone to celebrate my birthday with. Now, I’ll be ready to go home whenever God calls me. “Thank you,” he said as tears came to his eyes.
Simon saw that Frank looked sad when he said that, and he felt bad about how he’d acted before. Before leaving Frank’s house that day, the two officers wished him a happy birthday again and said they were sorry. But that wasn’t the end of the story.
After celebrating Frank’s birthday with him, Reese would bring her kids Mia and John to see him from time to time. Her kids liked hanging out with old Frank because he always told them his daughter’s exciting cop stories and spoiled them with pizza and coke.
They became so fond of Frank that they started calling him “Grandpa.” “Mommy, Grandpa Frank is the best!” 5-year-old Mia would always tell Reese. “He tells us stories and gets us good food!”
Old Frank had a lot of happiness in his last years because of how kind Reese was. When he died at age 102, after celebrating another birthday with Reese and her family, he gave her his house. Reese turned it into a place for older people.