Nobody realized Ruby was reaching a fantastic milestone birthday for any human being. She was turning 100, but no one was there to celebrate with her.

Ruby was alone, as she had been most of her life. Ruby had been carrying the weight of an adult since she was eight years old when her father left to serve in the war.

Her mother was a frail and distant lady, and Ruby had been estranged from the rest of the family. «I’ll need you to be a big girl, Ruby,» he said seriously. «You’ll have to be really responsible and watch out for mother, OK?»

«OK, Daddy,» Ruby said, and her childhood was over. Ruby assumed parental responsibility for her mother and four younger siblings.

She couldn’t wait for her father to come back and let her be a kid again, but he never did. The family learnt of their father’s death in war when Ruby was twelve years old.

Daddy would never come back. Mom sobbed and wailed so loudly that the other children were afraid. Mom needed to be injected by a doctor, after which she became quiet and fuzzy again.

Life surprises you with a blessing when you least expect it.
Mom’s government pension was insufficient, and she couldn’t work. Ruby dropped out of school and went to work at a nearby store that sold fabric, threads, buttons, and ribbons — anything you’d need to sew clothes in those hard times.

Ruby was bright and energetic, and she quickly proved useful to the haberdashery’s owner, Mrs. Dorris. Mrs. Dorris, like Mom, was a military widow who was kind to Ruby in her own way.

She’d give Ruby offcuts from the prettiest designs and bits of colorful ribbon every now and then to make herself tiny shift clothes. Ruby used the cloth frequently on her brothers and mother.

Mom had grown even more distant as she got older. Ruby had to keep an eye on her as she wandered around the house in her nightgown, so she didn’t walk outdoors like that.

Ruby was adamant that her four sisters finish school, and she refused to let them work to help out. «Focus on school,» she’d say severely. «That is the most valuable assistance you can provide!»

Ruby turned eighteen without anybody noticing. There was no celebration, no gifts, and no birthday cake. Mrs. Dorris didn’t know or care since she was an emotionless woman.

Mom was lost in her own world, and Ruby’s sisters, with their inherent selfishness, didn’t even recognize Ruby had birthdays.

Ruby and Brad met that year. He was tall and thin, with a hesitant grin. He arrived at the business to get needles for his mother, but he lingered to chat with Ruby.

They began «stepping out,’ as it was known back then. They went dancing and to the movies, as well as parking and kissing on Lover’s Lane. The kissing led to further kissing.

When Ruby found out she was pregnant, Brad promised her he’d marry her; they’d build a nice house, raise their children, and be very happy. Ruby then informed him about her mother and the girls.

«I’m responsible for them, Brad,» Ruby explained. «I struck a pact with my father. However, the daughters will be out of school in a few years, leaving only mom.»

«Your insane mother and sisters are coming to live with us.» Brad was curious. «Are we going to be doing this for the rest of our lives?» Is that what you mean?» Brad was deafeningly quiet after that.

He said they’d meet the next day to finalize wedding details, but he didn’t kiss Ruby goodbye as he usually does. Ruby never saw him again.

She learned out that afternoon that he’d volunteered for the new fight in Asia. He’d left her pregnant and alone. «What am I going to do?» she thought.

What kind of life could she give the baby if she kept it? She had to work ceaselessly to support her sisters and her mother. She simply couldn’t leave the baby with her mother while she worked.

Ruby sobbed, her hands pressed on her stomach. She’d have to give up her child. She’d give it up for adoption, confident that it’d be loved and treasured.

Ruby’s decision to give up her newborn baby was one of the most difficult in her life, but she knew it was for the best. «Be happy, my lovely girl,» she whispered. «I’m in love with you.»

Ruby couldn’t remember the last time she felt young, which had been a long time. After Brad, Ruby never looked at another man. Whatever occurred, she knew they’d never accept her burdens, and she couldn’t begrudge them.

Her sisters finished school and gradually left the house. They married and left, leaving Ruby to look after Mom as she always had. Ruby was 73 years old when her mother passed away.

Ruby grieved that day, not only for her mother but also for the heinous waste of a life. She lacked everything. She has no relatives and few friends now that she is retired.

«I’ll just die,» Ruby resolved. «There can’t be much longer.» But it was correct. Ruby was a healthy, powerful woman who soon turned eighty, then ninety…

Years passed with no commemoration. Nobody gave a hoot. Ruby sat in her modest house, becoming older and older. When she turned 99, a social worker came to see her.

She wanted to see if Ruby could live independently. She took a look around and was content with her living circumstances. She left without even greeting Ruby on her birthday.

«One hundred,» estimated Ruby. «I’ve witnessed a century of history and lived through none of it.» She was sitting in her kitchen, thinking about her life, when the doorbell rang.

She stood up and pushed open the door. There was a young man there, bearing a massive cake with a large 100 on top. «Hi Gran!» he exclaimed joyfully. «Happy birthday!»

Ruby’s chin sagged. «Young man, you have the wrong house.»

«No, I don’t,» he said softly. «You are Ruby, my great-grandmother.» My grandmother had always wanted to know who her biological mother was, so I had the records opened when she reached 81.

«No one thought you were still alive!» Gran is waiting for you outside, in the car, if you accept.»

«My daughter?» Ruby inquired. «She’s… Is she interested in meeting me? I let her go. I wanted her to be content.»

«She knows that grandmother,» remarked the young man. «We also know you’ve been alone for a long time, but you now have a family: a daughter, five grandchildren, and fifteen great-grandchildren!»

Ruby began to sob, and the young man wrapped his arms around her. «It’s OK,» he said. «We’re here now, and you’re going to have quite a party!»

Ruby’s best day of her life came when she met her daughter, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. They extinguished the candles and said ‘Happy Birthday.’ Ruby had never heard anything like it.

«After all, my life wasn’t a waste,» she told her daughter. «I had you already!»

Although duty might be an awful weight, there is always a reward in life. Ruby gave up everything, including her child, to keep her vow to her father and care for her mother.

Life surprises you with a blessing when you least expect it. Ruby lived alone until her 100th birthday, when she was surrounded by family and love for the rest of her life.