An old man named Jeremy decided to travel to New York from Texas to meet with his daughter at a 5-star hotel. He had traveled for over a day, as he had no means of buying a plane ticket after spending his money on an overnight stay at the hotel that he was in.
He didn’t pick just any hotel to stay in. He was in one of Manhattan’s most luxurious hotels, where diplomats, celebrities, and other influential people usually stayed.
While sitting in the lobby, the man stood out like a sore thumb. Guests and staff alike shot him looks as if to ask him what he was doing in the hotel. Some guests even walked over to the reception to complain about the old man being there.
“Have you downgraded your security? How can you just let anybody in here?” a man asked.
“The hotel lobby usually smells divine, but today, it smells like a dumpster,” his wife added.
The hotel receptionist decided to approach Jeremy to ask him to leave after hearing complaints from hotel patrons. “Sir, you are distracting our guests. Could you please leave the hotel premises and wait somewhere else?” she asked him.
“No, I have to wait right here. I have a meeting with my daughter,” the old man replied.
“I’m sure your daughter wouldn’t mind you waiting somewhere else. You must leave right away, or I’m asking security to escort you out,” the receptionist said again, growing impatient.
“I am waiting for my daughter. She works here,” Jeremy replied, desperate for the receptionist to listen to him.
The woman scoffed, shaking her head. “Sir, we’ve heard stories like that countless times. Please don’t make up such an absurd story. What is your daughter’s name?” she asked him.
When the old man replied, her eyes widened. Jeremy had insisted that he was at the hotel because of their director, Samantha Jennings.
Jeremy also argued that he had a room booked under his name. He tried giving proof, showing an album and a reservation slip, but the security guards were already lifting him out of the hotel premises.
“If you would just listen to me, I have every right to be in this hotel like everybody else!” Jeremy cried out. However, the security had already re-entered the hotel and warned Jeremy not to return or the NYPD would get him.
Banned from entering the hotel, Jeremy lost all hope and cried. All he wanted was to see his daughter, yet the cruel staff chose to kick him out.
That same night, Samantha Jennings arrived at the hotel. The receptionist told her that a man had attempted to wait for her, claiming to be her father. Samantha then remembered all the times she asked her late mom about her dad, hoping that she would introduce him to her one day. “Could it be him?” she thought to herself.
“Where did he go?” Samantha asked. Although she had no assurance that the man was telling the truth, she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep that night without knowing for sure whether the man was her father or not.
“We had to kick him out because the other hotel patrons complained about his smell. The security guards might have a clue where he went,” the receptionist told her.
Samantha searched the entire night with the help of security. “He was wearing a black shirt, and a distinct purple rain jacket,” the head of security told her. With that description, Samantha drove her car around the streets of Manhattan, hoping to find the man who claimed to be her dad.
As the sun was about to rise, they found an old man wearing a black shirt and a purple rain jacket lying down on a bench. He was awake but looked deep in thought.
A female voice interrupted his musings. “Excuse me sir,” the woman said. “It’s cold out. Please, get inside the car.”
Surprised, Jeremy looked up at the woman, only to realize that it was Samantha herself.
“Is it you, my dear daughter? I’m sorry, I tried waiting at your hotel, but they sent me out. I have no phone, so I just walked around the area and found myself here.”
“Let’s first head back to the hotel. You must be hungry,” Samantha said as soon as Jeremy entered her car. Jeremy decided to show Samantha some papers when they were settled at the lobby cafe.
“My name is Jeremy Hopkins. Your mom and I were together for ten years until you were about six months old. At the time, I was offered a job in Europe to work in a flour mill company. The pay was good, so I decided to take the job,” he explained, showing the photo of him with Samantha’s mother.
“While I was there, I was blinded by that romantic European life. I told your mom I wasn’t coming back and that we should get a divorce,” Jeremy told his daughter. “It was the worst mistake of my life.”
“When the flour mill company I worked for closed down a couple of years ago, I contacted your mother. I asked if it was too late to start over, and she said it was. I asked her if I could see you so that I could meet my daughter again, and she simply responded that we would meet again at the right time,” Jeremy said to Samantha, who was listening with all ears.
“Before your mother died a month ago, she wrote me a letter. She knew where she could find me, and I received the letter. She shared that you were my daughter – a successful businesswoman who ran one of the best hotels in Manhattan. I couldn’t be more proud,” Jeremy told her while handing her a small photo album.
As Samantha browsed through the photo album, she saw photos of herself, the same that she had in her album at home. This time, it was Samantha’s turn to talk. “I would always ask mom where my dad was, but she could never answer me. I had assumed you were dead,” she revealed.
“I’ve always longed to meet my dad, but I thought it was a hopeless case because mom didn’t like talking about you. I didn’t know she had contacted you before she died,” Samantha said, tears streaming down her face. “She was listening after all.”
“I’m happy to see you, Samantha. I don’t expect you to forgive me for leaving you, but I went here to greet you a happy birthday. Last night, I booked a room here, but they wouldn’t honor the hotel reservation slip I was trying to show them when I was sent away. Maybe we can celebrate together next time,” Jeremy said, holding his daughter’s hand.
Samantha shook her head. “I forgive you, dad. You had your reasons back then. I would love to get to know you and spend more time with you,” she said, squeezing her dad’s hand in return.
After talking some more, Samantha and Jeremy walked towards the reception area, where she scolded the woman for kicking her father out. “We are an inclusive hotel! We don’t discriminate against customers based on how they look,” she said.
The woman apologized profusely after realizing she had messed up. She apologized that the man was denied his hotel reservation, forcing him to sleep on the streets. To make up for her blunder, she re-issued his room reservation and gave him a complimentary upgrade to the presidential suite.
That weekend, Samantha and Jeremy celebrated her birthday together. They toured New York, ate at delicious restaurants, and stayed at the presidential suite together, where they slowly built on their relationship.
In the end, Samantha found out that Jeremy lived alone in Texas, so she offered to take him in so that she could take care of him. His move to New York was the beginning of their beautiful relationship as father and daughter.
