Mateo Herrera, 80, was always alone and led a difficult life. He supported himself by working as a security guard at a school during the day and at a restaurant near his home at night.
His neighbors made fun of him for leading such a miserable life. They had heard rumors that his wife was rich and that they had a daughter, and they suspected that his family had abandoned him because he had become a nuisance to them due to his advanced age.
One day, Mateo visited a clothing store and approached the store owner, Mr. Camacho, with a single request.
“Excuse me, sir, could you employ me as a cleaner in exchange for your $2,000 suit? That…” he said, pointing to the suit worn by a salesman. “I really need it, but I don’t have the money to pay for it.”
“I guess you’re in the wrong place, sir. We don’t rent suits like that. I really can’t help you if you don’t have the money,” he expressed.
The next day when Mr. Camacho arrived at his store, he saw Mateo waiting for him.
“Mateo? What are you doing here?” he said.
“Please It’s very important to me, sir!” the old man insisted.
“Well,” he paused. “If so, can you tell me why the suit is so valuable? Do you want to surprise some lady?” he joked.
“Please, sir,” he pleaded with tears in his eyes. “I… I…” But before he could finish the sentence, Mr. Camacho cut him off.
“Very well! Okay. We happen to have an opening for a cleaner, so you’re hired. But watch out! If you don’t do your job right, forget about the suit!”.
“I promise I’ll do very well! Thank you! Thank you!” replied Mateo, his eyes watering.
For the next four months, Mateo worked in Mr. Camacho’s store as a diligent employee and finally earned the suit. Camacho was waiting for him to deliver the suit, but the old man did not show up.
He dialed his phone number, but his calls went unanswered, so he looked up his home address in the staff records and decided to visit him. Although Mateo had only been an employee for four months, he was impressed with his work and developed a close bond with him.
When he arrived at the old man’s house, he saw that the front door was open.
“Mateo? Are you home?” he said as he entered and found the man unconscious on the floor.
“Mateo, are you okay?” he asked, but the old man was unresponsive.
Finally, he called 911, and was soon taken to the hospital where doctors revealed that he had suffered a stroke.
Mateo did not wake up until the next morning. Mr. Camacho stayed with him at the hospital the entire time, knowing that he lived alone and had no one else to care for him.
While waiting outside the ward that morning, Mr. Camacho saw a young woman dressed in expensive attire asking the staff about Mateo’s ward.
“Mr. Camacho, are you the one who brought my father to the hospital?” she asked.
“Father?” Mr. Camacho was stunned. “Well, yes… I didn’t know Mateo had a daughter! Where were you?”.
“I stopped by to visit him today and the neighbors informed me that he had been brought here. Is he all right now?”
“Well, he regained consciousness a while ago. He is currently resting. The doctors have done some tests on him and I am waiting for the results.”
“Thank you very much for helping him. I’ll go check on him. Excuse me, please…”. Mr. Camacho nodded and the woman went inside.
That same day, Mr. Camacho learned that the lady’s name was Clara and that she was getting married, which is why Mateo needed the suit.
He also learned that Mateo’s wealthy wife, Patricia, had kicked him out of the house years ago and walked out of his life, taking Clara with her. He forbade Clara from seeing her father and cut off communication with him. All the letters Mateo sent to his daughter never reached her, as Patricia hid them from her.
But one day, Clara found them and confronted Patricia. It was then that she learned that her mother had tried to drive a wedge between her and Mateo all these years. She couldn’t forgive her for it and started looking for Mateo on Facebook. When she found him, she sent him a message about her wedding and asked him to be there.
But since Mateo was poor, he didn’t have enough money to get a suit, so he quit his previous jobs to work for Mr. Camacho and earn the suit.
“Oh, Daddy, I’m so sorry,” Clara said, hugging her father for the first time in years. “I wish I had known the truth sooner. I love you so much. I’ve missed you, Daddy.”
“I’m so glad you’re here, sweetheart. No need to apologize for anything, okay? After all, it wasn’t your fault,” Mateo replied, returning her hug.
“And you didn’t need to do so much work just for the wedding, Dad! You could have told me you needed a suit – I love you so much!”.
“Your fiancé’s family is rich, honey, and I was embarrassed I didn’t have anything to give you. I had to look presentable at the wedding, at least.”
“Dad! I just want you to be there! I don’t care what anyone else thinks! You’re my father, and I love you…”.
Witnessing the emotional reunion, Mr. Camacho could not hold back tears. He felt bad for being rude to Mateo earlier and apologized to him. He gave him the $2,000 suit and a pair of shoes that Mateo proudly wore on his daughter’s wedding day.
Clara decided to postpone her ceremony until Mateo was better. And when the day finally arrived, Mateo was the happiest man alive, sporting a stunning suit as he walked his daughter down the aisle.
