Finally A Happy Ending | Reading Reddit Stories

24:26Someone else said, be nice to that little boy, even if you guys ever break up. And lastly, someone said, introduce him as your son every chance you get. That's so sweet. It's really sweet. Yeah, I feel like with healthy communication with the wife, with the girlfriend, and making sure everybody's okay with labels like that, then hell yeah. Go for it. Yeah, I like that advice of be nice to him even if you guys break up. It's like he's his own person. Like, you are a father figure to him. So, like, if something goes awry with the relationship, it's like, but understand the severity of your dynamic with this kid.

25:05I feel like I hear that a lot in stories or even just in media where it's like, well, my dad, da-da-da-da-da, so I don't know how to be a dad. But it's like, I don't know if that label changes that much. Like, already this kid was with him from 8 to 13, like you said, and is already comfortable enough calling him dad. So it kind of sounds like you're doing it. Yeah. I don't think you have to change it and be like, all right, sport. Time to do dad things. I bought a grill. Like, just be there for them. Totally. But I can imagine, like, not growing up with a dad, then you kind of fantasizing about what that role is that you never got.

25:40And being like, how do I even do that if I never saw it? So I get it. but it's also like he fixed the bike and he's playing video games. He's just gotta show up, I guess. I think what he's feeling though is not a very isolated thing. Like, I'm not a dad but I think some people grow up, you know, without father figures or with father figures that they don't want to replicate. So you kind of do have this thing of like, wow, I don't, I didn't get a rubric of how to do this. Yeah. I know what not to do. Like, yeah, so it is like you have no choice but to like, hey, like, be kind and be there for him and like, be supportive.

26:13Like, I guess my view is like kind of the other way around where I'm like, my assumption is generally that most of us don't get out of childhood scot-free. Like some people are like, oh, everything was great growing up. But like the vast majority of people I meet were like, this was messed up. This was messed up. And sometimes those things happen even when people are trying their best. So my mindset is just like, well, what do you mean? Like, of course you're going to make mistakes. So will everybody else like just be there for that? And again, I'm not a dad. So it's easy for me to be like, well, just do it like this.

26:43but still. Right. But I think when like, because I know plenty of people who are parents and, and I think what I think is good is when I hear that level of doubt. Because I think that where a lot of trouble comes and so many people our age, especially had parents that were like, no, what I'm doing is right. And I'm not questioning it, whatever. And I'm like, that's where I feel like so many of the big issues came from. Yeah. As opposed to like, hey man, like you're, you have a healthy amount of doubt of going, oh, am I doing the right thing? It's like then if you are doing the right thing, I trust that you will course correct.

27:16Yeah. Sure. And you will understand. Yeah, you kind of have to be an authority figure, but you also are still a human. Yes, yes. And you're kind of, you're always growing up. You're always learning and figuring things out. And when you're a kid, you don't know that about the adults in your life. But as an adult, you know it. Yeah, you look back and you're like, wow. I think about my parents and I'm like, they started having kids when they were younger than I am now. And I'm like, wow. And they were already on the older end of starting to have kids. So I'm just like, oh my God, that's crazy to think about.

27:50Yeah. But I believe in this guy. Yeah. Yeah. You got it, champ. Our next story comes from Relationship Advice. This was posted in March of 2019. This is a 22-year-old woman. She writes, my neighbor, a 70-year-old woman, told me about a woman, a 20-year-old woman, visiting my boyfriend, who's 22, when I'm gone. I hope it turns out to be her and the old lady's just confused. Yeah, lady's like, sorry, I don't have my glasses. Yeah, it turns out it was you. Wait, this seems like a fun Betty White movie where it's like her and the other girl are like, let's go get them. Yeah. I love that. Okay, going to keep this short because I really don't know what else to say.

29:01one. I don't know. She has seen a woman come into my house and leave before I come back. I pressed her for more details, and she said that as far as she knows, she's seen her come by three times, and that she thought I should know. When she leaves, she hugs slash kisses my boyfriend, and she believes she stays for at least an hour or two. Got some generic details from her appearance, but nothing specific. Of course, all the alarm bells are going off in my head. There are no signs my boyfriend is cheating and we've talked about how we would rather end things instead. He did start working overtime more but I have a friend at his company who talked about this too and he's bringing in bigger paychecks so that adds up.

29:39I don't want to jump to conclusions. How do I approach this? What do I do and how do I confront my boyfriend? I don't know anything for sure and it could be anything at this point. I'm really freaking out right now. That's tough. That's really tough. No, this is scary. Yeah, I wouldn't know what else to say other than, I guess you have to talk to your boyfriend. But, like, it's like, is he going to tell the truth? That's the thing. If someone's already, like, committed to lying, they're either going to, like, gaslight you into thinking something else or that, like, you're crazy or how dare you accuse.

30:12I think you've got to take a sick day and hang out with the old lady. Oh. It's, like, immediately what I would do. That's the smartest move. Just get a ring camera, too. Just be like, yeah, I just got us a ring camera. Like, what are you going to do? Avoid the front door. Don't show them you know anything. Yeah, no, yeah. Keep everything the same. Play your cards close to your chest. Have a different breakfast and be like, sorry, I cheated on the other breakfast. Does that bring up anything for you? Okay, comments. Two approaches. One, hey, who's your friend that visits while I'm gone? Two, I know about the other woman you're seeing.

30:48You have one chance to sit down right here, right now, and come clean 100%. Otherwise, you're moving out and you're moving out now. One lie, one omission, and you're gone. If you in any way fear his reaction or plan on throwing him out anyway, I'd have a few friends on standby. OP said, this is pretty useful, thanks. I think I'm going with number one and work towards two if it doesn't check out. I'm confronting him tomorrow. Someone said, give the neighbor your number. Ask her to call you when she sees the visitor. What if she is seeing you going to work, not realizing it's you? OP said, she would definitely recognize me, and this woman has a different hair color.

31:24so I know for sure it's someone else. I don't have enough patience for this option, though. It's eating me alive. Someone said, you arrange to be gone in the evening for something and then sit with your lovely neighbor and see if anyone turns up. Do it as many times as necessary to find out what's going on and have a camera ready. Bring over some fucking strawberry shortcake. And some sangria. And get to eating and hanging out. And get that scrimps. You know this old lady is just, like, She really cares about her, but this has got to be so entertaining for her. Oh, are you kidding? She's like, no, different hair color.

31:59Different hair color. Oh, she has done the research. What if there is no other woman? She just wants her to hang out and is just like, yeah, bring the shrimp. Bring the shrimp. Yeah. Okay. Update. What if I was like, there's no update. We have no idea what happens. All right. What's your bet? What's your bet on what happens? Is he cheating? How did she catch him? All right. We gotta go with the bet of he's cheating. Or what's the strategy? I think she's gonna bring it up to him and he's gonna lie. I think in any other episode other than the wholesome episode, it would be cheating. I think either this is gonna lead to an incredible friendship with the old lady or it's like, apparently my boyfriend has been taking dancing and kissing lessons so that he gets proposed to me.

32:41He's taking dancing and kissing lessons. Kissing when he's taking goodbye lessons. Or yes, this woman comes over so he can learn how to swing dance because he has an elaborate proposal and she loves swing dancing. That's my hope. You're right. It's the wholesome episode. It's the wholesome episode. I think it's the wholesome episode. I think it's still possible that he's cheating, but that this beautiful friendship between her and the old neighbor could be the sweet part of this. Yeah. Because this old lady really seems to care about her and has had her back. Yeah, they become friends forever.

33:09That guy's a nobody. He goes off with that girl. The woman, OP, is friends for a lifetime with the old lady until she passes, and it's a beautiful story. And as she's like looking at her grave and like saying goodbye, like you see in the distance, the old lady's there behind a tree and just like winks. And you're like, oh my God, she's still alive. That's crazy. And then there's a sequel. Yeah, yeah. Okay, on to the update. I almost didn't make this post because I feel so stupid, but there were so many people who wanted an update, so why not? Thanks to everyone who gave advice last time. The next morning, I decided to confront my boyfriend.

33:41I wanted the truth from him. I was very upset to say the least. So I asked him who the woman was that was coming over when I was gone. He looked kind of confused and then started chuckling. I asked him why he was laughing and that I wasn't joking around. He's been preparing to propose to me. Yes, let's go. And she makes jewels. And one of my best friends came over to look at rings and talk about how and where he should do it. I just feel like she's still coming over too many times, but okay. And the kiss, and the kiss. I felt really guilty for assuming that he was cheating, but even he admitted that it didn't look very good.

34:13He showed me some of the plans that they had made and the texts between them, but that he is going to change things up now that I know. I kind of ruined the surprise, but oh well. I called my friend afterwards, and she couldn't believe what happened, and we shared a few laughs. He's been working overtime to get me a ring, and I don't know how I missed all the signs. She only came over twice, so I guess my neighbor is not that sharp anymore, lol. Looking back, it all makes so much sense. My friend has been low-key asking about getting engaged, what kind of ring I would like, etc. I feel really stupid and bad for assuming the worst, but my boyfriend doesn't hold it against me and said he would probably have handled it the same way.

34:48I'm so happy that we're cool now. The thought of cheating was so tough on me, I already called in sick Monday. For anyone wondering, I already told him I'm going to say yes. Aww. I still have questions. I also, yeah. She's coming over a lot. I'm happy. I'm happy for them. The neighbors said that they were kissing and stuff. It was a kiss goodbye. And I guess maybe if it's like best best friend, like depending on how close you are, they're gonna be like a little, but I'm like, I don't know. And then like, where do you go ring shopping inside your home, you know? Well, internet. On the internet, but like, don't you wanna go?

35:19I think I believe this. No, let's think about it negatively. You wanna know the real negative part to this? She's 21, is what she said. She's 21, and so it's just like, I'm already gonna say yes, I'm like. They're both 22, they are very young. it's like, all right, you can wait a little bit. Is he in the army or what? You can just hold off for a minute. I'll have to say, I'm glad I gave this neighbor a fun week where she was like, I gotta sit down and tell you something. Yeah. Is she chain-smoking in your mind? Yeah. She's like, honey, I gotta tell you. Yeah. Men are shit. Because I got a hole in the wall.

35:56I see everything. Oh, yeah. I'm so, I want the follow-up on asking the neighbor, like, why'd you say they were kissing? because like was she just at the front at her door just like watching them she had to have been she doesn't wear glasses or something there was a comment on that update someone said I had an elderly neighbor tell my ex-wife that I had a girl coming over while she was at work it was my daughter I will say like it's very fun to have a very elderly neighbor because they will tell you wild things and some of it you can take some of it but most of it you got to be like I'm not gonna pay attention yeah yeah but they love they want I think they want drama they're watching the Gilded Age they want it in real life literally I had an elderly neighbor tell me there is a bobby pin in our washer machine like it was a death heads up and I was like oh no something really bad is about to happen found this in the dryer and you went ah no then that means and then you let them finish it yeah Someone said, waiting for the next update, my boyfriend was cheating with my friend under the guise of helping him propose to me.

37:07Not really, but this is Reddit. Someone said, I tend not to kiss my wife's friends, but okay. Yeah, we really glossed over that part. Well, because we thought it was cheating. Either the neighbor is fully just blatantly adding that and lying. He's stirring up some shit, which is possible. So funny. So funny, so possible. Or the boyfriend is cheating and is... I don't know. Hi, you silly goose. I was looking at rings. I was looking at rings. Here's the texts. Oh, yeah, he showed her texts. He did. I don't think this old lady's seeing them kiss. I saw them full blown intercourse on the grass there.

37:47I saw it happen. All right, we don't know, okay? We don't know. We don't know. We're just gonna assume. But we're gonna move on. Yeah. I would like to move on. Hey, keep the assumptions for Smosh alike. There you go. Our next story comes from True Off My Chest. Okay. This is also from October of 2025. A lot happened that month. A good month. A good. It was from yesterday as of recording this. I love when these happened. My dad secretly paid off my student loans, but I found out how he did it, and I don't know how to feel. Did he sell his bones? Aw. Jello dad. Yeah, Jello. Sold all his bones. He sold all his bones.

38:27happens. Two months ago, I got a letter saying my entire 68 ,000 student loan balance was paid off. I thought it was a scam at first, but after calling the servicer, they confirmed it. A family member made a full payment. I immediately knew it was my dad. He's always been supportive, though not the emotional type. I called him crying, thanking him. He brushed it off and said, don't worry about it. Just focus on living your life. It wasn't until last week that my mom told me how he did it. He sold the Harley he's been restoring since before I was born. The one he used to tell me would be his retirement ride.

39:02He sold it quietly to some collector in another state and used every penny to clear my debt. He's 61, works maintenance at a plant. His knees are shot. That bike was the one indulgence he ever allowed himself. I don't even know if I should thank him again or apologize. I feel both incredibly loved and incredibly guilty. He traded his dream for my freedom and I don't know how to carry that. I just needed to tell someone because I can't stop thinking about it. Oh, that's this, this hits home for me, honestly, because my dad, uh, you know, had a very difficult life and like his one thing that he finally got when he was getting close to retirement age was a Harley, like a very special Harley that was going to be his whole thing.

39:42Um, and like, sorry if this is too dark, but, um, I didn't go to college for that long, but the first loans I took out were in his name. So when he passed, it worked out that like, oh, well he's gone, so loans are gone. And then like, also Harley had to be sold to help pay for some debt. So in a way, it kind of worked out the same way, and I had guilt for that for a long time. But like, man, a parent like that, all they want to do is see you happy. Like, there's no sorry that's just thank you. You know? That's such an act of love. And also, like, his relationship with that Harley could shift. You know what I mean?

40:23Like, he could have in his older years been like, I've had this for a long time. I actually don't think this is what I want to use it for. I want to use it for this, you know? Yeah. There's a possibility that that could be it. It's also like, some of those bikes are pretty heavy, and you have to, like, really have a lot of leg strength to keep it up at, like, a red light. And if his knees are shot and all that stuff, you know? And also, bikes are dangerous enough as it is. Like, maybe it was, maybe it served multiple purposes. Yeah, I mean, it sounds like he can talk to his dad and talk about it.

40:55But, I mean, it's done. But also, I totally empathize with the feeling of, like, feeling like your parent is, like, sacrificing a lot. And as just a human, you're like, it's just hard to take it. But then you have to know that, like, I have to remind myself this sometimes with my parents when they do something nice that I feel like they went out of their way to do it. I'm like, that is a gift for them, too. Yeah. Like, I don't even have a kid, but when I do something, when I spend really good money for my dog, I'm like, I want to do this. Yeah, yeah. Because it makes me feel happy because I love this dog.

41:29So I can imagine he feels good about that as well if he did it with, like, a grounded mindset. Yeah. I mean, it sounds like this guy is such a good guy. He probably, like, he views his son like he's like, hey, like, this is my purpose. Like, yeah. There's a lot of purpose in that. and like that's, he didn't even ask his dad for this. His dad did this. So to a degree, like yeah, his dad wanted to do this. Does that could have shifted with age and been like, wow, this bike isn't everything I actually want for the rest of my life. I want my kid to be okay. Like you never know. Yeah, he also said like, the OP also said that the dad was restoring it since before he was born.

42:10I don't know, I like fixing things sometimes or making things nice. Like, he did get 18-plus years of the hobby of restoring a bike. Totally. Probably rode it in the meantime. Like, you know. Yeah. But it is a really hard thing. It's a hard thing. Sometimes the hardest with really big gifts is learning how to accept it and know that they want to do that. Yeah. And you can't take that from them sometimes. Comments. You give that man a hug and love him as much as you can. That's what you do. Someone said, as a father, this is all we need. If he loves you as much as I do my kids, that was not a difficult choice and probably something he had planned on doing for a long time.

42:45Someone said, doing that for you is one of the proudest moments of his life. Don't feel guilty, but do feel loved. Someone said, you give that man a huge hug and tell him how much this means to you. Then set up a weekly or bi-weekly or monthly date with him. Show him how much you appreciate him. This makes me so happy. Yeah. That's very sweet. Yeah. I feel like that's kind of it. Yeah. That's really special. Vroom, vroom. And vroom, vroom. And a vroom, vroom too as well. And here's the thing, his dad is a duck. Oh my God, and he couldn't hit the little... Couldn't do it, he couldn't drive it. You can't shift with your left foot because you've got the little duck flappers.

43:20And we're back. And we're back. All right, everyone buckle up. This final story is a doozy. It's a long one. My dream would be him going, this final story is a musical. Is a musical. Well, this one is a doozy. Call me Ishmael. Yeah. Okay, hit it, hit it. All right. Here we go. It's time to read. This story comes from Off My Chest. It was posted in June of 2023. I am battling cancer. I'm gay, but I have realized I love my best friend of 25 years, a man. I need to vent all my thoughts and am looking for advice on whether to tell him or not. Just for clarification, OP is a woman. Okay. So I'm battling cancer.

44:10I'm gay. But I've realized I love my best friend of 25 years. Oh, man. My dearest friend in the world is a man named James. Not real name. All names and nicknames are altered in this story. I try to describe how great he is, but it's honestly easier just to tell you the story. James and I grew up in the same town, a conservative Christian town in Nowhere, USA. The first time I met him was on the playground at school. He saw me sitting alone under a tree and came over to ask me if I wanted to play with him and his friends. I said no, but he noticed I was reading a book about space, the solar system to be more precise.

44:41So he sat down next to me and asked me which planet I thought would be the coolest to visit. We ended up talking for the rest of recess about what we thought the other planets might be like. And when we went back to class, he introduced me to his friends as my new friend blank. We were inseparable from that point on. It was one of those things where the entire town, our parents included, had us married off by age eight or something. We didn't understand at the time, of course, but I would go on family trips with his family, stay over at his place and vice versa through most of elementary school, get in trouble for talking during class every day, though not really because the teachers all loved him.

45:15This dude can charm his way out of anything. It's unreal. We were best friends. When we finally reached the awkward teenage years and dating became a thing, he asked me to the first school dance and I said yes. We sort of started dating by default. I don't think we ever talked about it explicitly, but I just started calling him my boyfriend to other people and we went with that. Very little changed about our relationship. We still basically just did all the same stuff we used to do before, except our parents got stricter about the sleepovers and there was more hand-holding and cuddling. Kissing and stuff was always difficult for me and I didn't know why, but he never pushed me on it at all.

45:47Not even once. The two times we tried, he was able to tell very quickly that I was uncomfortable and he just shut the interaction down by messing up my hair playfully, saying, enough of that, how about we just watch a movie? I just assumed one day I would get it. Well, I didn't. Sometime around 15 years old, I started to realize the problem. I wasn't sexually attracted to men. This was a very trying time for me, given the kind of environment I grew up in. This was not acceptable. My parents were extremely religious and extremely anti-LGBT. After about eight months of identity crisis over this, I decided to muster up the courage to tell James before anyone else.

46:22I didn't know what to expect. I was terrified. I went over to his house trembling. He had done what he always did, made my favorite snacks, and got the controllers and my favorite game, Diddy Kong Racing. Nice. Nice. To be clear, nice. He would get Diddy Kong Racing ready to go. He opened the door and gave me a hug, and I came in. I was so scared. We sat down, and he looked at me for a second before putting his hand on mine and asking me what was wrong. So I tried to tell him, and I got halfway through the sentence, struggling to actually say, I'm gay, before he just interrupted me and said, you're gay.

46:53Yes, I know. Is there anything else? Followed by that goofy smile I love so much. I just froze in place. I asked him if he was mad, and he just laughed and told me he loved me the way I was, and this was the way I was. I just started crying and jumped into his arms. It felt like 10 minutes at least. I cried before he finally interrupted me in characteristic fashion, remarking, However, I will be mad if you let the pizza rolls I made get cold, so how about we stop crying and start eating? We stayed best friends after that. We never actually had a breakup talk, but we did start to date other people.

47:23We talked slash hung out almost every day until we graduated and he went away to a big name college. The night before he left, he came and picked me up and we drove around town and hit all our favorite spots. He drove me back home at 3 a.m. or something in the rain and I took his hand during the drive home and fell asleep on his shoulder. I remember wondering then for a moment if I should just marry him anyway. But he was going away to college and I'm not attracted to men so it probably couldn't work no matter how I felt about him otherwise. He promised to stay in touch, but I didn't know if that would happen.

47:54Well, it did. Obviously, it wasn't like before, but he made sure to call me every week just to check up on me and see how things were going. Every week? Every week. That's so sweet. And he makes pizza rolls? And he makes pizza rolls. And he's goaded at Diddy Kong Racing. No one said it was good. I said he was goaded. Oh, oh. Which is even better. I went to college close to home. We'd talk about how hard college was, whoever we were dating at the time, and whatever drama was going on. During his junior year, my parents found out that I was gay. They did not react well, and I was basically kicked out of my home to save me.

48:30My dad going on about me needing Jesus. 40 days in the desert like a lunatic. My parents are good people, so this didn't last, and they have more than made it up to me since and worked hard to unlearn their bad programming. But that was an awful time. I did what I always do and called James. He talked to me for about an hour and then got his mom to drive up to get me so I could stay in his old room. Then he flew home the next day pretty much just to cheer me up and make sure I was all right. What? Vintage driving around in circles, singing like idiots, and 2 a.m. junk food runs did the trick. I later found out from my mom that he had also gone and confronted my parents slash stood up for me and told them they should be ashamed of themselves, and if they were willing to lose their daughter over this, They were unfit parents and not the second family I thought you were.

49:18My parents worship him, so this was effective, and my mom still tells this story to this day. Once again, I remember wondering at the time, will I ever know anyone else in my life who would do this for me? That's crazy. Sorry, this person is like straight out of a romance world. Yeah, this guy. I was going to say, this guy's not a human. This is a novel. Yeah. She does need Jesus, and here he is. This is Jesus. And here is Jesus. but he was heading off back to college and he was still a man so I didn't do anything years went by he got married I got a long-term girlfriend we stayed close the entire time we saw each other a lot less but it was still great every time he visited and we had frequent texts slash calls I looked forward to his visits all year and then tragedy struck his wife divorced him I never liked her but he did I think she used him for a green card and he was too sweet to notice but that's neither here nor there He came back home, so I saw him a lot more.

50:12Obviously, he was crushed, but we got through it together. And then I got the diagnosis at 27. Cancer. There's nothing I can say that describes the feeling, so I'm not even going to try. Decent chance of survival, but I had to start treatment right away. This experience has changed me and my outlook on life more than anything else that's ever happened to me combined. At first, everyone was there for me. I was getting visitors daily, friends, family, everyone. But as the weeks turned into months, it all stopped. Most people, even my friends, started coming once a week, then once a month, then many not at all.

50:44When things were looking bad around the seventh slash eighth month, my girlfriend broke up with me claiming she loved me, but she couldn't handle watching this. Almost two years in now, and there's only five people who are still here. My mom, my dad, my sister, my BFF Amanda, and James. I almost can't talk about it without crying, but James is here every fucking day. Every day. For hours. He may have missed 20 days in almost two years due to work-related travel, and even then he calls me. He comes in and asks, how is a moo-moo, which he's called me since we were kids because I like cows, and those are my initials, and listens.

51:22He brings my favorite snacks slash treats when I can have them, board games we like to play, old video games on handheld so we can play. He sings to me and shows me pictures of places he's been I'd like to go and talks about taking me once I'm better. He sits there and holds my hand in silence so I won't be alone until the doctors tell him it's time to go. Then he does it again the next day. I've never seen him cry or show any sadness. If I even casually say something like, if I get better, he'll immediately interject with, when, when you get better, he just won't give up on me. The only other person who is still there like this is my mom.

51:56Even my dad slash sister slash Amanda, who have also shown up in big ways, are not this consistent. I could write a whole post about how this experience has changed my relationship with mom as well. She's proven to me that no matter what happened in the past and what we may have clashed over, she loves me like no one else, except maybe James. My mom is the number one all-time James fangirl. She has been attempting to get me to marry him since I was seven years old. A long time ago, she stopped that. But about three months ago, she made probably her first comment of that kind in around seven years.

52:26I guess there are a few things she said. The first was, pay attention to the people who are still here now. They're the people who always will be. They're the people who love you and not just what you can do for them, which sort of set me off on the whole months-long train of thought that led to this post. Then about a month ago, mom was a little more direct. After James left one evening, she told me, Baby, in all my years on this earth, I've never seen anyone love anybody like that boy loves you. I know you don't like it when I talk about this, but trust me, if you ever let him go again, you're going to regret it forever.

52:57I don't know what has changed, but this time when she said that, I just knew she was right. Every relationship I've ever been in has had some problem or thing that has to be worked on. Most of them have several. The only thing missing here is that I don't feel a strong urge to rip his clothes off like I have with some, but honestly, not all or even most of the women I've been with. But even there, it's different. In general, I find the idea of being with a man disgusting, but I don't find it disgusting with him. I like being touched by him and being close to him. He's so gentle. Lately, I even find myself fixating on his lips and daydreaming about kissing him.

53:33I'm not that sexual of a person, and I think overall, of the people I've known in my life, I would be happier with him than with anyone else, and it isn't close. Now, the big problem is the cancer. Honestly, I'm not really on the fence about this anymore. If I survive, I want to be with him. I am getting better, and the doctors are hopeful, but I'm not sure if I should tell him now or not. I want to tell him so bad. I want him to know how much I love him. Lovers have come and gone for both of us But every time I close my eyes And think about times I felt truly loved Understood and accepted It's always his smiling face I see When I think about times I felt warm and safe It's his arms I feel wrapping around me Like a warm blanket just my size His voice I hear saying Don't worry, Amumu, it'll be alright Or cracking some silly joke I want him to know that I want him with me By my side forever There's nowhere I'd rather be than wherever he is Doing absolutely fucking anything Cuddling up on the couch making jokes about stupid movies, playing our favorite video games, talking about life till 2am, driving around in circles while he sings boy band songs like a goofball.

54:33I don't care as long as he's there too. I want him to know that if I survive, this will be together. That's what I want. That's all I want. He's all I want. But I'm scared to tell him because I don't know what's going to happen. If I don't make it, would it have been kinder to just keep this to myself? If you were him and his position, would you want me to tell you how I feel?

54:55Whoa. I say not the asshole. Sorry. We're losing it over here. We're fucking losing it. It's incredible. Eric, look at you. It's beautiful. It's beautiful. Everyone behind the camera is crying. It's incredible. Eric is sobbing. To be fair, the only reason I'm not is I... Oh, my God, everyone's sobbing. It's beautiful. The only reason I'm not is I... The sound equipment is breaking apart because Scott is sobbing onto it. The only reason I'm not weeping is, full disclosure, I have heard this before on one of those, like, I, 21 female, and my boyfriend, 83.5, like that TikTok, whatever. Yeah. It's gorgeous.

55:42How many episodes left in the season are there? Like, how many updates? Oh, we're about to get fucking wrecked, guys. Whatever happens next is going to wreck the room. I will say if there's a perspective shift it's like hi James writing here like that's when we're all gonna just explode we'll have to walk out can you imagine I cannot handle a perspective shift I've made it this far I don't even mean like something happens to her I'm just talking about like I understand yeah like hey guys I wanted to tell you how much I love you know it just yeah because it reminds me of the one where the dad was like oh I want to leave a message for my son I was like no we don't need to do that we don't need to do that Oliver you're the bravest I was like, oh!

56:24My favorite is watching you try to keep it together when you do something. We're like, like during that one meet and greet and you're like, all right man, let's take a picture. Oh, when the dad was talking about how sweet it was to like watch videos with his daughter. He's like, oh, it's such quality time. And I was like, you gotta stop it. We gotta take a picture. We gotta take a picture. You gotta cut it out. You're doing the dad thing of like clearing your throat and swallowing where you're just like, well, that's, that's very nice to hear. Yeah. Very good. This is very sweet. I mean. Okay, let's buckle the fuck up.

56:55Here we go. Let's buckle the buck. Before we continue, any thoughts, any. What, do I have any thoughts on. I don't know. It's a great story. Do you want to say anything? I have nothing to add. I think they're both ducks. All I was going to say is the mom was talking like, oh, before you lose him, whatever. I'm like, I think you've got James by your side forever. I was like. Oh, yeah. I think that's my take is I'm like, sure, if you're feeling strongly about this. But I'm like, I think he's going to be there for you no matter what. Yeah, I'll say my thoughts are that too. The mom's a bitch. Well, she wasn't like, I don't know if the concern was that like, oh, I'm going to ruin the friendship.

57:38It's more like if something goes south of my health, is it cruel to have done this? Right. I understand what she's saying there. But I was going back further. Yeah. That the mom was kind of being like, oh, you need to marry him because you might lose him. Hurry up, you're gonna lose him. And it's like, you guys are in each other's lives forever. This is a love that transcends infatuation. But you know, she's feeling that way. OP's feeling that way as well. Where OP is also, I think that's just no matter what with feeling this extreme and this amazing, no matter what, the idea of losing it is there on the table.

58:12Absolutely. And for OP, it happens either medically or just like, what if OP says her feelings And then he's like, no. And it changes what's so beautiful. But we all know, from what we know of James, nothing's fucking this up. But I understand the fear. Of course. It's valid for sure. But I also think, like, I don't know. Hearing this, you never want to, like, speculate on someone's sexuality. Like, what someone says for themselves is true. Like, that's truth. But hearing her say, like, oh, I haven't really felt that much physical attraction for women either in any of the, you know, relationships I've been.

58:51It just hasn't really been there. I'm like, okay, well, then maybe you're wired that, like, the emotional aspect is so much more important to you than anything else. Like, maybe there is hope for a romantic relationship. Yeah. They clearly love each other so damn much. Yeah, because it's like, hey, you don't have to put yourself in any sort of box. Like, you know, like, your truth is your truth. But if you're feeling something, hey. The best thing she's doing is not, like, shutting those feelings down. Right. She's like, even though they don't align with the box she originally is putting herself in, she's not letting that stop her.

59:29Right. Yeah, absolutely. She's doing everything great. But I understand, like, it's got to be confusing. Yeah, 100%. It's scary. All right. Got some comments here. Okay. Unless it's from Nicholas Sparks, I don't know one here. Nicholas Sparks here. Nicholas Sparks here. You belong in my new movie. You're the asshole. Your sexuality can be most women and James. It can be whatever you need it to be. I'm a James sexual. James and James Taylor. I like women and men named James. And men named James. It can be whatever you need it to be. I saw a nice post from a woman who came to realize after many years of marriage to her male best friend that she was almost certainly a lesbian and wasn't attracted to men, except for her husband, whom she continued to adore.

1:00:19Good luck in your romantic endeavors, OP, and you're going to beat that cancer. Someone said, everyone needs a James. He has been with you through everything and he has always had your back. Speak your mind and tell him everything. I wish you all the best. OP said, yes, I want to tell him. I'm just worried that if I tell him and then things take a turn for the worst again, then what will I have done to him? Someone said, tell him. I've seen some comments where you say you're worried if things go south, what that will do to him. What I'm about to say is with pure kindness and care. Think of what it would do to him to only find out after.

1:00:53You both deserve to be happy. Whether it's for one year or 50, doesn't matter. You both deserve it. OP said, I think this comment really hit me for some reason. Thank you. I'm going to tell him when he visits me tomorrow. That comment did it? That's the comment that did it. No, but I agree. That's just crazy that we can comment on a Reddit post and change someone's behavior. But I also think she was looking for permission. Like, sorry for fully... Totally. No, and I think that person put it in perspective. Yeah. All she needed was a few people to be like, do it. I'm bracing for impact. I'm ready for the update.

1:01:27Can I tell you something as a friend with all the love in my heart? There's a part of your hair that looks crazy. I don't care. I'm just letting you know. Just letting you know. I'm intentionally listening. You're looking like how I look a lot of times in these Reddit stories. Oh, no. You need to read. I don't know why we're talking about anything else but James and LP. Just a lot of times people post photos of me here and my hair looks ridiculous. I understand it looks different every episode. Guys, he's tired. He doesn't go home. Guys, I'm tired. I'm reading. Okay, let's go. When he's done with this, he has to power the little hamster wheel that keeps the lights on.

1:01:57Yeah.

1:02:00You don't have to read the update.

1:02:05Let's talk about dinosaurs some more. Okay, so shortcake. All right, update. Okay, here we go. Really? So tonight I told James. I told him everything. Gosh, I just wish I could relive this night over and over again. I've never been so happy. He came into my room this evening like he always does, greeted me. Hello, how's my amumu doing today? I told him I was doing well. He told me I looked beautiful, which is not true, but it still felt so sincere. Then he started unpacking the stuff he brought me today. I asked him to stop and just come sit with me because I wanted to talk to him. He nodded and came and sat next to me.

1:02:44What's up? He asked. It took me a bit to gather myself. I kept getting distracted by his eyes, how he looks at me sometimes. I don't know how to describe it. I told him, I love you. And he just kind of laughed and touched my hand before casually responding. Oh, I know that. I love you too. In retrospect, this wasn't the best way to start, I guess, since we've said that enough with a different understanding that he didn't get what was happening. He started to get up again to unpack the snacks and I grabbed his arm and asked him to let me finish. He looked confused, but he nodded and sat back down.

1:03:13And then I did it. I told him everything. I told him about all the times in the past I'd thought about just marrying him despite my sexuality. I told him my favorite memories of him and how they make me feel. I told him he'd always been my best friend and the person I trusted the most. I told him I made a mistake and I should have chosen him. I then basically devolved into reciting the last paragraph of my first post to him. He's the face I see when I think about feeling loved, the embrace I feel when I think about being safe. It doesn't matter what we do. If we're together, I'm happy, and he's the only thing I want for the rest of my life.

1:03:44He basically froze. He said nothing, just looked at me as I spilled everything. I'm not sure he even blinked. When I finished and looked up at him, he was sitting there like a statue with his mouth slightly open. Still enough, it was like he forgot to breathe. James always knows what to say, so this was a little unnerving to me. I started to ask him if everything was all right, but before I could finish, his expression broke. He exhaled into a weak but incredibly tender, quivering smile, and he just reached out and pulled me into a hug. I buried my head in his chest, and his arms just wrapped around me.

1:04:14I just melted into him. He was so gentle. It felt so easy. It felt so right. Then he started crying, and then I started crying. He's been coming here through two years of cancer treatment and never seen him cry until now. He held me for a while, but however long it was, it wasn't long enough. When he finally pulled away, his face was red from crying, but he just looked so happy. He looked at me for a bit. It was kind of cute because he had a little trouble maintaining eye contact, which he usually doesn't. He was like a little boy again. Then he finally looked right at me, and he just said, you're the only thing I've ever wanted.

1:04:46Then I started crying again, and he started crying again. And he pulled me to him, and he held me again. I wish it never ended. A little bit later, once we exhausted our crying capacity, I showed him the post. He made a few jokes about wanting to meet this James guy and about how he had better go and thank my mom for being his wingwoman for 20 years, lol. Then after he finished reading it, he kissed me. It felt easy, not scary at all, and just right. He asked me if it lived up to the daydreams, and I chuckled and said yes. Then he said, I'm not so sure myself. I think I need more data, and kissed me again.

1:05:20He is so ridiculous, but this was smooth as butter. Then after that, we started talking, and I guess he told me everything too. He said he'd loved me since we were little kids, told me he still has every drawing slash letter slash craft I ever made for him in a safe that he took with him to college and has taken everywhere else he's ever lived. He talked about the day I came out as gay to him and how he'd figured it out earlier, but he struggled to accept it for months in secret because he had lived his entire life up to that point, assuming we would be a family and wanting nothing else. He told me he thought about our last night before college all the time, and he kept hoping that entire night I'd say something before he left, because then he'd have transferred colleges to stay with me.

1:06:00Told me he actually took a very long way home just to prolong the time when we were holding hands and I was sleeping on his shoulder and that it was to this day his favorite memory. Then he looked at me with those piercing green eyes and said, for me, there has never been anyone else. He loved once me and then struggled through a bunch of rebounds. And even though he had learned to bury it and move on with life and was happy in our friendship, his heart had only ever belonged to me. Honestly, I guess I should have known this. My dad told me he was sure this was true, but I didn't listen. But I was flustered and deeply moved.

1:06:33We sat and talked and reminisced some more, mostly about when we were kids. I found out some things I never knew because he avoided telling me how romantic some things were for him after I came out. but I also kind of realized I think they felt romantic to me too. Then I brought up the sex question and oh my god it was the cutest shit ever. I barely got to say anything before he started tripping over himself like look I don't even care I don't need that if we need mistresses or something we can do that it doesn't bother me I just want to wake up with you every day which was sweet but then I told him that even though I didn't know how that would go and I might not be able to I wanted to try with him anyway when I got better and oh my god he turned tomato red and could barely look at me.

1:07:12Literally could not even manage to form a sentence in response. Just mumbled incoherently before managing to get out. Um, okay, if you're sure. This man has been married and had six girlfriends, but he completely just falls all over himself at the thought. God, it was adorable. This is the only thing I'm still a little worried about, but I do want to try. I mean, I liked the kissing, which I thought was completely impossible. And I know that if it doesn't turn out well, it won't ruin anything and we'll still be together and just figure something else out for that one need. Then we talked about the cancer.

1:07:42He is so sure I'm going to make it. It's so touching. It took a little while to get him to take the other possibility seriously. When I finally did and I told him that it's the reason I didn't tell him sooner, he held my hand and told me that if that happens, he'd be okay because he'll always know that he was the one of the lucky ones because he was mine. I almost lost it. Then he said, if we don't have that much time left, we better make sure every minute counts. I said, that's pretty...

1:08:14Sorry, I'm only laughing because I'm hearing everyone in this room. The full... We're losing it. I wish you guys could see what we see. Everyone's done. I think I'm only not crying because I am driving this truck. and my eyes are on the road. I need you to keep breathing. Then he said, if we don't have that much time left, we better make sure every minute counts. I said, that's pretty hard to do in a hospital. And he replied, what do you mean? We're both here and that makes this the best place on earth. Dear God, what did I do to deserve this man? I teared up again and he held me one last time.

1:08:55Then the doctors came in. He kissed me goodnight. We both said I love you, but it felt so different. It's never felt so good to say or hear those words. Then he smiled at me and left. I was so excited. The first thing I did was call mom and she was just ecstatic. I think she might be happier than me, which is saying something, LOL. As soon as I told her what happened and that James and I are together, she just started crying and talking about what a good boy he is, how she just knew this would happen and that she can rest easy now because she knows I will always be loved and taken care of. Funny of her destiny talk, which is usually gets on my nerves, but honestly, I was so happy tonight.

1:09:28Fuck it, I'm on board. Maybe it was destiny. I guess sometimes mom really does know best. I feel like a teenager again. I never thought I'd feel this way in my life. I never imagined if I did, it would be for a man. God, I love him so much. Now I can't understand what I was ever worried about or why I didn't do this years ago. Thanks so much to everyone who read my story and helped give me the perspective and courage I needed to finally do what I should have done years ago. Now, as long as my health cooperates, I'll be one of the lucky ones too, because I am his.

1:10:00Good job, Shane Topp.

1:10:05Update. Okay. So is that the last update? There's, dang, so no more updates. Let's just assume they live happily ever after. I'm going to assume that. Yeah. I mean, as of this update, she was saying the doctors were hopeful and it was all looking good, so. You did a great job. Thanks. You did a great job, Shane. Wow. What a fairy tale. That was awesome. It really is so beautiful that, like, they're, like, I mean, already off the bat just communicating all the difficult stuff. They're like, okay, in our first initial conversation, let's talk about the thing, like the sex of it all. They're like, we'll both do whatever we gotta do.

1:10:47That doesn't matter. This is more communication that iPad has seen in years. One James. This iPad's like, thank you. This iPad's like, whoa. Angela, tell me if you specifically agree with this. This felt like a one-act play that you would have to read in a scene study class. Oh, yeah. They'd be like, all right, you're being assigned to a Moo Moo, and you're being assigned to James, and you guys are going to... And the good actors get the act three. The good actors get this one, yeah. Whew. James is unreal. James is just a giant peach. Sorry. I feel like emotionally drained from that, in a good way, but I'm just like, I am toast.

1:11:32How do we get this to James? We're a YouTube channel. We can try. James, if you're out there, we love you. Please come on TNTL. Yeah, you were really slick with some of those one-liners. You pick a show, man, and we will make it work. James, we'll make you a rat on Bit City. James, we'll bring you on for Assumptions party-goers. just please James have you ever played Flip 7 where you are today buddy we're doing it now and we're all just like not cool James Spencer has to show you Resident Evil and he comes in and we're like so yeah so here's a second chance card and uh we're all like so starstruck it really touched me that someone in the face of that much uncertainty felt like she could finally understand the destiny comments that her mom would make a lot or just like feeling Like when you see someone who's like kind of looking at the glass half empty, finally like have hope is like the most beautiful.

1:12:33And she got to see that from her mom. Like she picked up on it. Like that is like, that was another layer to this that I was like, the way it brought her closer to her mom was so touching. Yeah. The whole thing is flippin' sweet. Just so sweet. It's wild. Well, that's the end. What an ep, eh? When I think about how long that story was, though, when I think about, like, oh, there were kids and she was reading a book and they talked about space, like, that seems like last week. That was five other episodes. That was five other episodes ago. Yeah, that's true. Which planet would you guys want to visit?

1:13:09Whatever, when James is on. Probably, can we do moons? Can we do moons? What's that one moon of Jupiter that's got ice? Oh, Europa? Europa. There we go. Europa. There are names of moons? There's one that's got an ocean, and I'm just curious if there's some shit down there. Yeah. There might be. There might be some shit down there. There might be some shit down there. I think there's some shit down there. All right. Thank you guys for joining me today for this wholesome episode. Thank you for hanging through that. Hey, no problem, man. Thank you for all the tears shed in this room. And thank you all at home.

1:13:46And just when I thought, sometimes Eric behind the camera zones out, he doesn't. He really doesn't. He fails deeply. He's got an artist's heart. All right. We'll see you next Saturday. Bye. Bye.