An anonymous source once said, “A family doesn’t have to perfect; it just needs to be united.” And it’s undeniably true. Family is often messy, made up of flawed people, some biologically related and some not. There may be disagreements, miscommunication, misdeeds, but family is defined by love. And once love is there, the connection is unbreakable. When Paul adopted a child, fate brought him the son he ever knew he had. Suddenly, their family became complete. This story was inspired by a reader of AmoMama, where the incident was originally published.
He Looked Like His Adopted Father
Paul and Cara always wanted to have a child, but they were unsuccessful for the first several years of their marriage. So they took it as a sign to adopt. Their child was already in the world, waiting for them to find him. After many months of research and bureaucracy, they finally met him. His name was Rainer, he was six years old, and he has been living with foster families since he was a baby. Finally, he came to his forever home.
Paul and Cara knew that many children have difficulty adjusting after adopting. They prepared themselves for the worst, but this period was more enjoyable than they expected. Mostly because they’ve wanted this for so long. Although Rainer was very shy, he was eager to explore his new home and find ways to connect to his new parents. With every passing day, their bond only grew.
When the couple took Rainer to meet Paul’s parents, the new grandparents showered the little boy with love and took many pictures. Looking them over, Tiana, Paul’s mother, commented how much Rainer looked a lot like his new father. Paul smiled at this; it was like the family was truly meant to be. But Tiana kept repeating this comment, becoming more and more agitated over the idea.
Read: Woman Demands Husband to Get His Stuff Out after Supporting Him for 23 Years — a Short Story
Rainer’s Birth Mother
When Rainer played with Cara and his grandfather in the backyard, Paul cornered his mother in the kitchen. He asked her why she seemed upset. Tiana never had a good poker face and he knew there was something she wasn’t telling him. After some pressure, she finally relented.
About six and a half years prior, Paul had a breakup with his girlfriend at the time, Bella. They left on terrible terms and Paul was struggling to recover from the relationship, even months later. That is when Bella appeared on his parent’s doorstep. He had blocked her phone calls and didn’t inform her of his new address. So she came to Tiana, looking for him.
Bella told Tiana that she was trying to find Paul because she was pregnant. It was supposedly early on and her belly didn’t show anything. After the dramatic breakup, Tiana was certain this was a ploy for Bella to coerce Paul back into a relationship. So she refused to talk to her further and told Bella to stay away from Paul. Tiana never heard from Bella again, which made her believe her assumption was correct. But now, seeing Rainer, she doubted everything.
Paul was shocked at the story. He had no idea Bella was ever pregnant or anything that happened to her after they broke up. She had tried to contact him a few times but he had never known this was the reason why. Despite his past resentment against her, he knew that she would never lie about such a thing.
He Adopted His Biological Son
He immediately contacted the adoption agency. Fortunately, the caseworkers explained they had an open adoption. Paul had never thought to look into Rainer’s biological parents; after all, what do they matter, he’s his father now. But now, he requested this information and sure enough, Bella was the mother.
That night, Paul and Cara put Rainer to bed before convening in the kitchen over cups of tea. Paul told Cara everything he had discovered: Rainer might be his biological son. To his surprise, Cara was extremely calm about the situation. She explained that Rainer was their son now, no matter who his birth parents were. But Paul should still get a DNA test to be sure.
Next week, Paul took the test and the results confirmed their theory. Paul was Rainer’s biological father. He and Cara tried to find Bella, which turned into a long and fruitless search. In the end, they found her online obituary. She had died several years ago in a boating accident.
When Rainer was old enough, they told him about his true parentage and Paul apologized for not being there for his birth mother. It took some time for Rainer to digest this history, but he ultimately forgave Paul. Rainer felt like Paul and Cara were his real parents, blood-relations or not. Ever since they had become a family, he had received only love, attentiveness, and care, and he loved his parents back. As the years went by, the incident became an inside joke. Whenever something serendipitous happened, they’d say, “It’s like I adopted my own kid!”
This story was inspired by an original piece of fiction that first appeared on AmoMama. Any similarities between this story and actual people are purely coincidental.
Keep Reading: Son Who Didn’t Visit His Mother for Years Comes and Sees Her House Destroyed – a Short Story