Sometimes, life gets away without us even realizing it, we may become so focused on our careers that we forget to take time for ourselves. This is what happened to Simon, the man in our story today which was inspired by the readers at AmoMama. Simon had built a very successful career but did not realize he wanted more, until it was too late…or was it?
A Successful Man
Simon was 42, he had built his very successful career and was a wealthy man. He had spent most of his life reaching for this goal. But now that Simon was older, he soon realized something was missing. He had no partner to share his success with, and he longed for a child to leave his legacy to. He knew he would be an amazing father, but he also knew that time had almost run out. How was he going to find the love of his life and have a baby before it was too late? He decided to speak to his doctors about his concerns. And realized perhaps adoption was an option, at least this way he could be a father.
Simon drove home, with many thoughts in his mind. Perhaps he should not have broken things off with his ex, but he knew she was not right for him. He pulled up into his driveaway and got out of his car. He noticed what looked like a parcel on his doorstep. Simon thought to himself if he’d placed an order and forgotten about it, confused, he locked his car and walked up to his front door.
No Ordinary Parcel
Simon walked up to his door and to his shock and surprise, he saw a baby was wrapped up in the parcel at his front door. He gasped as he reached down for the tiny human. The baby looked up at him and gurgled, and Simon fell instantly in love, he looked around to see if the baby’s parents were nearby, but he knew right then and there that someone had purposefully left the child on his doorstep. He picked the baby and her few belongings up and went inside. He immediately had thoughts of keeping the baby. He called child services from inside, and while waiting for them made the baby a bottle of formula which had been left with the baby.
A few hours later, a social worker turned up at his home. She asked him many questions, and they tried to figure out who could have left the little girl on his doorstep. He then asked the social worker what his chances were of being able to keep the baby. She did not seem to think it would happen, as he was a single and unmarried man. She promised him she would try her best but that she could not promise he would be able to keep the baby. Simon nodded and handed the little girl over to her. His heart sank as they drove away.
Becoming a Father
A few months had passed, and the baby on the doorstep was now around five months old. Finally, they had granted Simon guardianship. He chose a name for his new daughter and picked the name, Rebecca. Simon was an excellent father, providing his little girl with all her wants and needs. He was happy.
12 years passed by, and Simon and his daughter had never really thought about who could have left her on his doorstep. Rebecca had known about how she was left on Simon’s doorstep since she was about 10 years old. While of course they always wondered, it did not really matter anyway. Until one day, close to Rebecca’s 13th birthday, the doorbell rang. Simon was getting ready for work and Rebecca was eating breakfast waiting to go to school.
A Big Surprise
Simon opened the door and saw his ex-girlfriend standing there. He was quite surprised, it had been about 13 years since he’d seen or heard from her. While he was confused, he opened his door and welcomed his ex, Charlotte, inside. He asked her what on earth she was doing there, and she told him it was best if they spoke without Rebecca there. Simon agreed and dropped his daughter off at the bus stop, returning home to Charlotte who waited for him.
Charlotte told Simon that when they broke up, she discovered she was pregnant. Simon was angry, why had she not told him? All he had wanted was to be a father. She told him she did not keep the baby. And Simon was even more upset. He would gladly have kept the child! This is when Charlotte’s eyes welled up, and she told him that the baby on the doorstep was her child she gave up. Rebecca was in fact, Simon’s real, biological child! Simon did not believe it at first, it seemed even more unbelievable than finding a baby on his doorstep.
The Truth Was Out
Simon asked Rebecca why she’d left her there and not just come to him, Rebecca explained her choice and why she was afraid he would not understand her situation, and why she decided him not knowing was best. Charlotte then asked Simon that she hoped he would allow her to be in Rebecca’s life. This was not a hard decision for Simon, of course, he would allow her to be, but he told her that it would ultimately be Rebecca’s choice. He also requested that they all first have DNA testing done, which proved Charlotte’s story as true.
After speaking to a social worker, Simon and Charlotte eventually worked out how to break the news to their daughter. Sitting her down one evening, Simon told Charlotte the truth. Rebecca cried but was so excited to meet her mother. It did not matter why she’d left her all those years ago. All she cared about was that she came to find her again.
Charlotte had done what she thought was best for her baby at the time, even though it seemed unconventional. Simon allowed her to see Rebecca as often as she liked, and they soon developed a good relationship. While it was no ordinary family, Simon and Rebecca were both happy and glad to have answers.
At the end of the day, we make choices as parents, choices we hope will be best for our children. Stories like these make us realize that even though we may not understand the choices our parents or partners made, we can still try to set our differences aside for the sake of our children.
This story was inspired by an original piece of fiction that first appeared on AmoMama. Any similarities between this story and actual people is purely coincidental.
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