A single man who wanted to raise children badly gets his chance when someone leaves him a basket containing a baby girl — imagine his shock when he discovers who her mother is years lat
Paul Matthews knew the benefit of hard work; he was a workaholic from San Francisco, California, where he was the head of a tech company he built from scratch.
The company was doing well, but he soon started to feel lonely, after which he realized that his focus on his company’s growth had left him no chance to do any socializing.
Paul discovered a basket with a baby on his front porch | Source: Shutterstock
He first had the thought at 30, but it had not mattered much then. When he clocked 42, it was all he could think about.
“Come now Paul, that happens to everyone. People usually assume their lives are over once they hit a certain age and I think it’s normal for you to be worried about it. Don’t lose your cool though, you still have a lot of time,” Dr. Liv Weaver, his therapist, told him when he opened up to her.
“You talk like it’s so easy to put yourself out there,” Paul muttered.
“It’s not, and it’s not something you can force. But what I will say is that when you meet the right person, falling in love is as natural as the first snow in winter. Who was your last girlfriend anyway?”
“Her name was Rose. We haven’t spoken in months. We shared a lot of similarities theoretically because we are both professionals in tech. But when it came down to it, we couldn’t work,” Paul replied.
“Precisely. You forcefully entered a relationship with a woman you thought would be suitable. That’s all I’m saying, Paul. You can actively put yourself out there, but what happens after has to flow naturally. Or else, it won’t work at all,” Dr. Weaver told him.
Paul knew what the doctor said made sense, but he was an ambitious man, and patience was not his strong suit. He turned it over in his mind as he drove home.
Paul’s therapist, Dr. Liv Weaver, advised him to exercise patience and not to worry too much about his age | Source: Pexels
He was still thinking about it when he pulled into his driveway and got out of his vehicle. He had just taken a few steps forward when he noticed a basket in front of his door.
As he moved closer, he saw that it contained a lot of blankets. He was wondering how it got to be there when he suddenly saw the blankets move, and he heard a baby’s whimper.
“What?” he thought. “Someone left a baby on my doorstep?” He parted the blankets, and sure enough, there was a tiny little child with enchanting blue eyes staring up at him.
Paul went on his knees and started making cooing noises at the baby, who stared at him tearfully with her tiny hands uplifted, begging to be picked up.
“I can’t leave her out here,” the man thought. So he took the basket inside and carried the child.
“There. There. It’s ok, sweetheart. You’re fine, I got you.”
To his surprise, the child stopped crying, and even though he didn’t plan to, Paul fell in love with the little girl. Still, he knew he would have to alert the cops; she was still very young, so she would be quickly adopted.
“Would I be allowed to take her in, though?” he wondered, but it seemed implausible that social services would let a single workaholic man raise a child.
After the child stopped crying, and even though he didn’t plan to, Paul fell in love with the little girl | Source: Pexels
He resolved to try. “The worst they can do is rule me out,” he told himself.
That decided, Paul called the non-emergency line and spoke to a friendly dispatcher. Finally, after an hour, some policemen arrived with a social worker named Tonia.
“Pardon me, madam. Will it be possible for me to adopt this baby?” he asked her specifically.
“Do you have a wife?” Tonia asked immediately, and when Paul revealed he did not, she frowned. “I don’t know, Mr. Matthews. It might be difficult.”
“But this child was abandoned on my porch. There must be a reason for that, right? What if her birth parents return for her?”
“Do you have any idea who might have left this baby here, Mr. Matthews?” one of the officers interrupted their conversation to ask.
“I have zero idea. But my intuition says to keep that baby with me. It’s not something I can explain. Please, Tonia. Is there really no way?” Paul begged the social worker.
“Ok, Mr. Matthews. Why don’t we do it this way; if your story checks out and if no one comes back to claim this baby, we can start the official adoption process,” Tonia conceded.
Paul was grateful, and he thanked her for everything. Tonia took the girl with her until she could be placed more permanently, but Paul didn’t mind; he just focused on preparing to become a dad.
The social worker named Tonia agreed to give Paul a chance to adopt the child | Source: Pexels
A couple of months later, the paperwork was signed, and Paul officially became her foster parent. Tonia pulled through for him even though many families had wanted the child.
Paul was aware of this, and he promised himself to be the best father a child could ever ask for. Now he just had to pick a name for the kid to go by.
Paul decided on Angel. He wasn’t exactly a religious man, but the child was a gift he believed fell from heaven, and Angel was a fitting name.
Once the paperwork was done, Paul threw himself into his new life as a dad, and even after twelve years passed, he still thanked God for the Angel he sent down to make his life more meaningful.
Paul had been a hands-on father, and the only time he ever needed someone to babysit his Angel, the doting father would employ a nanny service in the area. His housekeeper, Mrs. Jones, also pitched in to help sometimes.
The only issue Paul did not know how to deal with was his daughter’s frequent questions about her mother. He avoided telling her the truth at first and held off on that until she was ten.
On her tenth birthday, he revealed she had been adopted and told her the circumstances that preceded that. She didn’t freak out, but Paul knew she would always have questions about wherever her mother was.
Paul did not know how to deal with his daughter’s frequent questions about her mother | Source: Pexels
“I’m sorry I don’t have a lot of information on her, Angel. I wish I had more answers for you, but we don’t know who she is because we never met her,” he explained gently.
“It’s fine, Dad. I was just curious. Perhaps when I’m older, she’ll come find me,” Angel said.
“Never say never,” Paul said.
One sunny Saturday morning, Paul was getting ready for an outing when he heard the doorbell buzzing. His housekeeper answered the door and called for his attention downstairs.
“I’m not expecting anyone, who could it be?” Paul wondered as he descended and walked to his front door. He was shocked to see his ex, Rose, standing there.
“Hey, Paul,” she said softly, a nervous smile playing on her lips.
“Rose. Wow, hi. It’s been a minute. What are you doing here?” he asked, shocked by her unexpected visit.
“Yes, it’s been some time. May I come in?” she asked timidly.
“Of course, please. Mrs. Jones, bring us some snacks, please.”
“Yes, Mr. Matthews,” the woman replied and rushed off to the kitchen while Paul led Rose to his living room.
“Ok, now that we’ve gotten pleasantries out of the way, let’s hear your reason for being here. I heard you left town a while after we ended things. What happened?” Paul asked.
Paul was shocked to see his ex, Rose, after many years | Source: Pexels
“Paul, It’s difficult to say this. But after we split, I discovered I was pregnant,” Rose started, causing Paul to look at her sharply.
