A man is accused of being the father of a baby abandoned on his doorstep, and it costs this marriage and way of life.
Kyle Greenbecker had spent a year working on an oil pipeline in Alaska, and now he was on his way home to his lovely wife. Kyle and Lisa met in high school, and he had never regretted marrying her at 19.
Kyle was proud that Lisa was the only woman he’d ever been intimate with. He didn’t need or want anyone else. It never occurred to him that Lisa would ever mistrust him—and for good reason.
Kyle got his baggage and stepped out with the other passengers, scanning the crowd for Lisa’s familiar face, but she was not there to greet him.
Kyle thought she’d been kept up at work due to an emergency. He texted her quickly, saying he was on his way home, but received no response. He took an Uber and was walking up to his front door within an hour.
The lights were on in the lounge, but Lisa was not present. He made his way to the kitchen and stood in the doorway, shocked. A bassinet sat on top of the kitchen table, and Kyle noticed a small arm swinging aimlessly.
He took a step forward. There was a baby in a bassinet on his kitchen table! The child was staring back at Kyle with that shocked expression that babies have, and Kyle was just as surprised.
Then he noticed a folded paper on the table next to the bassinet. He grabbed it up and opened it. Inside was another sheet of paper with a message in handwriting he didn’t recognize: “You had your fun, now take responsibility for your child.”
Meanwhile, the note to him in Lisa’s exquisite script read:
“Kyle, yesterday I found this child on our doorstep with that note attached. I always suspected you cheated on me during your business trips, but I didn’t hold a grudge on you for that — after all, I had plenty of flings while you were away — but saddling me with someone else’s child is too much. I’ve filed for a divorce, and I earnestly hope I will never see you again.
“P.S. And about the baby, don’t worry, I only left when I saw you walk up the drive. Enjoy your life, Kyle, I certainly intend to enjoy mine.”
Kyle sat down and rested his head on his hands. He could not believe what was happening to him. This was not his child, and he had never cheated on Lisa! A faint cooing sound caused him to raise his head.
The infant was waving its little hand in the air, so Kyle brought his own hand closer, and to his astonishment, the youngster clutched his index finger with great strength.
“Well, baby,” Kyle said. “I guess it’s just us two, and I don’t know what to do with you!”
The baby cooed and gurgled again before making an alarming look and turning bright red. “Oh my God!” exclaimed Kyle. “What’s happening?” A certain odor instantly enlightened him.
Yes, it was diaper time. Was there even a diaper? On the floor next to the table was a huge bag with multiple snap compartments that he’d never seen. Kyle discovered a surprising array of goods within, including the diapers.
He promptly Googled diaper change and attentively watched a woman on YouTube teach how to change a diaper on a lifelike doll.
Kyle began to follow her instructions, but things did not go easily. The woman’s lifelike doll did not move its legs or dunk its kicking heels in the disgusting and unmentionable contents of the dirty diaper! After cleaning the baby, Kyle realized it was a girl, and he knew nothing about girls!
“I won’t be giving you dating advice,” he assured the baby seriously. “But I can teach you how to ride a bike.”
Kyle realized in that moment that he wanted to keep this baby.
He picked up the freshly diapered infant and said, “You need me, and I guess I need you too. So how about it, kid?”
Kyle consulted the YouTube baby-guru again to make the formula and placed the baby in the crook of his arm to feed her.
“You need a name, you know that? How about… Celeste? Do you like that? Or Lily…”
Kyle would never have dreamed that he would transition so effortlessly and smoothly into fatherhood. Lily had her moments and tantrums, but things eventually worked out.
Kyle registered Lily as his child and put her in daycare. For him, her birthday coincided with the day he discovered her. Kyle’s life broke apart on Lily’s second birthday, however.
A woman knocked on her door. “I’ve come for my baby,” she explained. Kyle simply gazed at her. She was tall, blonde, and skinny, with enormous br:easts that were clearly the result of a plastic surgeon’s work.
“Your what?” Kyle asked.
“My baby,” she snapped. “I left her here two years ago? Sorry about that, but I was a bit stoned and my boyfriend lives on the next block over and I got confused. You know how it is!”
“Sorry, I don’t know how that is because I’ve never abandoned a child on anyone’s doorstep,” Kyle said coldly. “I’d get a move on if I were you, or I’ll call the police.”
“Now look here,” the woman said sharply. “I figured I made a mistake about a week later when Burt didn’t take my calls, but now I need that baby!”
“You need her?” asked Kyle angrily. “What do you need her for?”
“Burt just got himself a Major League contract,” the woman said. “And that baby’s gone make sure some of those millions land in my bank account!”
Kyle chased her away, but he had a sense he hadn’t seen her last. He was correct. One week later, he was summoned to family court. Miss Cherish Vegas was contesting the adoption of baby Lily.
Kyle was suddenly bombarded with injunctions, visited by Social Services at odd hours of the day and night, and his acquaintances and coworkers were questioned. Cherish intended to get her hands on those millions!
The day of the hearing arrived. Kyle hesitantly handed over Lily to the social worker for the length of the hearing before walking in. Cherish was present, of course, and a tall man with Lily’s blue eyes stood on her side of the court. It could only be the famous Burt!
Cherish cried and sniveled as she told the judge how much she loved and missed her baby, and how her wild college days (now long gone and sincerely regretted) had led her to leave her in Kyle’s care.
The judge gazed down at the documents in front of her. “By in his care, you mean on his porch, isn’t that right, Miss Vegas?” questioned the judge.
Cherish flushed red. “Well, I’m still her mother!” “No one can deny it!” she exclaimed.
The judge looked at Burt. “You sir, you are the father?”
Burt lumbered to his feet and said, “I guess I must be…”
The judge fixed him with a hard look. “Are you prepared and able to take on the parental responsibilities for this child?”
Cherish yelled: “You bet he is, judge, he just signed a three million dollar contract to play ball…”
“Oh!” the judge exclaimed. “Finally, the truth is out! Tell me, Miss Vegas, what name did you give your daughter?”
“Name?” asked Cherish, confused. “Why, she’ll have her daddy’s name., since he’ll be paying child support!”
Kyle stood up. “Your honor,” he said. “May I address the court?”
“Yes, Mr. Greenbecker,” said the judge. “Please do.”
“Ma’am, my daughter’s name is Lily, and she does have her father’s name — mine. Since the moment that child came into my life I’ve loved her, and she loves me.”
At that moment, Lily, who had been playing with the social worker’s necklace noticed that Kyle was standing up. “Daddy!” she cried and stretched out her arms.
“Well, ladies and gentlemen, it seems to me that the case has been decided by the principal party,” the judge said. “I hereby overturn all claims of custody of the child Lily Grennbecker and confirm Kyle Greenbecker’s custody and adoption.
Kyle and Lily spent the evening capturing lightning bugs in the garden after celebrating their court win that night. “Stars!” exclaimed Lily. Kyle, nevertheless saw his young girl as the brightest star.
