A man struggles to raise his triplets after his wife’s passing, believing they were his own. However, things were broken up one day when he meets a stranger in the cemetery and knows the babies he had been dedicated to raising for so long were not really his.
Dried, rotten brown leaves crunched under Jordan Fox’s boots as he pushed his baby stroller into the Manhattan cemetery’s ornate gateway.
“We’re going to see mama…” he told baby Alan, one of his triplets resting his bulky diapered bottom on his left hip. The other two, Eric and Stan, lay in the stroller, watching the sky and babbling at seeing dragonflies.
Jordan tried hard to remember but could not recognize the tall, stout man. “Who is he, and what’s he doing near my wife’s tomb?” he was curious and approached him…
“Amen!” said the man.
“So, who is he then? And what’s he doing here?” Jordan was puzzled.
“I’m offering you $100,000! I’m ready to give you more if you want. Take the money and give me the babies.”
“You must be Jordan Fox…It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Fox,” the guy uttered. “I knew you would come here today, and I was waiting for you. I’m Denis…from Chicago…Kyra’s ‘old’ pal.”
Jordan was a little amazed because Kyra had never told him about having such a friend from Chicago who was old and whose name was Denis.
“Nice to meet you, Denis. I’m not sure I know you…Have we met before? I haven’t been to Chicago before.”
“Not really! I just arrived in Manhattan. I found out that…” “Can I see your babies…if you don’t mind?”
“They are angels! They have my nose and eyes…and chestnut hair…” “And those big lashes…I had them when I was little!” he said.
“Mr. Fox, I know this might not make any sense to you, but…I know you’ll be wondering who I am and why I’m here. I’m the boys’ REAL FATHER, and I’ve come here to take them.”
“Mr. Fox, please believe me. I’m the father of the kids. A mistake I made in the past is still haunting me. I want to correct it before it’s too late. Please send the kids with me. I even have an amazing offer for you.”
“Are you crazy, old man? Get outta my way before I call the cops,” Jordan held the stroller and baby Alan tighter and ignored the guy.
But Denis wouldn’t budge, and he began disclosing intricate details about the late Kyra that startled Jordan.
“Kyra, your wife…She loved disco and bikes….was a brunette with a taste for art and French cuisine…Soupe à l’oignon and crème brûlée were her favorites. She was allergic to peanuts and had a small burn scar on her right thigh..and she had this…”
“ENOUGH…STOP!” Jordan yelled.
“I don’t want to hear a word more about my wife. Who the hell are you, and how do you know all this? What do you want?”
Tears of surprise and grief sprang into Jordan’s eyes.
“It’s not a bribe, Mr. Fox. See, I want to thank you for raising my babies, okay? And you needn’t worry about anything. I’m fifty-seven and have enough experience in raising kids. Take your time to think about it and do get back. Call me on this number, alright? I’ll be waiting. Denis Roberts hates a no for an answer, so….”
Jordan could not center on the road. He stopped his car at random intervals on the roadside, trying to concentrate, but in vain.
“Was everything she told me a lie then? How could she do this to me?” he cried.
But the part about the burn scar on her right thigh? He couldn’t help but suspect her, considering the circumstances under which he met her two years ago.
It was the spring of 2016. Jordan and Kyra fell in love and started dating. They danced, toured across the night-lit streets of Manhattan, and kissed before saying I love you! He asked her to promise to quit drinking, and she agreed. She asked him to promise not to leave her like her ex-boyfriend, and he assured her that.
It had only been two weeks since their love story bloomed when Kyra told Jordan she was pregnant with his triplets and persuaded him to marry her.
It all felt like a wicked joke now. Jordan kept staring at the wedding ring he was still wearing after Kyra’s passing and understood she had always kept him in a web of lies.
“I was an IDIOT! Everything she told me was a LIE…Her love was a game…she married me because she needed a man to father SOMEONE ELSE’S KIDS.”
“I should’ve known the babies were not mine when she told me she was pregnant in just two weeks. I was so stupid! She cheated on me…that too with an old man. How disgusting!” he sniffled, tears endlessly spilling from his bloodshot eyes.
The babies suddenly woke up and started crying in the backseat.
Jordan decided to forget about the encounter with the stranger and got to work. He put the babies in the crib, scooping one each at a time to get rid of their diapers. First went Alan, and then Eric, and then Stan.
He saw it was almost time to hurry to the bar for the night shift. He then called Mrs. Wills, his elderly neighbor, to come over to watch the kids.
It was a rainy night, and Jordan was restless as he kept looking out the window to see if Kyra had come.
Jordan had somehow put his babies to sleep. He took his phone to see if Kyra had called and got a call from the station instead.
“Yes, Jordan Fox here.”
“Mr. Fox, we are calling from the station. Could you please come to the morgue? We need help in identifying a woman’s body.”
Jordan started sweating as he rushed to the hospital after leaving his babies with his neighbor. Kyra’s lifeless body lay still, and it was later revealed she was under drug overdose at the time of the crash.
Jordan’s world changed after that.
They were the only reason that kept him living. He vowed to himself he would do everything to give his kids a good life. Jordan did not date any other woman after that because he still loved Kyra.
But now, after learning he was not their real father, he started doubting if he could see them the same way again and if he would genuinely want to spend his time and energy raising them.
“I can’t do this anymore…I just can’t,” Jordan shouted.
Jordan could not be peaceful that entire night in the pub. He returned home after his shift but went straight into his room to find Denis’s card. He didn’t even stop to look at his babies or cuddle with them like usual.
Jordan’s heart sunk to the ground. “How could I…How could I even think about abandoning you? I cannot live without you guys…you are my everything…God, how did I even think of leaving them?” he cried.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Roberts…but I cannot accept your offer. A father is one who raises his children — not necessarily the one who gives birth. I may not be their real father, but they are still my children. I cannot imagine a life without them,” Jordan said.
“Mr. Fox…wait a minute…please. Look, we can talk about this again, alright? You don’t understand…I want my babies. I cannot live without them.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Roberts. Even I cannot live without them. They are my world. And I don’t want your money. You cannot trade love for money.”
Denis was discouraged. “Fine, if that’s your decision. But can we meet tomorrow at the café…or maybe at your place? You decide.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Roberts, but I’m busy tomorrow. I don’t think I can…”
“Don’t you want to know the truth fully, Mr. Fox? I have only told you a part of it. There’s still something else you don’t know yet.”
“So…what is it? You said I still need to know something.”
“Mr. Roberts…what is it? Look, I don’t have time, and I’d appreciate it if you make it fast.”
“Mr. Fox, the babies with you are not yours…they are not mine either. Actually, I’m their GRANDFATHER!”
“Oh my God…Where were you all these days…Kyra told me her parents were D3AD…She never told me anything about you. What happened to you? Why didn’t you come for her funeral?”
“I was such a bad father, Mr. Fox,” cried Denis. “I did something no father would do to his child.”
“After my wife passed away, I raised my daughter alone. I gave her everything…love, money, and education. I wanted her to live a life I had envisioned, but she lost track and fell astray with her addiction issues.”
“All I can say is I’m happy my grandsons are with a man they can call ‘Dad.’ Mr. Fox, only you can love and raise them well. I am sorry for lying to you that I was their father. I was not a good father, but I wish to be a good grandfather.”
With time, Denis began visiting Jordan and the kids often and, at some point, even decided to live with them. He treated Jordan as his son and was happy to be a part of his grandchildren’s development.
