One day a barren woman crosses paths with a lonely little girl in a park. The girl tells her that her parents will never come back. They do not yet know that they are destined to stay together.
Linda Harrington stood in front of a red traffic light, trying her best not to burst into tears. She was 32 years old, unmarried and medically unable to have children.
Two days ago, she told her boyfriend Shane about her infertility, who broke up with her because he wanted to start a family with her, and not adopt a child, as Linda wanted.
“I’m sorry, Linda! This won’t work,” he said before hanging up. They dated for six months, and although several men had walked out of her life in the past, claiming they didn’t want to deal with an infertile woman, Linda thought Shane was different. The problem is, he didn’t!
This morning, when Linda stopped at a red light to go to her office, she couldn’t get over the events of the last two days and struggled to hold back her tears. As the light turned green, she took a deep breath and headed towards her office.
Still a few buildings away from her workplace, Linda drove past a park where she noticed something and stopped abruptly. She saw a young girl sitting alone on a tree branch in the park. There were no elders around her, nor anyone in sight.
Linda hated her job and was late. She knew that her arrogant, evil boss, who constantly threatened to fire her, would come for her, but she realized that the girl was alone, and decided to approach her. After all, she couldn’t leave the little girl alone…
“Hello,” Linda said, stopping in front of the girl and crouching down to look at her face. “Are you waiting for someone? Can I help you?”
The little girl looked at her, and Linda noticed tears in her eyes. “My name is Linda. Can you tell me your name?” – she asked the girl.
“My name is Amy,” the girl finally replied.
“You have a beautiful name, Amy,” Linda said with a smile. “So you came here with your friends?” The little girl shook her head. “Oh, are you waiting for your parents? I can stay with you until they come back. When will your parents be back?”
At that moment, tears rolled down Amy’s cheeks, and she whispered, “Never.”
Linda’s smile disappeared from her face. “What are you…
“Mom and Dad died in a car accident last week,” Amy said, “After that, some people took me to a new house. I’m not happy. I want mom and dad….”.
Linda was really worried about the little girl. She didn’t look more than six years old, but she had been through so much.
“Did you come here alone because you didn’t like your new home? You…” Before Linda could finish, she was interrupted by a voice from behind.
“I think I can tell you better.”
Linda turns around and sees a woman standing behind her. She introduced herself as Janet, Amy’s temporary guardian. She said that Amy often went to this park with her parents and that when she started missing them, she took Amy there. She went to the nearest store to buy water, but Amy refused to go with her, so she told her to stay in the park.
“To be honest, I hope she will be adopted by a loving family,” Janet told Linda. “You see, she’s very young, but so far no couple has expressed a desire to adopt her.”
“I want to adopt her!” said Linda. “I would like to have her as my daughter…”
“Well, there’s a catch in that,” Janet remarked. “Only married couples will have this opportunity. You see, the state laws on single adoption of children are just crazy. It may take you forever….”.
When Linda came to work that day, her thoughts were more on Amy than the fact that she was going through hell from her boss, Mr. Garfield. She left her bag on her desk and tried to sneak into the boardroom, but Mr. Garfield noticed her.
“Miss Harrington, I think you’re bothering us,” he said, interrupting her speech and turning to her. “I would politely ask you to leave.” “But, Mr. Garfield, I’m not late on purpose. I met this girl, I couldn’t leave her alone, and…”
“I’m not interested in stories, Miss Harrington. I think I’ve made myself clear enough!”. He intervened. “Please, you are wasting our client’s precious time,” he added, pointing to the door.
Not wanting to embarrass herself anymore, Linda left the room. But before she left, Mr. Garfield was not slow to reproach her. “You see, gentlemen,” he said, “As a company, we value time. So as of today, Ms. Harrington is no longer part of our company. Please refrain from contacting her in the future. SHE’S FIRED!”
Linda froze at his words and felt completely humiliated, looking around the room. She packed her things and left the office in tears. She hadn’t expected the day to go so badly, but her dismissal wasn’t unexpected, considering that Mr. Garfield hated her.
As Linda walked past the park again on her way home, she stopped, lost in thoughts of Amy, until the horn of a car behind her suddenly distracted her. She turned around and immediately recognized the driver. This was the client Mr. Garfield was talking about in the boardroom.
“Linda Harrington? Hello, I’m Jacob Bernard. Would you like to have coffee with me?” – he asks, rolling down the passenger side window.
Linda sighed sadly. “Well, today was a hell of a day. I was late for work, then I was humiliated in a room full of government employees, then I was fired, and now I’m unemployed. By the way, congratulations on making a deal with the worst person you can find-my former boss. It deserves coffee! Thank you!” she said, getting into the car.
While they were chatting over a cup of coffee, Linda realized that Jacob was really a good person. They had no idea when they deviated from the main conversation and began discussing each other’s personal lives. Jacob said that he was rich, but he had no one in his life, his parents had left him long ago. “Besides, I’m terrible with relationships!” he admitted.
Linda blushed: “I wouldn’t say I have pleasant memories. Everyone I’ve dated has left me after finding out I’m infertile, so yes… I think we have this in common.”
Over time, Jacob and Linda began to meet often, and before they realized it, they became very good friends and imbued with feelings for each other.
One day, Linda took Jacob to the park where she met Amy and told him how much she wanted to adopt a girl. And that evening, Jacob asked Linda out on a date and asked her to marry him. “Will you be mine forever?” he asked, dropping to one knee and holding out the diamond ring to her.
Linda can’t believe her ears! “Of course I’ll do it! Yes!” she replies, kissing him passionately.
After the wedding, Linda and Jacob visited the park again, and, as they were lucky, they saw Amy there. Linda told Janet that she and Jacob were interested in adopting Amy.
The process took a lot of time and a lot of control, but in the end everything worked out, and Linda’s life turned from boring and dull into a happy family with a beautiful daughter, a caring husband and two new professions: a loving wife and mother.
