A 9-year-old girl cried after classmates teased her about being adopted. When her adoptive mother found out about it, she decided to contact the girl’s biological mother.
“Don’t worry, Mr and Mrs Jones. We’ll make sure Katie doesn’t feel left out. You can reassure yourself,” said Mrs Smith, the teacher in Katie’s class, to reassure parents Sarah and Mike.
Sarah and Mike moved from the English suburbs to Denver, Colorado, after Mike was transferred to his company’s branch in the city. Since Katie was afraid to go to class alone, they decided to accompany their little girl to school.
Katie nervously held Sarah and Mike’s hands, fearing that what had happened at her old school would happen again and her classmates would judge her again.
Katie stood in stark contrast to her white parents with her dark skin and curly brown hair. Growing up in the suburbs, the little girl knew she was different from her parents, but she didn’t consider herself ‘adopted’ until other students at her school pointed this out and ridiculed her because of it.
Unfortunately for Katie, she feared the story would repeat itself, and that’s exactly what happened.
“Please join me in welcoming Katie Jones. She is a new student and will be joining you today,” said Mrs Smith as Katie entered the classroom.
Katie tried to smile at everyone, but she could feel the judgement in the strange eyes sliding from her face to the tips of her toes, then to her parents and finally to their classmates, who exchanged unpleasant smiles.
“Katie, why don’t you sit down and join your classmates?” suggested Miss Smith to her with a friendly smile.
Little Katie looked at her parents, afraid to leave them, but her mother smiled at her and knelt beside her, assuring her that everything would be all right. She gave her the confidence to let go of their hands and sit up.
However, as she took a few steps forward and took her seat in the second row, she heard whispers behind her that were nothing but commotion.
“Do you see how different she is from her father and mother? I don’t think they are her real parents,” whispered Isabel to her friend Ann.
“Obviously she doesn’t look like her parents at all! I’m sure they adopted her!” “But does the little lousy sheep know that?”
Katie’s eyes watered as she heard her classmates laughing at her, but she said nothing. She hid her tears and smiled at her mum and dad, who waved her goodbye before leaving the classroom.
But one day her classmates overreacted. Poor Katie had just taken her seat when Isabel, Ann and some of their other friends gathered around her and began to mock her.
“So, when are you going to leave this school? Don’t tell me you’re staying here!” shouted Ann, grabbing Katie’s bag and throwing it into the corner.
“But why…? I haven’t done anything wrong…,” the girl replied in a trembling voice, frightened by the way everyone was surrounding her.
“Because we don’t love you and we don’t want you here! I’m sure your mother left you because she didn’t love you either!” added Isabel.
“My mother didn’t leave me!” Katie said, wiping away her tears. “My mother loves me very much. She loves me more than anything!”
Isabel laughed. “Well, they’re not even your real parents! They had to adopt you because they felt sorry for you. That’s why you’re so different from them!”
“That’s not true! My parents love me and…” before Katie could finish her sentence, Isabel opened a water bottle and splashed it in her face. Ann, Isabel and their other friends laughed, leaving Katie in tears.
Suddenly Isabel noticed that Mrs Smith was about to enter their classroom. She told Katie not to tell her, but the little girl could not stop crying after what had happened at school and ran to Mrs Smith, begging her to call her mother because she wanted to go home.
Mrs Smith tried to comfort Cathy, but she kept crying and asked Sarah to pick her up from school. Mrs Smith finally agreed and called Sarah, who rushed to the school and found Katie sitting in the teachers’ lounge in a miserable state, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Darling, what’s wrong?” – she asked worriedly, hugging Katie and comforting her. But the girl kept crying.
“Can we go home, Mummy? I don’t want to stay here! ” replied Katie, sobbing and wiping her nose.
“Of course, dear. Can you go to the car and wait? I’ll just talk to Mrs Smith, OK?”
Katie nodded and walked out of the teachers’ lounge. Afterwards Sarah told Mrs Smith about what had happened at school. But Katie hadn’t told anyone about the bullying, so Mrs Smith knew nothing.
When Sarah returned home with Katie, the girl rushed to her room, which was still a mess because of the move, and locked herself in. Sarah left Katie alone for a while. She often did this when she was upset and left a little later. She had no idea that this day would reveal something unexpected to her.
A few hours later, Sarah approached Katie’s room with her daughter’s favourite biscuit, but Katie’s door was still locked. “Darling, are you there? Are you all right? ” she asked quietly, but there was no reply.
Sarah knocked lightly on Katie’s door and called out to her again. ‘Darling, Mummy bought your favourite biscuits. Won’t you let me in?”
Suddenly the door opened and Katie came out, but she was still crying. Sarah’s eyes widened as she entered Katie’s room and looked around. The whole area was a mess, their old photo album lying in the corner, all the pictures scattered on the floor.
“Mother, is it true that you are not my real mother? Is this woman my real mother? Everyone says I’m different from you and Daddy because you adopted me. ” She pointed to a picture of a black woman with a baby in her arms.
Sarah hugged Katie and comforted her. “Darling, it’s true that I didn’t give birth to you, but I love you as my own daughter. The woman you saw in the picture is your birth mother.”
“My biological mother?” asked Katie in confusion.
“Yes, honey,” Sarah continued. “Daddy and I wanted to tell you this when you were old enough to understand everything, but now that you’ve seen who your real mother is, let me tell you a little story. Your mother gave birth to you when…”
Sarah told Katie that her mother Nancy gave birth to her when she was just 15 years old. Her father, like her adoptive parents, was American and Nancy was African. As a result, Kathie’s appearance was different from that of her adoptive parents.
Unfortunately, Nancy’s mother and boyfriend were not supportive after her pregnancy, so she gave Katie up for adoption. Mike and Sarah took the picture Katie found and planned to show her everything when she turned 18. But Katie discovered the picture in the album before then, in one of the cardboard boxes, when she was loading her toys.
“But, Mum, can we contact her?” Katie asked Sarah curiously.
“Yes, dear, we could,” Sarah said, hoping the woman wouldn’t let Katie down. “However, I believe your father has all the paperwork regarding your adoption. Let’s talk to him when he gets back from work.”
” Okay!” replied Katie with a smile.
That evening, when Mike returned from work, Sarah told him all about how Katie had found out about the photograph and what the children had been doing at school. Mike pulled out the adoption papers and called the orphanage to find out about Nancy, and learned that she worked there as a janitor.
They decided to visit with Katie Nancy the following weekend and when they did, Nancy was over the moon. “Oh, I never thought I’d see you again, dear. I was afraid to contact your foster parents! She hugged Katie and cried.”
Katie hugged her back, then turned to Sarah. “Mum, can we please stay together? I want to stay with you two!”
“Of course we can, dear,” Sarah said with a smile. “After all, she is your mother.”
Later that day Sarah and Mike returned to Denver with Nancy, and on Monday they went to Katie’s school and told Mrs Smith all about how Anne, Isabel and some of Katie’s friends had bullied her.
The children were suspended from school for a while after admitting their misdeeds, and Katie stood proudly in front of them, holding the hands of both her mothers. “I’m so glad my adoptive parents chose me. I have two wonderful mothers and a loving father. But look at yours. They don’t even have a choice but to put up with kids like you! ” she said before going out with her parents.
