After years of struggling to conceive, my doctor delivered heartbreaking news that made me wonder if my marriage could even survive the weight of it. “You are infertile.” My world shattered and my dreams burst like a soap bubble. But my husband was there for me, restoring all my hopes when he mentioned the option of adopting.
Camden and I dreamed of becoming parents from the moment we tied the knot, but that didn’t come naturally to us.
Sadly, I learned I couldn’t be a mom. As much as I felt sorry for myself, my heart ached for my husband who deserved to be a father. “Don’t worry, Zelda,” he said at the doctor’s office after I head the news that broke my heart into a million pieces.
“Adopting a child in need of a family doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” he said smilingly, trying to cheer me up.
The thought of adopting found its roots in my head. It didn’t take long before we met with social workers and started foster care visits. The process was extremely slow, and the paperwork was endless, but we knew it would be worth it.
And then, one day, we met Nicholas, a five-year-old boy with the most beautiful brown eyes. I knew he belonged to us the moment I fist saw him.
We started the process of adopting him, but then, another family, a very wealthy one, came into the picture.
They were as interested in adopting Nicholas as Camden and I were.
Mrs. Jameson said they had the right to apply as well. Nicholas was about to spend a week with each family before making a decision. At that point, it was up to him to choose his family.
When the Featheringhams, the family interested in adopting Nicholas, entered the foster home, they acted as they owned the place. Mrs. Featheringhams wore a diamond necklace and looked at me and Camden from above, as though we weren’t worthy as a competition.
“You see, we can provide Nicholas with the best schools there are. He’ll live a life of luxury. Why don’t you make the kid a favor and quit trying for him?” she told us.
Turning to her husband, who was equally polished as she was, she said, “Honey, they are just a plain, middle class family. What do they have to offer? A tiny house in the suburb?”