Poor Teacher Puts Baby Son up for Adoption after Wife’s Death, Meets Him in Class 8 Years Later – Story of the Day

Fate ties a poor widowed teacher to his son he had given up for adoption eight years ago when he accidentally meets him in his class. He pines for his son's love but is swept away by a tear-jerking surprise.

"Sir, the bills, please," the receptionist's voice drove Larry back to his senses as he pulled out wads of cash from his backpack and put them on the counter. He had drained all his savings and borrowed money from his friends and loaners. Larry was ready to take any risk to save his wife and their baby, who was about to arrive.

"Sir, here's your invoice, thanks, and have a good day!"

Larry grabbed the receipt and hurried outside the operation room. He waited impatiently for the doctors to come out and tell him that his wife, Demi, who had developed complications during labor, and their newborn baby were fine. But a painful blow awaited the 31-year-old family man...

Larry's teary eyes glowed with joy as the doctors opened the door and came out. He heard the faint cries of his newborn baby boy they had planned to call Roger.

Larry started panting and asked, "Doctor, can I see my wife and baby?"

The doctor pursed her lips and asked Larry to be strong.

"Wh-what happened, doctor? Is my wife alright? I can hear my baby. I want to see them."

"We're sorry, Mr. Jefferson. We were only able to save the baby."

A father is a role model and an epitome of inspiration a child will look up to no matter how tall they grow.

Larry was shaken as he followed the doctor inside. Warm tears rolled down his face as he held his newborn baby in one hand and touched his dead wife's hand with the other. It was the most painful thing Larry had ever been through.

"What will I do? How will I raise my baby alone?" he cried.

Two days later...

The guests left after the funeral, leaving single dad Larry and his newborn baby grieving the loss of the most beloved woman in their lives.

Larry had no parents, and his wife was all he had to love and laugh with. Now that she was gone, he couldn't find solace in anything, not even his baby.

As days passed, Larry tried his best to care for his son. He shuttled between his work as a physical education teacher and baby-tending.

In the weeks that came, Larry had a hard time raising Roger and did not know how to handle everything alone. To rub salt into his wound, those he was indebted to started calling him one by one, demanding their money. Larry found himself at a dead-end when he realized he could no longer raise baby Roger amid his struggles.

"I cannot let my son watch me struggle. I have a lot of debts, and I cannot promise him a good childhood," he said and made the painful decision to give his baby son up for adoption.

Larry placed Roger for a closed adoption and began focusing more on his work. He worked hard day and night, sometimes even working part-time gigs in stores and warehouses after his shift in school.

"Hey, thanks for paying me back, pal! My doors are always open for you if you need help in the future!" one of Larry's friends from whom he'd borrowed money told him. Larry sighed and could not believe he had worked so hard an entire year to settle all his debts. Then a strange thought struck him. Had Roger been adopted? He hoped not.

Larry decided he would get his son back. But when he returned to the foster home, he was told Roger was no longer there.

"We're sorry, Mr. Jefferson. Your son found a nice, loving family that took him in six months after you placed him for adoption."

"Do you have their contact details?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Jefferson. It was a closed adoption, just like you wanted."

Disheartened, Larry returned home and spent many sleepless nights crying near baby Roger's crib. It was painful for him, but he couldn't do anything other than accept the fact that his son had gone to live a better life. He thought they would never meet again, but fate had other plans.

Eight years flew by, and one day, during class...

"Hey, watch out!" Larry ran after a boy who had fallen on the tracks while cycling.

He dressed the boy's bruised knee, where he saw a peculiar birthmark. What puzzled Larry was he had a similar birthmark on his knee. He remembered seeing that birthmark on his baby's knee years ago.

"What's your name? Are you new here?" he asked the boy.

"My name is Ralph. I enrolled here after my parents got transferred."

"How old are you, Ralph?"

"I'm eight years old, sir!

Larry's heart raced. Could Ralph be his son, Roger?

Later that evening, Larry saw Ralph's parents picking him up in their car. They seemed well-off and loving. Though he was happy for Ralph, he wanted to find out if the boy was his son.

Days passed, and Larry could not focus on anything but Ralph. So one evening, after school, he visited the boy's parents at their house under the pretext of coaching their son for junior bike racing. At first, Ralph's parents believed Larry when he told them how their son needed extra training to improve his cycling. But they started suspecting when he asked them if he could see Ralph's childhood pictures.

After seeing the photos, Larry recognized the baby he'd given up for adoption eight years ago. He learned Ralph was their adopted son, confirming his suspicions. Larry could no longer hold back the truth and burst into tears, confessing he was Ralph's father and revealing why he was forced to give him up.

"I didn't want him to be raised in poverty. I didn't want him to grow up seeing me struggle. By God's grace, I was able to settle all my debts in a year, so I decided I would take my son back. But it was too late... he had already been adopted by then... by you."

Ralph's adoptive parents, Mr. and Mrs. Larson, sympathized with Larry, but they worried how their son would react if he learned he was adopted.

"We hid it from our son because we worried how it would affect him... But maybe there is something we can do, Mr. Jefferson," began Mr. Larson.

"You can visit us often as our family friend to spend more time with Ralph. But we will have to agree on something—We will only disclose the truth to him on his eighteenth birthday."

Larry agreed because all he wanted was to be closer to his son.

As days passed, he started visiting Ralph often. The boy believed his favorite PE teacher was his father's friend and harbored a fondness for him.

But four years later, while chilling with his family in the pool, 12-year-old Ralph accidentally saw the birthmark on his teacher's knee.

"Dad, mom, Larry, and I have identical birthmarks on our knees. How is it possible?" he exclaimed. "I heard only relatives, parents, and siblings have identical birthmarks. Is he related to me, then?"

At this point, Ralph's adoptive parents and Larry realized they could no longer hide the truth from their son. They sat him down to make the biggest confession of their lives.

"Son, when you were little, your father did what was best for you," Mr. Larson began.

"My father?? But dad, you are my father. Why would you say something like that about yourself??"

"Ralph, my boy, I am your father, no doubt about that! But there's another special person in your life who brought you to us. Mr. Jefferson, your PE teacher, is your real father!!"

"WHAT?? My REAL father? Dad, what do you mean?" Ralph exclaimed.

"Son, I am your birth father. I placed you up for adoption when you were a baby because I wanted you to have a better life. I didn't want you to watch me struggling with my debts. I was afraid I could not give you the happy life you deserved. I didn't want to ruin your childhood in my rush to become debt-free," Larry explained.

Ralph gasped and started to cry. He hugged his two dads and said, "I am so happy. I have two dads, and both love me to the extreme!!"

The three parents shed tears of joy, realizing this was what fate wanted. The boy continued living with his adoptive family, and Larry visited them often.

Years passed, and Ralph grew up in the circle of his adoptive dad and birth dad's love and care. He thanked his destiny for enriching his life and never blamed Larry for giving him up for adoption.

"You did was was best for me, dad! You wanted me to live a happy life. You didn't want to see me struggle. You did what any good father would do!!" Ralph hugged Larry and bid his parents a tearful goodbye before walking away to board his flight. He was moving to another country to pursue his higher studies. His dads proudly watched him as he disappeared into the plane, wishing him a great new journey ahead!

What can we learn from this story?

• Parents will do what's best for their children. Though it pained him, Larry gave up his son to give him a better life. Meanwhile, the Larsons opened their doors to Larry, knowing this was the best thing for Ralph.
• A father is a role model and an epitome of inspiration a child will look up to no matter how tall they grow. When Ralph learned Larry was his birth father, he did not get angry at him. Instead, he understood Larry's decision to give him up and still looked up to him as a good father.

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A rich man torn between adopting his girlfriend's newborn baby and his parents' refusal is forced to deal with the hard lesson they teach him the next day. Click here to read the full story.

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