Serial loner, Marcus, helped his elderly neighbor with her grandkids, but when she died, they were supposed to be taken away. However, he received a call from social services with a stunning revelation and had to make the most crucial decision of his life.
I don’t know what to do. This is not what I chose for my life. This is not… what I expected, Marcus thought and shook his head, pulling the phone away from his ear for a while. His eyes went to his window, which showed him a perfect view of his neighbor’s house, where he had spent hours in the last few months. He had only been trying to help, and now, his perfectly simple life was spinning out of control.
***
Six months ago…
“Mrs. Hennessy, do you need some help?” Marcus asked loudly after getting out of his car. He arrived home from a hard day at work and saw his elderly neighbor struggling with a giant stroller. Although he didn’t usually volunteer for others, he couldn’t let this pass.
“Oh, child. Yes, thank you so much. This thing is too big, and I have no idea how to work it,” Mrs. Hennessy said, breathing a sigh of relief as Marcus walked across the street to her house.
They lived in a quiet neighborhood with relatively small homes – most were bungalows – but it was the perfect place for a loner like Marcus to live. The neighbors were friendly, but they didn’t get into your business.
Marcus felt serious pressure on his chest and thought it was a heart attack at one point, but he remained quiet over the phone.
Still, he helped when he saw a need, and this was that kind of situation. He watched as the older woman attempted to open the stroller for twins and pull another one from the trunk of her car. “Mrs. Hennessy, why do you have so many strollers?” he asked, confused.
“Well, it’s a long story, but I’m now in charge of triplets,” the older woman answered, shrugging one shoulder. She went into detail about her new circumstance. Her daughter and her husband died in an accident, leaving her the custody of her six-month-old triplets.
Marcus bit his tongue because it wasn’t his business. But honestly, he didn’t know how Mrs. Hennessy would be able to handle such a task. She could walk and care for herself, but babies were too much trouble. He had decided long ago not to get married or have kids to avoid all that disaster. It wasn’t his cup of tea.
Marcus knew Mrs. Hennesy had a daughter and had obviously raised her well. But as he stared at the older woman’s frail hands and hunched back, he had no idea how she would do this. Would it be rude to say something?
“Mrs. Hennessy, forgive me because I don’t know you well, although we’re neighbors, but how will you manage three babies?” he inquired as gently as he could. He expected the older woman to be offended, but the chagrin on her face revealed that he was not entirely wrong.
“Honestly, child. I have no idea. But I’m all these kids have left, and I’m going to do my best,” she promised and started getting the babies out of her car, putting them in the strollers. It seemed easier for her to place them there instead of bringing them one by one to her house.
Marcus shrugged. He wouldn’t judge. He knew he could not handle one child and admired the older woman’s determination. Once he assisted her in getting the strollers into the house, he said goodbye.
To his surprise, Marcus started helping her out more often, and at some point, he became a staple at the woman’s home. She invited him for dinner, and he learned about diaper changes, toys for six-month-olds, and that dealing with three babies was exactly as hard as he had always imagined. But for some reason, he always came back.
At some point, it was his job to feed them breakfast because he was always up bright and early and had some time before work. He never imagined this would happen, but he had to do it, especially when Mrs. Hennessy’s health started declining.
A few months later, the older woman could not get out of bed and died shortly after. He had made arrangements and tried reaching out to family, but there was literally no one near them in Atlanta, and none of them were willing to take responsibility for the babies. CPS took them, and Marcus hoped for the best for them.
Now the CPS worker had called him with an astonishing revelation. “Ma’am, I can’t adopt them. I don’t know what Mrs. Hennessy was thinking,” he said, placing the phone back in his ear. But he was still shaking his head.
“Sir, the other neighbors told me you were seen at her house often helping with the kids. And the older woman did leave this request in her will. She wants you to adopt them. It’s just that her lawyer took a while to reach out to us,” the social worker explained. “But obviously, this is a choice for you. I just need to know your answer right now, so I can proceed with a more permanent placement for the triplets.”
Right now? This woman wanted Marcus to make a choice that would change his life forever immediately. Just like that? As if becoming a parent wasn’t the biggest decision of anyone’s life. Caring for children was a privilege – a luxury even – and it’s the kind of responsibility that never ends.
Marcus felt serious pressure on his chest and thought it was a heart attack at one point, but he remained quiet over the phone.
Suddenly, the peaceful silence of his apartment disappeared, and he saw his future like a movie. Three kids running around, destroying everything and not letting him sleep. He saw them as teenagers getting into trouble and heard them cussing out at him for not being “their real father.”
Sweat ran down his spine, and he closed his eyes, dispelling the images. New ones took their place. Teaching the triplets how to walk. Playing dolls with them. Getting them their first bikes. Watching them graduate, their weddings, their kids.
What is the right choice here?
“Hello? Mr. Nickson? Are you still there?” the social worker asked, interrupting his introspection. “Is that a ‘no?’”
Marcus took a deep breath. “No, I’ll take them,” he almost whispered and braced himself.
The journey was hard. It was not a movie. There were ups and downs, smiles and many tears, doctor visits and accidents, teachers and trouble with cliques. Most days, Marcus wondered what his life would be if he didn’t say yes that day. But then the kids would distract him, making him forget about it. He would never be alone or lonely again.
Years later, as he walked one of his daughters, Zara, down the aisle and saw his other two kids smiling in front, he knew he had made the right decision.
What can we learn from this story?
Life will offer you many choices, and you will have to decide what’s best for your life. Marcus made a difficult decision that changed his life forever. It turned out to be the best decision he ever made.
You should never feel guilty about your decisions. Not taking the kids would’ve been fine because their situation wasn’t Marcus’ fault. But he did the selfless thing and did his best to raise them.
Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.