Divorce is fairly common around here, but when I married Laura I thought it would be for keeps. I loved her she seemed the very picture of femininity and charm.
We even had a son, Ryan, whom I adored beyond reason. Before he was born I never imagined I could love anyone more than my wife, yet it turned out I could.
Unfortunately, our happiness was shortlived. When Ryan turned three and started at nursery, Laura went back to work. It was there she met the man who would later turn my world upside down.
Laura fell headoverheels in love. She still cared for me, but not in the way I loved her. One day she simply told me she was leaving for another man.
Paul, dont think Ive been unfaithful. I was hoping this feeling would pass, but it hasnt. Simon loves me deeply and Im sorry
I said nothing. There was no point in begging her to stay once shed made up her mind, and there was no use arguing. Shed been honest, shed walked out on good terms, and for Ryans sake we both tried to keep a civil relationship.
We divorced, and I was left on my own. Laura kept insisting Id find someone whod truly appreciate me, but Id already been burned once and swore I wouldnt let it happen again.
Ryan grew up, and I saw him often. Laura and I managed to cooperate amicably; she never even applied for child support, merely saying, If you can, give what you can. I suppose she felt guilty about how things had turned out.
I was a responsible father and knew how much a growing boy cost: school fees, extracurricular clubs, food that isnt cheap these days. So every month I transferred as much as I could.
It was through Ryan that I learned Laura was pregnant again. I couldnt pin down what I felt bitterness, envy, pain, or perhaps a reluctant relief that she was doing alright.
But there was little cause for celebration. When Lauras baby girl was born, Simon abandoned them both, off with another woman, leaving Laura and the infant to fend for themselves. They werent married, which should have been a warning sign, but Laura was so smitten she saw nothing wrong.
I helped where I could. I gave the girls father a handout, and when I collected Ryan I could also look after the baby for an hour while Laura ran errands, drive her to the doctor, or even stay overnight when she needed to be away for a few hours.
We never planned a new romance. I knew things would never be the same, and Laura felt it would be unfair to her exhusband. Still, we kept a friendly rapport for Ryans sake.
When the little girl turned two and Ryan started primary school, tragedy struck: Laura was killed by a drunk driver at a bus stop. The car veered into the crowd waiting for the bus, killing three people, Laura among them. She never even made it to the hospital.
The news hit me hard. I still felt something for Laura not love any more, but a lingering affection for someone who had once been close to me. Grief had no time to settle; I had to arrange the funeral and steady Ryan.
Soon after, I discovered the girls father had no intention of taking her in. We met before the funeral, and he brushed me off.
Ive got another family; the child isnt my problem.
But shes my exwifes daughter how can you be so cold?
Itll be fine. Shell find a good home.
What about other relatives?
Theres Lauras sister, if anyone wants her. Its not my concern.
Lauras sister lived in a rundown cottage in a village, an alcoholic with three kids of her own hardly a safe place for a toddler.
When I was collecting Ryans things, little Blythe stood watching. A neighbour had taken her in temporarily, but she made clear she didnt intend to adopt.
Im nearly fifty, my own children are grown. What am I to do with a baby?
I couldnt sleep after that. Blythe wasnt my daughter, but the father who had walked away cared not a whit. No decent relatives were stepping up, and the orphanage was a bleak prospect for Lauras child. My heart ached at the thought of her ending up in a place where shed be just another number.
The next morning Ryan asked, Dad, will Uncle Simon take Blythe?
No, son, he wont. I never lied to Ryan; I believed the bitter truth was better than a lie.
Then where will she go?
Probably a care home.
Will they read her bedtime stories? She hates porridge can they give her something else? Can we visit?
I smiled at his earnest concern. It wasnt often a brother showed such genuine love for his little sister. If we tore Blythe away now, that love would be lost forever, and Ryan would later realise how wrong it all had been.
Would you consider Blythe living with us? I asked.
Really? But youre not her dad.
We could try.
After navigating the bureaucracy, I secured guardianship of Blythe. When I picked her up from the neighbour, she ran into my arms and clung to me like shed known me all her life far more than any biological father ever did.
Seeing her tiny brother, Ryan, she beamed. She was still too young to grasp that her mother was gone, which, strangely, made it easier for her to cope than it would have for Ryan.
A few months later Blythe started calling me dad. I didnt correct her; after all, I was filling the role. Her biological father sent occasional, modest payments, but I needed none of that. We got her a spot in a local nursery, and she settled in quickly.
Blythe grew to look more and more like her mother, and the bond between Ryan and her deepened. I felt Id made the right decision, loving her as if she were my own. Even strangers would never guess she wasnt my blood relative; sometimes I thought she even shared my cheekbones.
When Blythe turned six, I finally met the love of my life. Id sworn Id never marry again, never let anyone into my world, yet love has a way of finding you.
My new partner embraced both Ryan and Blythe. Blythe, after some time, began calling her Mum, having never known her own. Ryan treated his stepmother with the utmost respect. I asked for nothing more from my son.
I never lied to Blythe, just as I never lied to Ryan. She knew I wasnt her biological father, yet she treated me as such.
Only when she grew older did she truly understand what I had done that after the tragedy Id taken not only my own son but also a complete stranger and raised her as my own.
One evening, after shed finished sixthform and was preparing for university, she came to me.
Thank you, Dad, she said.
For what, love? I replied, smiling.
For not abandoning me, for giving me a happy childhood, for keeping my brother close, for becoming a true father and bringing Mum into my life.
I smiled through the tears.
Youre welcome, Blythe. And thank you for coming into my world. I finally have a real, loving daughter.
