I wasn’t expecting to find a positive pregnancy test in a package addressed to my father. And I certainly wasn’t expecting the romantic note signed by a teasing “darling.” Was my father cheating on my mother? Was he going to have a baby behind our backs?
I always thought my parents had the perfect marriage. They laughed at the same silly jokes, danced in the kitchen when they thought no one was looking, and never missed an opportunity to remind me how much they loved each other.
But now? Now I didn’t really know what to believe anymore.
A couple standing together | Source: Midjourney
I moved out of my parents’ house at the age of eighteen, eager to pursue my independence in the city.
My apartment was tiny. It had just enough space for me, a sagging couch, and a kitchen that barely fit two people. But it was mine, and I was proud of it.
Between work and school, I barely had time to breathe, let alone visit my parents in the suburbs. We stayed in touch, of course. But I hadn’t seen them in months.
So when my phone rang that afternoon and I saw my dad’s name, I smiled and answered immediately.
A woman using her phone | Source: Pexels
“Hey, stranger,” I said jokingly.
“Hey, kiddo,” he said warmly. “Guess what? I’m coming into town tomorrow for work.”
“What? No way!” I jumped up from my couch. “This is incredible! Where are you staying?”
“In a downtown hotel. Just for a few nights.”
“Well, I’ll definitely come see you. No discussion.”
He chuckled. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
I hung up, all excited.
My father and I had always been close. He was the one who taught me to drive, who never missed a single one of my school plays, and who makes the best Saturday morning pancakes.
I was looking forward to seeing him.
A young woman standing in her room | Source: Midjourney
The next afternoon, I arrived at his hotel, skipping into the lobby. When he opened the door, I put my arms around him.
“Dad!” I shouted.
“Hey, kiddo,” he laughed, giving me a tight hug. “Wow, you look great.”
“You too,” I said, pulling back to look at him. He looked the same, but his hair was grayer and longer than the last time I saw him.
And his smile? It hasn’t changed.
We sat in his hotel room, catching up.
A man sitting in a hotel room | Source: Midjourney
He asked me questions about school, my job, and whether I was eating enough.
During this time, I asked questions about Mom, the house, and our dog, Buster. Everything about our meeting seemed normal. I felt safe and happy.
Until there was a knock at the door.
Dad was in the bathroom when I heard it.
“Can you bring it to me?” he called. “It must be the courier.”
I stood up and opened the door to a delivery man holding a small brown package. I signed and read the label.
A brown package | Source: Midjourney
“Do you want me to open it?” I asked.
“Sure, it’s probably a work thing.”
I peeled back the tape, expecting to find some documents or maybe a spare part for something.
Instead, I found something I could never have imagined.
A positive pregnancy test.
It came with a printed note that read: ” Congratulations, darling! Meet me at Café *** at 7 p.m.
My head spun as I stared at the note, then the pregnancy test.
It wasn’t real. It can’t be true.
A young woman reading a note | Source: Midjourney
I looked at the note again, trying to make sense of it all.
My father was having an affair? My devoted and loving father was cheating on my mother? With a pregnant mistress?
Bile rose in my throat. I felt sick.
My hands shook as I put everything back in the box and sealed it.
At that moment, I could only think of one person. My mother. My beloved mother.
A woman in a black dress | Source: Midjourney
I thought she deserved to know what was going on here. But this conversation wasn’t mine to have.
Suddenly, my father came out of the bathroom, pushing me out of my thoughts.
“What was that?” he asks, wiping his hands on a napkin.
I swallowed hard, forcing my face to remain neutral. “Uh… just a package. I haven’t opened it.”
He nodded, taking it from me without thinking.
But I wasn’t going to let that go.
I needed to know what was going on. I had to see who my dad was dating.
A woman looking outside a window | Source: Midjourney
Later that evening, I put on a jacket and went to the place mentioned in this note. My heart pounded in my chest as I took a seat in a quiet corner.
I looked around the restaurant, trying to see if the woman who had sent a note to my father was already there.
Is that her? I thought, looking at a blonde woman sitting alone. She looked to be in her forties.
A woman sitting in a cafe | Source: Pexels
But my suspicion was extinguished when a man came and sat down next to her.
As I looked across, my gaze fell on a familiar face coming through the door. It was my father.
He arrived at exactly 7 p.m.
He wasn’t sneaking around or looking over his shoulder like a guilty man. No. He walked in as if he had nothing to hide, standing straight and scanning the room.
And then I saw it.
A bouquet of roses in her hand.
A bouquet of roses | Source: Pexels
I clenched my fists under the table, my pulse roaring in my ears. Roses? Seriously? Was he going to give them to his pregnant mistress?
My heart slammed against my ribs as I gripped my coffee cup. I’d prepared for the worst, but seeing it happen in real time was something else.
I kept my head down, pulling up my hoodie slightly, hoping he wouldn’t notice me. I had to see who he was meeting.
Minutes pass. Tension has built up in my chest.
Then the door rang and someone came in.
A person holding a door handle | Source: Pexels
I held my breath as I watched a woman walk in.
I knew her.
And he was the last person I expected to see.
It was my mother.
I blinked, sure I was imagining things. But no. It was her. She was standing in the doorway, her eyes scanning the room until she spotted him.
She jumped and put her hands to her mouth.
What’s going on?
A woman standing in a restaurant | Source: Midjourney
My father stood up, his face lighting up like a child’s on Christmas morning. In three long strides, he crossed the room and took her in his arms.
They laughed. They kissed. They whispered quietly, completely unaware of the stunned woman (that is, me) watching them intently from across the cafe.
Then, when she pulled away, my father leaned down slightly, placing a reverent kiss on her stomach.
My jaw almost hit the table.
That’s when I saw him.
The slight bulge under my mother’s dress.
She was pregnant.
Close-up of a woman’s eyes | Source: Midjourney
I grabbed my phone with trembling fingers, instinct taking over. I pressed record and began capturing this beautiful moment.
It was hilarious to realize that I had spent all day convinced my father was a cheating liar. And now I found out he was just a doting husband, still madly in love.
Later that evening, I sat in my apartment and watched the video on repeat. I felt very relieved.
A woman looking at her phone | Source: Pexels
My parents had been together for twenty years, yet they still looked at each other as if they were falling in love for the first time. I had spent hours imagining the worst-case scenario, only to realize I had been wrong.
And now they were going to have another baby.
A baby.
I shook my head, letting out a breathless laugh. “Unbelievable!”
For so long, it had been just the three of us. Me, their only child, the center of their world.
And now, at forty-two, my mother was starting over? I found it hard to understand.
A pregnant woman | Source: Pexels
I replayed the video, watching my father press a kiss to my mother’s stomach, their whispered laughter, the look of pure love between them.
It was too good not to share.
***
Six months later, at my mom’s baby shower, I stood in front of a room full of family and friends, holding up my phone.
“I have a story to tell,” I announced, my eyes sparkling as I glanced at my parents, who were sitting side by side, my father’s hand resting protectively on my mother’s now very round belly.
Baby Shower Cakes | Source: Pexels
They look at me with confusion.
I pressed “play”.
On the screen, the short video clip came to life. It showed my father leaning down, pressing a kiss to my mother’s stomach, his delighted laughter, and the soft whispers only they could hear.
The room filled with sentimental sighs and warm smiles.
Then, when the video ended, I took a deep breath and told everyone the full story of how I found the package, thought the worst, and then practically stalked my own father.
A young woman looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
When I finished, my father was laughing so much he had tears in his eyes. My mother slapped me on the arm and shook her head.
“Amelia!” she scolded, even though she was smiling. “Did you really think your father was cheating on me?”
“I panicked!” I defended myself. “It’s not every day you find a pregnancy test in a package addressed to your father!”
The room erupted in laughter, as my father wiped his eyes, still chuckling.
“Well, that’s one way to get your heart rate up,” he said.
A man who smiles | Source: Midjourney
I looked around at the faces of the people who had shaped my life, including my parents, my soon-to-be-born baby brother, and a room full of love and laughter.
That’s when I knew this was a story we would be telling for years to come.
If you enjoyed reading this story, here’s another one you might like: I thought I knew everything about Nathan. After all, we’d been married for years, shared everything, and built our lives together. But one day, while cleaning out his closet, I found a gift box that rocked my world. Inside was a note from someone claiming to be his child.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the story. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or to actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims regarding the accuracy of events or character portrayals and are not responsible for any misinterpretations. This story is provided “as is,” and all opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the opinions of the author or publisher.
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