I AM A SINGLE DAD WHO ADOPTED THE BABY GIRL 20 FAMILIES REJECTED BECAUSE OF HER DIAGNOSIS — I FINISHED THE PAPERWORK IN UNDER FOUR MINUTES.

I AM A SINGLE DAD WHO ADOPTED THE BABY GIRL 20 FAMILIES REJECTED BECAUSE OF HER DIAGNOSIS — I FINISHED THE PAPERWORK IN UNDER FOUR MINUTES.

PART 1

Meeting Greg at a diner on Route 9 after nearly a decade, he told me he had been the twentieth person to turn down a baby girl.

“Twentieth,” he said.

“They even told us. Like that was reassurance.”

“No to what?”

He slowly spun his coffee cup twice before answering.

“She has DOWN SYNDROME. We agreed at first, but after reviewing her file, we just couldn’t.”

I asked how long she had been waiting.

“Fourteen months. She’s in a group placement in Colfax.”

He stared down at the table. “You have means, Julian. You’re single. Maybe you could assist, pay for a few things for her.”

I told him I’d think about it. Instead, I drove to Colfax at first light without giving anyone advance notice.

At the front desk, I waited for forty minutes.

When the woman returned, she was carrying a baby dressed in a yellow sleeper. Without asking whether I was ready, she placed the baby in my arms.

“This is Maya,” she introduced.

Maya had one sock on, felt warm, weighed more than I expected, and immediately grabbed my collar tightly.

“She acts this way with everyone,” the woman explained. “She’s not particular.”

I realized I had been standing there much longer than I intended.

Then I asked to see her file.

She hesitated. “It’s mostly medical.”

“That’s fine.”

She handed me the folder before answering a ringing phone.

Birth details. Weight. Diagnosis confirmed on day four.

I turned to the second page and read it TWICE.

“May I use your phone? My own is in the car.”

She slid it toward me — And I called a NUMBER I hadn’t dialed in nine years.