Rose and her husband Anthony had been trying to conceive for a long time, and when they discovered they were expecting twins, they were over the moon.
The ultrasound had revealed they would be having a boy and a girl, and the couple was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the twins. However, when the nurse brought the children post-examination, they were both girls. Rose’s face turned pale.
the couple was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the twins
“Where has my son gone? What exactly did you do to him? And whose baby is this other girl?” she screamed, gazing at the nurse who had just brought the kids in.
“They are your daughters, ma’am,” the nurse, Josephine, said, her eyes fixated on the documents. “I double-checked the reports and I’m confident there is no error.”
“Have you lost your senses?” Rose snapped. “I have all the reports with me as proof that I was supposed to deliver a boy and a girl. And I was informed about the same after delivery. There’s no way they’re both girls!”
Rose noticed the fear in the nurse’s eyes when she looked up from her reports. She was about to say something to her when Dr. Victoria Williams walked in. “Would you please keep quiet, ma’am? This is a hospital, and there are other patients,” she explained to Rose.
Would you please keep quiet, ma’am? This is a hospital
“Quiet? Seriously?” Rose glared at her. “Your nurse brings me a random child, then tells me she’s not wrong! Is that how your hospital administration operates? Should I contact the chief doctor and inform him of the situation?”
“I agree with my wife, doctor. We don’t want to create a scene either,” Anthony intervened. “But your nurse is lying. We don’t know why she’s doing that, but if we don’t get our son back, we’ll have to call the police!”
“Please, sir, calm down,” Dr. Williams said. “I’m sure there’s just some misunderstanding. Josephine has been working at this hospital for several years. Perhaps she brought the wrong documents. Josephine, may I have a look at the papers?” Dr. Williams inquired. But Josephine didn’t give it to her and instead started stammering, “There’s no need, ma’am…I mean, I checked it, and they’re fine.”
Dr. Williams sensed something was wrong and softly told her, “It’s fine. Let me quickly check the reports.” However, when she read through them, she realized Rose was correct.
“Please give me a minute, ma’am,” she said as she flipped through the pages. “I assume Josephine brought the incorrect paperwork.
Please give me a minute, ma’am
There was another patient named Rose Matthews, and Josephine got confused.”
“I’m glad you noticed your mistake,” Rose said, glaring at her. “I would recommend that you hire responsible people as members of the staff the next time!”
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” Dr. Williams apologized again as she turned to face Josephine. “Would you mind accompanying me, Josephine? I need you to find the correct reports for me.”
Josephine swiftly followed Dr. Williams, but Rose spotted the tears in her eyes as she walked away. She got a strange feeling Dr. Williams and Josephine were up to something, so she decided to follow them.
She watched them both enter Dr. Williams’ clinic and then heard someone crying. It had to be Josephine, she reasoned. Fortunately, the door was slightly ajar, so Rose sat on one of the chairs just outside the room and listened to what they were saying.
“What were you thinking, Josephine?” Dr. Williams spoke in a firm tone. “Rose Matthews delivered twins: a boy and a girl at 10:30 a.m. today. Even the reports said that. Why are you lying to them? Be honest!”
“I didn’t have a choice, ma’am,” Josephine sobbed. “That other newborn girl belongs to my sister. Her spouse had abandoned her after he learned about the pregnancy, and unfortunately, she didn’t make it post-delivery. I could have adopted her, but my husband refused.”
“Why don’t you place her in a nursing home?” Dr. Williams proposed. “She’d be well taken care of there.”
“I’m afraid I can’t, ma’am. It was my sister’s last wish for her daughter to grow up in a loving home,” Josephine sobbed.
“When I saw Mrs. Matthews this morning and how she and her husband were supporting each other, I thought they would be a beautiful family for her. So I decided to swap Mrs. Matthew’s son with my sister’s daughter and place him in a nursing home instead.”
“But that’s not right, Josephine,” Dr. Williams pointed out. “We can’t let that happen. Get Mrs. Matthews’ son right now. And, yes, this should stay confidential between us. Let me see what I can do for you.”
this should stay confidential between us. Let me see what I can do for you.
Rose’s eyes had welled up when she heard the story. There wasn’t a nefarious intention behind exchanging the kids. A helpless woman wanted her niece to end up in a lovely family. I feel sorry for the child, honestly. Rose pondered as she returned to her room.
A few minutes later, Dr. Williams returned to Rose’s room and handed over her newborn son. “Sorry about the mixup, ma’am. I apologize on behalf of my staff,” Dr. Williams said.
Having overheard the whole story earlier, Rose, decided not to file a complaint against her. But every time she tried to sleep at home that night, her thoughts returned to the poor child, and her innocent face flashed straight in front of her eyes.
“I can’t forget about her, Anthony,” Rose told her husband at breakfast the next day. “I had a dream yesterday in which I saw a girl who had come to our house by mistake and was living peacefully with us. I know it doesn’t make sense, but I can’t get that out of my head.”
“It’s because of what happened yesterday, honey,” Anthony explained. “Try to distract yourself with something else. How about we go somewhere? You’ll feel better.”
“No, Anthony,” Rose looked at him. “I don’t feel like leaving that child alone. I want to adopt her.”
“But honey!” Anthony cried. “Are you sure? We already have two children to look after, and a third would be far too much! Don’t make emotional decisions! We need to be practical.”
I pondered it all night and decided to adopt her.
“I understand, Anthony, but please. I can’t persuade myself. I pondered it all night and decided to adopt her. Can we please go to the hospital today?”
“Well, honey. I am there with you in all your decisions, but I’m worried it’ll be too much work for you.”
“I can manage that, Anthony. Please?” Rose insisted.
Anthony initially opposed the adoption, but his feelings changed when he held the child in his arms. She had brown eyes with a slight green tinge, and she kept staring at him. Anthony was moved by her innocent looks, to say the least.
“I’m delighted you considered adopting her, Mr. and Mrs. Matthews. She is indeed lucky,” the doctor told them.
“Well, doctor, we tried a lot for kids, and now, when a child wants to come to us, we can’t just let it go. Just let me know when we can take her home,” Rose said.
Just let me know when we can take her home
“It’ll take some time, but for now, I’ll submit the documents to expedite the process.”
As the doctor had said, it took some time, but Rose and Anthony had no regrets about their decision. When they brought the child home, they felt as if their family was finally complete. They named the baby girl Esther.
Josephine visited them after learning Rose and Anthony had adopted the child and couldn’t stop thanking them. Since then, she’s become a regular at the Matthews’, and she mostly spends the weekends with Rose’s kids: the twins Joy and Mark and Esther.
