I tracked down where the girls had been placed and showed up without warning.
I’ll never forget the look on the social worker’s face when I told her I wasn’t leaving without all nine of them.
The adoption process didn’t happen overnight.
I wasn’t leaving without all nine girls
The social worker didn’t want them stuck in the system or separated, so she quietly helped speed things up. In the meantime, since no one else stepped forward, all nine girls stayed with me under a trial arrangement.
People called me crazy. Sometimes, I wondered if they were right.
My parents were so against my decision that they stopped calling altogether.
People whispered behind my back, loud enough for me to hear, “What’s a man like him doing with nine girls who don’t even look like him?”
People called me crazy.
But I didn’t care. All I could think about were those girls. I felt an overwhelming need to protect them—for Charlotte, and for the love I never stopped carrying for her.
I had never married or had children of my own, so people’s concerns weren’t unfounded. And truthfully, stepping into life as a father of nine wasn’t easy.
At the beginning, the girls were scared. They didn’t trust me. Even the social workers had doubts about whether I could handle them.
But every day, I showed them I was worthy of being their father.
I had an overwhelming need to protect them.
I sold off everything I owned that could help me get by. Thankfully, I already had a home and some savings.
I worked double shifts until my hands were raw. At night, I taught myself how to braid hair by watching YouTube videos.
Little by little, we grew closer, and eventually, I was able to adopt them.
