Cora was in her last year of High School. She was a very pretty girl with light brown hair and blue eyes. In one of her classes, Cora learned that Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple computers, was given up for adoption. It amazed Cora to learn that Steve Jobs – THE famous Steve Jobs – was given up for adoption by his parents and was adopted by the Jobs family. Similarly, Cora learned that Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, was also adopted. Jeff’s mom, Jacklyn Gise was 17 years old when she because pregnant with Jeff. The baby’s father, Ted Jorgensen, was himself just 18 years old when Jacklyn became pregnant. They were both were just in High School. Despite their ages, once they learned that Jacklyn was pregnant, they did get married before Jeff was born, but the marriage did not last. Jorgensen was not a very attentive husband nor father. He stayed out late and drank alcohol rather heavily. As such, Jacklyn moved in with her parents and they divorced. Their marriage lasted just 17 months! Jorgensen initially paid Jacklyn a small amount of money for child support for Jeff, but as time passed, he missed these payments and Jacklyn basically continued to raise Jeff as a single mom. Three years after her divorce from Jorgensen, Jacklyn met and married an immigrant from Cuba named Miguel Bezos who adopted Jeff, gave the boy his last name and became Jeff’s real (if not biological) father.

For some reason these stories stayed with Cora. To her it seemed so touching that such amazingly successful people like Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs at one time, were children not wanted by (at least one) of their biological parents. And yet, both adopted babies went on to create amazing successes. One created Apple and the other one created Amazon.

Back in school, as her 4th and final year of High School started, Cora sat next to and developed a closeness with a fellow classmate named Parker. As time passed, their closeness blossomed into a romance – or so Cora thought. Parker was a tall, handsome, boy in school with dirty blond hair and green eyes. He was witty and funny and made friends easily. Cora was smitten with him. She asked Parker if they would become boyfriend and girlfriend and Parker quickly accepted. Unknown to Cora, however, Parker was a bit of a playboy. Parker loved to go on dating sites, especially FindAMateForFree.com – or as most people refer to it, FAMFF.com – because, as the name says, IT’S FREE. He also loved to go to school parties and meet different girls at these parties.

Therefore, unknown to Cora, when he accepted her suggestion for the two of them become girlfriend and boyfriend, Parker was already dating two girls. One who he had met at school parties and one who he had met on FAMFF.COM. Despite this, Parker accepted Cora’s boyfriend and girlfriend proposal and allowed her to think that they were exclusively boyfriend and girlfriend to each other. They started dating. Cora was true and serious in her love and dedication to Parker but unfortunately Parker was just having fun. Sadly for young, innocent Cora, Parker was just passing time with her.

As their final High School year was drawing to a close and the summer weather was approaching, Cora and Parker decided to take a weeklong trip together to the mountains. On their trip, they shared many romantic moments together and made many wonderful memories.

One month after they returned from their trip, however, Cora discovered that she was pregnant with Parker’s child. She was ecstatic and very happy. She couldn’t wait to inform Parker of the wonderful news! She felt sure that Parker would be equally elated with the news and would immediately want to get married. Much to her dismay and heartbreak, however, Parker was cold and distant when she informed him of her news. He said that he did not wish to continue their relationship and asked Cora to take pills which would terminate the pregnancy because he did not feel ready to be a father. Besides, Parker told Cora, that he was “just spending time with you” and that he did not love her. Then, to make things worse and even more painful, Parker told Cora that “In fact, I am no longer interested in you. I did not enjoy the moments that we spent together and I want to end this relationship”.

Cora was crushed! How could she have been so wrong about Parker? How could she not have seen this coming? How could she have been so naïve and tricked? Cora went into a deep, desperate depression which lasted almost a month. As time passed and, as time will always do, time gave her the opportunity to reflect and to gather herself. She had the chance to think of her life and her growing baby and, she decided, she would continue her pregnancy and would have her baby. She would not terminate her pregnancy as Parker had instructed. She felt that when her baby comes into this world, this child will be someone who will be there with her and for her no matter what.

From the moment that he uttered those terrible words to her, Cora never saw nor spoke with Parker ever again. Furthermore, she did not take any legal steps against him – such as to request child support from him – because despite his hurtful words, deep down she still loved him and did not want to cause difficulties in his life. Cora resolved to forget Parker and to remove him from his heart. As time passed, she realized that her pregnancy was a mistake of her youth. That what she felt for Parker had been attraction and not love. The school year ended, Cora graduated High School and never heard from nor saw Parker ever again.

When Cora was seven months pregnant, she happened to sit next to a young man at a restaurant. When she entered the restaurant, she learned that the restaurant was very busy and full of customers that day. There was only one seat left for her to sit and that seat was next to a young guy who, she learned was named Pablo.

Cora could not help but overhear Pablo’s telephone conversation as he sat next to her. Like her, Pablo was broken and hurting inside. From his conversation Cora learned that Pablo’s wife, who was pregnant with their first child, was recently involved in a tragic automobile accident and both his wife and unborn child were killed. He was speaking with someone on the phone and Cora could hear how tremendously emotional he became. “My wife AND unborn child are gone!” He said. “Can’t you understand that!?” As Cora was listening Pablo’s painful story, she could feel her eyes become swollen with tears until tears began to stream down her pretty, beautiful face. Her blue eyes could not hold back. The pain she felt for her own life and what she was learning of Pablo’s sad and tragic events were enough for her to cry a river. Tears flowed from her eyes. Just then, Pablo noticed Cora in the seat next to him in the restaurant and noticed her crying. He offered her tissues for her tears and asked her “Why are you crying?” “Are you ok?” Cora sheepishly and quietly simply replied to his warmth and his gentle gaze “Its ok.” Pablo further said that he noticed that she was with child and asked her “Where is your husband?” Cora softly, quietly and painfully explained to Pablo her whole, painful Parker story but, she said, “You do not need my sadness in your life. You have enough of your own.” By listening to her story, a sense of Karma and fate came over Pablo. He told Cora that he had just lost his wife and child in an accident. “Yes, I know.” said Cora with a painful gaze and a heavy heart, “I’m sorry but I overheard your telephone conversation.”

As she spoke these words, there was a complete silence between her and Pablo for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was only about 5 minutes. The waiter approached them and asked if they were ready to order their dinner and, unexpectedly, they both simply said “lime water” in unison! This one, small incident, started a small but growing bond between Cora and Pablo. They had both just experienced tremendous hurt and loss. They had both experienced the type of pain that should only, if ever, occur once in our lives and yet here they were, sharing their common pain together.

To Cora’s surprise, Pablo softly reached out to hold her hand and said “I do not have a wife nor child and your baby needs a father.” Cora could not believe what he was saying. The tears she once felt for his loss now again flowed – but now they were tears of joy for what it seemed that he was about to say. “Can we get to know each other better?” “The Good Lord works in amazing ways” he said. “What are the chances that we both would happen to meet in this restaurant at this particular time and during these similarly painful events in our lives?”

As he was holding her hand, Pablo said “Can I be there for you, and you be there for me during these difficult times?” Cora could not believe what was happening, but she quietly and softly simply said “yes.”

Cora told Pablo that she had been cheated in love once and did not want to be cheated in love again. Pablo was an honest and a good man. He promised her that he will be there for her and her child. He said that “this is not a coincidence.” He said that he believes that God has sent to him his wife and child again. Cora gave her hand to Pablo and they left the restaurant together. Two people who fate – and likely something greater than fate – has united in pain as well as in hope. Two months later Cora gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and Pablo named her “Ash.” Pablo chose the name “Ash” because this beautiful baby had come into their lives from the ashes of what their lives had been and, like the Phoenix which rises from ashes, had come to bless, and make their lives whole again.

Cora and Pablo thus began their journey of love together. Two years later, Cora gave birth to a baby boy who Pablo named Paco. Why Paco? Because Pablo and Cora had merged their lives and created happiness from their joint sorrows and so, reasoned Pablo, “Pa” from Pablo and “Co” from Cora produced “Paco”. As of this writing, little Paco is now three years old and his sister Ash is six years old and their parents love them tremendously.


One comment:

  1. 05/23/2022 at 1:11 am

    God has a plan for all of us. At certain points in our life we may not get what we think we want but, in the end we get what we need.

    Reply

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