fingers wrapped around mine.
I looked down at her.
And something inside me shifted.
I still didn’t know what I was going to do.
I only knew I could not walk away.
“Okay,” I whispered.
I wasn’t speaking to the nurse.
I was speaking to the baby.
Maybe to all three of them.
“Okay. I’m here.”
Part 3 — Becoming Dad Before I Was Ready
Everyone had an opinion.
Aunt Carol was the loudest.
“Rick, three newborns will destroy you.”
She wasn’t trying to be cruel.
She was frightened.
So was I.
Social workers asked whether I understood what kinship placement meant.
They explained home visits, emergency custody, legal procedures, financial responsibilities, medical appointments.
Most of it sounded like another language.
Friends promised to help.
For about two weeks, many of them did.
Then their lives returned to normal.
Mine never did.
The girls’ names were already
