My adopted son stared at his birthday cake in silence. Then, tears rolled down his cheeks. “My birthday was yesterday,” he whispered. My stomach dropped—the documents said today. What else had been hidden from me?
I just want to be a mom.”
That was the only thing I knew for sure. I wasn’t the woman who dreamed about matching family pajamas or making homemade baby food. But I knew I could be the kind of mother who changed someone’s life.
Finally, that someone was Joey.
He didn’t know that day was the day. Weeks prior, during every visit, he would inch closer to me, his tiny hands curling into the hem of my sweater, his dark eyes locked on mine. A silent question: “When?”
That day, I held a plush dinosaur as I stepped into the foster home. Big, soft, with funny little arms. The second Joey spotted it, his fingers twitched, but he didn’t move. I knelt beside him.
“Well, Joey, are you ready to go home?”
He looked at me, then at the dinosaur.
A pause. Then, slowly, he reached for my hand.
“Alright. But so that you know, I don’t eat green beans.”
I bit back a smile.
And just like that, I became a mother. I knew that the adjustment period wouldn’t be easy, but I had no idea how many secrets Joey carried with him from the past.
Joey’s birthday was a week after he moved in.
I wanted to make it special. His first real birthday in his new home. Our first real celebration as a family.
I planned everything. Balloons, streamers, a mountain of presents—nothing too overwhelming, just enough to make him feel loved.
The day started perfectly.
We made pancakes together in the kitchen, and by made I mean turning the kitchen into an absolute disaster zone.
Flour dusted the floor and even the tip of Joey’s nose. He giggled as he smacked a cloud of it into the air, watching it swirl around like a snowstorm.
“Are we making pancakes or just trying to redecorate the kitchen?” I teased.
“Both,” he said proudly, stirring the batter.
He looked comfortable. Maybe even safe. And that made every mess worth it.
After breakfast, we moved to presents. I wrapped each one carefully, choosing things I thought he’d love: action figures, books about dinosaurs, and a giant toy T-rex.
Joey unwrapped them slowly. But instead of lighting up, his excitement seemed to dim.
“Do you like them?” I asked, keeping my voice light.
That was not exactly the reaction I expected.
And then came the cake. I lit the candle, grinning at him.
Joey didn’t move. He wasn’t smiling. He just sat there, staring at the candle as if it weren’t real.
“Sweetheart?” I nudged the plate toward him. “This is your day. Come on, make a wish.”
His lower lip trembled. His hands curled into fists.
“This isn’t my birthday.”
I blinked. “What?”
“But… the documents say today is your birthday,” I whispered to myself.
“They made a mistake. My brother and I always celebrated together. But I was born before midnight, so we had two birthdays. That’s what Grandma Vivi said.”
That was the first time he had spoken about his past. The first time I was getting even a glimpse into his previous life. I swallowed and blew out the candle, sliding into the chair beside him.
Joey nodded, tracing a circle on the table with his finger.
“Yeah. His name is Tommy.”
Joey let out a small sigh and put down his spoon.
“I remember our birthdays. The last time, I was four, and then he was four. Grandma Vivi gave us two separate parties. With friends. And then… they took me away.”
Just one year ago. His memories are still fresh. His wounds are still open.
“I wish I could be with him right now,” Joey whispered.
I reached for his hand, squeezing gently. “Joey…”
He didn’t look at me. Instead, he rubbed his eyes quickly and stood up.
“Okay. Let’s get some sleep.”
I tucked him in the daytime, sensing the exhaustion in his tiny body.
Just as I turned to leave, he reached under his pillow and pulled out a small wooden box.
He opened it and pulled out a folded piece of paper, handing it to me.
I unfolded it. A simple drawing. A lighthouse. My breath caught.
And just like that, instead of focusing on building our future, I realized I had to heal Joey’s past first.
Finding that lighthouse was more challenging than I expected.
The following day, I stared at my laptop screen, rubbing my forehead as page after page of search results flooded the screen.
Google didn’t care about Joey’s drawing or the memories attached to it. It just spat out lists: tourist attractions, historical landmarks, even abandoned lighthouses.
“There has to be a way to narrow this down.”
I glanced at the drawing again. A simple lighthouse, shaded in with careful pencil strokes, and a single tree standing beside it. That tree was the key.
I adjusted the search filters, limited the location to our state, and scrolled through image after image until…
I turned the laptop around. “Joey, does this look familiar?”
He leaned in, his small fingers brushing the edge of the screen. His eyes widened.
“Alright, buddy. Let’s go on an adventure.”
“Yeah! That’s a real one!”
The following day, I packed sandwiches, drinks, and a blanket.
“We might not find it right away,” I warned. “But we’ll have fun trying.”
Joey didn’t seem to hear me. He was already putting on his sneakers, his excitement making his movements quicker than usual.
On the road, he held onto his drawing, tracing the lines absently as we drove. I played an audiobook about dinosaurs but could tell his mind was elsewhere.
“What are you thinking about?” I asked.
I reached over and squeezed his hand. “How could she forget?”
He didn’t answer.
