At the age of 17, Daniel surrendered his newborn child at his parents’ request. Years later, he was coaching a minor league team when a new student arrived. He looked so much like his ex-girlfriend Emily that Daniel could not be sure if he was his kid.
Josh, hurry up! When swinging the bat, you have to exert all of your strength. You can do it! Daniel yelled at the nine-year-old boy who was up for bat.
Daniel was 27 years old and the coach of the local league baseball team at his former elementary school. He had no idea as a child that working with kids would be so wonderful, but this job just fell into his lap, and it was preferable to being in a classroom all day. After a few years of attending college and graduating with a degree in education, he quit teaching English to uninterested children.
It felt fated that a buddy handed Daniel the job, knowing that he had played ball for many years. He relished the way things came together. Since he had been doing it for a while, he couldn’t imagine doing anything else. It wasn’t easy, though. You had to have a lot of patience and constantly assuring children they could do it.
like at the moment with young Josh. His parents forced him to join the team in spite of his shyness and passion for reading. Although Daniel could see his skill, he was a little afraid of being struck. Hopefully, Josh will get better soon and start to value it.
The toddler jumped with delight as Josh sprinted to first base, and when he eventually hit the ball, it went farther than the other players had anticipated. Josh, good job! Indeed, precisely! Daniel shouted at the field, clapping and smiling at the child.
“Coach Givens?” Mrs. Finkle called Daniel’s attention as she stood next to a boy he had never met. Robert Marshall is a recent student. After getting transferred at the beginning of the week, he wanted to try out for the team.
Wonderful! It’s good to meet you, Robert. After we complete these sets, we’ll see what you can accomplish. Robert returned Daniel’s smile. “But don’t worry, you’ll easily make the team.”
The youngster and some of the other kids sat down as Mrs. Finkle went back to her office. But Daniel spent much too much time in the dugout frowning at Robert. He couldn’t figure out what was causing the child to look so familiar. He shrugged and went back to his practice.
Robert was a natural at baseball and immediately joined the team. He was quite outgoing, and the other boys laughed at almost everything he said. As the parents started to show up, Daniel saw his new student approaching a kind-looking woman. She dropped to her knees, hugged him, and stood up again.
Finally, it clicked. Daniel remembered the reason he recognized the kid. He looked much like his ex-girlfriend Emily. “But he can’t be, can he?” he questioned aloud to himself. But the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
Ten years ago, he got Emily, his girlfriend, pregnant. Of course, neither of them was ready to have children at the age of 17. Both of their parents told them that abortion was not an option. Consequently, Emily gave birth to their son after carrying the pregnancy to term.
Her parents were furious and wouldn’t engage with their grandchild. Daniel’s parents urged that he be put up for adoption when circumstances got too difficult for him. But he was conflicted. Emily had given her life for this child, whom he loved. How could he possibly let him go? He didn’t have any money, but his parents insisted.
It seemed that Daniel had no choice but to comply with his parents and give up the child. But he thought about him a lot and felt bad about it. This may have contributed to his enjoyment of coaching the little league squad. They were all of the same age.
Robert might not be his son, though. If he continued to think about those things, he would lose his mind. The minor resemblance prevented him from detecting it. Granted, the baby was blonde with green/blue eyes and didn’t look anything like Daniel. He was all Emily. Robert had more masculine features and bright green eyes.
But after a month of weekly practice, Daniel could no longer keep quiet. The youngster behaved just like he did in school and was just as good at baseball. At the very least, he had to question his mother because of the growing resemblance to Emily and even to himself.
“Mrs. Marshall, may we speak for a moment?” Daniel approached Robert’s mother, who was sitting in the bleachers, while the kids were showering after practice.
“Oh, Coach Givens. Nina, give me a call. “I’m not married,” she responded, standing up and giving him her full attention.
“I erred. This may come as a complete surprise, but is Robert your biological son? Daniel felt slightly more comfortable approaching Nina with the question now that he knew she wasn’t married.
“Whoa, huh? I’ve never been asked that question before. No, but I do look a lot like Robert. My biological son is not him. He was taken in by adoption. He knows already. However, why would you inquire? Nina frowned as she answered Daniel’s question. However, she didn’t seem offended.
“It’s just… well, I gave a child up for adoption when I was 17 and I’ve had this feeling it might be Robert,” Daniel replied, looking down as if humiliated. He was surprised by Nina, though.
“Sit down. Give me more information. What happened? She insisted.
Daniel told her everything that had happened after Emily died, including the birth of his child, but he also acknowledged that he had been regretting his decision for ten years. Even though I knew I had given him up, I still loved him. I swear. If Robert turns out to be him, I will be quite pleased that he worked out so well. He came to the conclusion, “I guess I have to find out for sure.”
“Okay, all right.” I’m sorry you lost a loved one. Since his birth parents were never disclosed by the adoption agency, you might be right about him. What happens if a DNA test is performed? The question was asked gravely by Nina.
“Nothin’! I swear. I would never dare to meddle in your affairs. Daniel went on to say, “I just want that peace that he is loved and has a family,” in an effort to explain to Nina why he wanted to know.
She smiled hesitantly and said, “All right. Let’s do it.”
Robert stayed true to his promise not to interfere in their affairs, even when the results confirmed that he was Daniel’s child. However, Nina invited him to Robert’s birthday that year along with his baseball pals. She then suggested that they ask the child directly if he would be interested in dating Daniel.
“Nina, are you sure?” Daniel asked her.
The decision was made by my son. I must tell him the truth. He can decide if he wants a relationship with you or not. But I have to warn you. You have to put your all into it. “I can’t let him get hurt,” Nina declared.
“Of course! I promise!
After Nina informed her child the truth, it took a while for him to open up to Daniel. Since he already trusted him as a coach, the transition to a father figure was easy. But as he spent more time with his child, Daniel also started to feel something for Nina, and eventually their relationship turned into a romantic one.
Robert was ecstatic when Nina and Daniel announced they were getting married. Now that he had a father like most of his contemporaries, he was getting a whole family.
