When Ellie’s stepdad randomly gives her a newborn baby to babysit, she has no idea who the baby is or where she came from.
But when she has to change the baby’s diaper, Ellie finds a name and an address. With the baby in tow, she heads over to the address to uncover the truth about the child and her stepdad.I never expected that a blanket could reveal so much, but as I clutched the soft fabric with a name and address scribbled onto the edge, my world tipped into more uncertainty than I’ve ever experienced before.So far, my life has been a series of surprises—from my father leaving us when I was about three years old to my mother remarrying William, a man of few words but deep kindness that changed my life.When my mother died, the void left behind was something else. I was in the middle of high school and still navigating my grief.But my stepdad bought me notebooks to write down my feelings and sat with me in silence while we listened to music that we both loved.Through this, we both healed.”We’ll go to Mom’s grave every single week, Ellie,” he promised me one day as we sat and ate noodles in the living room while watching TV.”I didn’t have much before I met your mother, but then I got you, and everything changed. I became a father.”I smiled at him. I remembered the early days when William moved in, his boxes lining the house as my mom tried to make room for him—blending all of our things into one big family.But it was the holidays before I was getting ready to leave for college, and my stepdad walked into the house,
