Sandy, remember I told you about the strange little girl yesterday? Look, she’s at that window! I pointed across the street.
I remember. Is she looking at you again? asked my wife.
Yeah, it’s kind of weird.
Well, maybe she’s bored and just waving her arms?
It’s like she’s calling me.
I can imagine. You’ll go up to her and say she called you. What would her parents think? Sandy replied.
Yeah, I guess I’m just making up nonsense. I quickly pulled the curtain shut, unease settling in my stomach.
That night, I had terrible dreams of the girl’s house and shadows whispering, and I woke up in a cold sweat. Morning came, and I felt exhausted. As I finished my tea, I glanced at the window again.
The girl was waving, her little hand beckoning me.
That’s it! I’m done with this. I’m going to talk to her parents, I told Sandy. “She’s starting to scare me. Last night, she waved the same way. What does she want from me?”
Determined, I planned how to find her apartment. I rang the doorbell, and when the door swung open, I almost fell.
“Yes? Who is it?”, a woman’s voice crackled.
“Hi, I’m Arnold from across the street. I wanted to talk to you about your daughter.”
A woman stood in the doorway.
“JULIETTE?” I whispered, hardly believing my eyes.
“Hello, Arnie. It’s been a long time.”
Before I could respond, a little girl looked up at me, her eyes wide and hopeful.
“DADDY?!” she chirped.
I gripped the doorframe to steady myself.
“What did she say?”
Juliette ushered me in. “Come inside, Arnie. We have a lot to talk about.”
I sank onto the worn couch. Juliette sat across from me, her eyes brimming with tears.
“Arnie, do you remember that weekend at the lake house? Six years ago?”
I nodded, memories flooding back. “Our last weekend together before—”
“Before we broke up,” she finished. “What I didn’t know then was… I was already pregnant.”
My head snapped up. “What? But how? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Juliette’s tears spilled over. “I tried, Arnie. God, I tried. But you’d moved out of town and changed your number. It was like you’d vanished.”
“I had a right to know,” I choked out, my eyes stinging.
“I know. I was young and scared. By the time I worked up the courage to really look for you, years had passed. I thought it was too late.”
The little girl, whom Juliette called Heidi, sat silently in a corner, her eyes never leaving my face.
My daughter.
“When did you move here?” I turned to Juliette.
“A few months ago. I got a job transfer. When I saw you through the window that first day…” she trailed off, her eyes distant. “I told Heidi you were her father. I thought maybe it was fate giving us another chance. But then, I saw you with someone—”
“She’s my wife, Sandy.”
“I need to go. I need to think.”
Heidi’s face crumpled. “Daddy? Are you leaving?”
“I’ll be back, sweetheart. I promise. I just need some time, okay?”
She nodded solemnly.
When I left the apartment, Juliette called after me. “Arnie? I’m sorry. For everything.”
The walk home was a blur.
I found Sandy waiting anxiously by the door.
“Arnie? What happened? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
My tears finally broke free. Between sobs, I told her about Juliette, about Heidi, and about the daughter I never knew I had.
Sandy’s arms tight around me. When I finished, she pulled back, her eyes searching mine.
“What are you going to do?” she asked softly.
“I don’t know. I have a daughter, Sandy. A little girl who’s been waving at me and trying to reach me. How do I just walk away from that?”
“I’m just as shocked as you are, Arnie. But we need to be careful. You can’t just take everything Juliette says at face value.”
“What do you mean?”
“We should get a DNA test first. Just to be sure,” Sandy said.
The next day, I stood at Juliette’s door again.
“Juliette, I think we need a DNA test.”
“What? You think I’m lying? You just found out you have a child, and you’re already doubting me? You’re unbelievable, Arnie.”
“I just want to be certain before I commit to anything,”
She slammed the door in my face.
I returned home and shared what happened with my mother. She asked for Juliette’s address.
I wasn’t sure what my mom said to her, but the next day, Juliette called.
“Hey, Juliette here. I got your number from your mother. I’ve thought about it and understand. We can do the DNA test.”
“Thank you, Juliette. I appreciate it.”
When I told Sandy, she wasn’t thrilled. “I love you, Arnie. God help me, I do. And I’ll stand by you through this. But I’m scared. I just hope this doesn’t change anything between us,” she sobbed as I pulled her closer, my eyes brimming with tears.
The DNA test results finally arrived.
The words blurred before my eyes, but one phrase stood out in stark clarity: “99.99% probability of paternity.”
Heidi was my daughter.
“Oh, Arnie, I’m here for you. For both of you.”, Sandy said.
Sandy and I visited Juliette’s apartment, where Heidi greeted me with a cry of “Daddy!” and threw herself into my arms.
“She’s beautiful,” Sandy whispered.
Juliette watched us, joy and sadness brimming in her eyes. “I never meant to complicate your lives,” she said. “I just wanted Heidi to know her father.”
I nodded. “I’m glad you did. I’m glad I know her now.”
When we left that day, Heidi clung to my leg. “You’ll come back, right Daddy?”.
“Of course, I will, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”
“So, we’re parents now, huh?”, Sandy said on the way home.
I squeezed her hand. “Looks like it. Are you okay with this?”
“We’ve been trying to have kids for two years now, but it hasn’t happened. It’s not how I imagined it happening. But yes, I think I am okay.”
As we reached our front door, I pulled Sandy into a hug. “I love you. Thank you for being so amazing through all of this.”
“I love you too. And Arnie? I think you’re going to be a wonderful father.”
That night, as I stood by our window, I saw Heidi waving from across the street. But this time, instead of fear or confusion, I felt only love. I waved back, my heart full to bursting.
