crowd for Lisa’s familiar face. But she wasn’t there to pick him up.

“Probably just held up at work,” he thought. He sent her a quick text to let her know he was on his way home but received no reply. After hopping into an Uber, he arrived at his front door an hour later.

The lights were on in the living room, but Lisa was nowhere to be found. As he made his way to the kitchen, he stopped in shock. On the kitchen table sat a bassinet, and he could see a tiny arm waving aimlessly.

He stepped closer. A baby was in the bassinet! The child looked back at him with that wide-eyed astonishment only babies have, and Kyle stared back, equally astonished.

Then he noticed a folded piece of paper next to the bassinet. He picked it up and unfolded it, revealing another note in unfamiliar handwriting: “You had your fun; now take responsibility for your child.”

Next to it was a note in Lisa’s elegant script:

“Kyle, yesterday I found this child on our doorstep with that note attached. I always suspected you cheated on me during your business trips, but I didn’t hold a grudge—after all, I had my own flings while you were away. But saddling me with someone else’s child is too much. I’ve filed for divorce and sincerely hope I never see you again.

“P.S. I only left when I saw you walk up the drive. Enjoy your life, Kyle; I certainly intend to enjoy mine.”

Kyle sat down, burying his head in his hands. He couldn’t believe this was happening. This child wasn’t his; he had never cheated on Lisa! A soft cooing sound made him look up.

The baby was waving her tiny hand in the air, so Kyle brought his own hand closer. To his surprise, the child grasped his index finger with surprising strength.

“Well, baby,” Kyle said, “I guess it’s just the two of us now, and I have no idea what to do with you!”

The baby cooed and gurgled, then scrunched up her face and turned bright red. “Oh my God!” Kyle exclaimed. “What’s happening?” A certain smell quickly clarified the situation.

Yep, it was diaper time. But did he even have a diaper? On the floor next to the table was a large backpack with several snap pockets he didn’t recognize. Inside, he found a bewildering assortment of items, including diapers.

He quickly googled how to change a diaper and followed a YouTube tutorial demonstrating the process on a lifelike doll.

Kyle tried to follow the instructions, but things didn’t go smoothly. The doll didn’t kick or squirm like a real baby! After cleaning the baby up, he realized she was a girl, and he didn’t know anything about girls!

“I won’t be giving you dating advice,” he told her seriously. “But I can teach you how to ride a bike.”

In that moment, Kyle decided he would keep this baby.

He picked up the freshly diapered girl and said, “You need me, and I guess I need you too. So, what do you say, kid?”

Kyle consulted the YouTube tutorial again to prepare the formula and settled the baby in the crook of his arm for her feeding.

“You need a name, you know. How about… Celeste? Do you like that? Or Lily…”

If anyone had told Kyle that he would adapt to fatherhood so easily, he would have never believed it. Lily had her moments and tantrums, but somehow everything fell into place.

Kyle registered Lily as his child and enrolled her in daycare. For him, her birthday was the day he found her. But it was on Lily’s second birthday that Kyle’s world came crashing down.

A woman knocked on his door. “I’ve come for my baby,” she said. Kyle stared at her. She was tall, blonde, and thin, with exaggerated features that looked like the work of a plastic surgeon.

“Your what?” Kyle asked.

“My baby,” she snapped. “I left her here two years ago. Sorry about that, but I was a bit stoned, and my boyfriend lives on the next block over, and I got confused. You know how it is!”

“Sorry, I don’t know how that is because I’ve never abandoned a child on anyone’s doorstep,” Kyle replied coldly. “You should leave, or I’ll call the police.”

“Now look here,” the woman said sharply. “I figured I made a mistake about a week later when Burt didn’t take my calls, but now I need that baby!”

“You need her?” Kyle asked angrily. “What do you need her for?”

“Burt just got a Major League contract,” she said. “And that baby’s going to make sure some of those millions land in my bank account!”

Kyle kicked her out, but he had a feeling he hadn’t seen the last of her. He was right. A week later, he was summoned to family court. A Miss Cherish Vegas was contesting his adoption of Lily.

Suddenly, Kyle was inundated with injunctions, social services visits at odd hours, and questioning from friends and coworkers. Cherish was determined to get her hands on those millions!

Finally, the day of the hearing arrived. Kyle nervously handed Lily over to the social worker for the duration of the hearing and walked in. Cherish was there, of course, along with a tall man with Lily’s blue eyes—Burt!

Cherish cried and sniveled, telling the judge how much she loved and missed her baby, and how her wild college days (now long past and deeply regretted) had led her to place Lily in Kyle’s care.

The judge looked down at the papers in front of her. “By ‘in his care,’ you mean on his porch, isn’t that right, Miss Vegas?” the judge asked.

Cherish flushed red. “Well, I’m still her mama! No one can deny that!” she screamed.

The judge turned to Burt. “You, sir, are you the father?”

Burt stood up and said, “I guess I must be…”

The judge fixed him with a stern gaze. “Are you prepared and able to take on the parental responsibilities for this child?”

Cherish screamed, “You bet he is, judge! He just signed a three-million-dollar contract to play ball…”

“Oh!” cried the judge. “Finally, the truth is out! Tell me, Miss Vegas, what name did you give your daughter?”

“Name?” Cherish asked, confused. “Why, she’ll have her daddy’s name since he’ll be paying child support!”

Kyle stood up. “Your honor,” he said, “may I address the court?”

“Yes, Mr. Greenbecker,” the judge replied. “Please do.”

“Ma’am, my daughter’s name is Lily, and she does have her father’s name—mine. Since the moment that child came into my life, I’ve loved her, and she loves me.”

At that moment, Lily, who had been playing with the social worker’s necklace, noticed Kyle standing up. “Daddy!” she cried, reaching out her arms.

“Well, ladies and gentlemen, it seems the case has been decided by the principal party,” the judge said. “I hereby overturn all claims of custody of the child Lily Greenbecker and confirm Kyle Greenbecker’s custody and adoption.”

That night, Kyle celebrated his victory in court, and he and Lily spent the evening catching lightning bugs in the garden. “Stars!” Lily cried. But for Kyle, the brightest star of all was his little girl.