When my husband passed away unexpectedly, I was shocked to meet another woman at his funeral who was carrying his baby

For 12 years I believed I was happily married to the most wonderful man in the world, but I only learned who my husband really was after he passed away in a car accident at the age of 36.

I was waiting for Greg to come home for dinner when the phone rang. His sobbing assistant told me that Greg was gone. He had been getting into his car when another vehicle had hit him. Greg was gone.

.I kept saying those words to myself over and over again: Greg is gone, I’m alone. I couldn’t believe it. We were young and happy, how could he be gone? How could I wake up and not find him there?

I was in a daze over the next few days, and my friends rallied around me, helping me deal with the funeral, all those ceremonies of death that seem to be essential so the living can move on.

I knew in my heart that I would never move on. Never. I would never love again and I would mourn Greg for the rest of my life. On the day of the funeral, I stood by the graveside long after everyone else was gone. I couldn’t bear to let him go, I couldn’t let it be real.

I was weeping soundlessly when I heard another voice sobbing quietly behind me. There was a young woman standing there with a baby in her arms, crying.

“Are you a friend of Greg’s?” I asked.

“Yes,” she whispered, “I am. I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am…I didn’t know about you.”

“About Greg’s death, you mean?” I asked.

“I didn’t know he was married,” she said quietly. “He never told me. I found out yesterday when I called the office.”

“Why would he tell you bout his private life? You worked with him, right?” I said a bit sharply.

The girl shook her head. “I was an intern at his law firm when we got involved. I didn’t know he was married, and when I fell pregnant…”

“Stop it!” I screamed. “This is my husband’s funeral! Stop with your lies!”

Please,” the girl said, “I didn’t mean to upset you. Greg… He promised he’d marry me, take care of me and the baby. I’m struggling, I have nothing…”

“Get away from me, you liar!” I screamed, “Go away!” I turned my back and ran away from the grave, from her pale agonized face, and most of all, from the memory of Greg working so many late nights, and all his excuses.

Sometimes the person you think you know has a hidden side.

In my heart, I knew the girl was telling me the truth. My beloved Greg was a cheater and had probably been cheating on me for years with many women. I sat in my car and let my tears flow.

It was a long time before I felt calm enough to drive, and while I was sitting there, I saw the girl with the baby cross the street to a drug store. On impulse, I got out of my car and followed her.

She was at the counter with a tin of formula, counting out change. She was blushing, and her hands were trembling. She counted out the money again. “I’m sorry,” she told the teller, “I’m two dollars short. Do you have cheaper milk?”

I stepped forward and placed my credit card on the counter and said to the teller, “Please get us your best formula.

The girl gasped. “I can’t afford that!” she cried.

“I can,” I said calmly. “And so can you. Bring the formula, we need to talk.”

She took me to the apartment she was living with the baby, a horrid sixth-floor walk-up with peeling walls and a damp ceiling. “How can you live here with a baby?” I asked horrified

It’s all I could afford,” she said quietly.

“But Greg…Surely…Didn’t he help you?” I asked.

“While I was thin and sexy? Sure, but once my pregnancy advanced, Greg vanished along with his offer of marriage. He wouldn’t see me or take my calls,” she explained.

My image of Greg was in tatters. And to think I had worshiped the man! “What’s your name?” I asked the girl

.

Mandy,” she said, “and this is David.”

“Hello David,” I said and stroked the baby’s silk-soft cheek, then I said to Mandy, “Well you can’t stay here. You and David are coming to stay with me.”

“But…You want me to live with you?” Mandy gasped.

“Yes,” I said. “This is Greg’s baby, so he’s part mine too. I have a responsibility to you both. There is an insurance payout which I’ll share with you, and I’m well off, so money is no problem.”.

Mandy was crying. “You don’t have to do that!” she said, “I’ll be ok!”

“I want to do this,” I told her. “I’ve never been able to have a baby, but if you let me, I will help you raise David. He may not have a father, but if you allow it, he could have two mothers.”

Mandy’s answer was a three-way hug with David complaining. She and David moved in with me, and we’ve been getting used to each other and the strange events that brought us together and made us a family.

What can we learn from this story?

Sometimes the person you think you know has a hidden side.
Love and caring are what make a family.