The day I arrived in San Diego she told me she hadn’t been completely honest with me. She told me she had a little girl named Kerianne. This little girl was the daughter of the husband who had beaten her. Well, it turns out that Jennifer was 5 months pregnant with Kerianne at the time of the beating. Jennifer told me she was so sorry that she kept this from me but she thought I wouldn’t like her if I knew. I told her I wished she had been honest with me to begin with but I forgave her and told her I loved children and didn’t mind at all. In fact, I was excited. She then said something that made me feel very disgusted. She told me she didn’t want her and for me not to worry, she won’t bother us. This freaked me out. What kind of mother despises her child? She explained to me that looking at her daughter only reminded her of the man who beat her so badly. I tried to analyze this and came to the conclusion that this woman was extremely damaged and needed to feel safe again and I was determined to bring her and her daughter together. I told her I couldn’t be with her unless she was a part of her daughter’s life. She agreed. We moved in together and got settled. I got a job fairly quickly and our life began. I met her daughter, Kerianne, about a week after the move and I automatically fell in love with this little girl! It was then that I learned Jen’s mother had fulltime custody of Kerianne. I didn’t know why but for some reason Jen did not care for her daughter. I wanted Kerianne with us and convinced Jen to take her a few days a week. She agreed.
This angel became my life, she was everything to me. I did everything for her. I changed her diapers at 3:00 am an every time in between I fed her, bathed her and played with her for hours. I understood her. We had our own little language. She was becoming my heart and soul. Soon, she began calling me “Daddy” and that was it I was hooked. Kerianne was my little girl.
Jennifer was very neglectful of Kerianne. She barely paid any attention to her. Jennifer’s mother, Denise Pou, told me she did not trust Jennifer alone with Kerianne. Determined to make this work and become a family I willingly took on the responsibility of watching Kerianne. This wasn’t something that I had to do. This was something I insisted on doing. I wanted this. I loved Kerianne and loved being with her. I loved showing her off!