Picking Kevin up to take home.Photo: Courtesy The Stewart-Mercurio Family
Around 8:00 p.m on August 28, 2000, Danny Stewart, a social worker, was on a New York City subway train heading south to meet his boyfriend,Pete Mercurio, a writer and graphic designer, for dinner. The couple had been dating for three years and were living together in Pete’s apartment. That night would change their lives forever.
Danny:I got off at the 14th Street exit and noticed a bundle on the ground against a wall. All I could see was two little legs sticking out of this dark sweatshirt. I’m thinking, “Some little girl left a doll.” I started to go up the stairs but glanced back. That’s when the legs moved.
I tried to alert other travelers who were going through the station. But it was about 8:00 at night and there weren’t a lot of people going through. I couldn’t get anybody’s attention.
Pete, Kevin and Danny, 2001.Courtesy The Stewart-Mercurio Family
Danny holding Kevin for first time.Courtesy The Stewart-Mercurio Family
Danny:They said “Only families are allowed.” I wasn’t given any more information.
We went on with our lives, because we’re thinking, “Well, that’s the end of the story.” He was going to be going into foster care or a family member had come forward and that was it.
The was in the beginning of December. I described the events, and as I’m getting ready to leave the judge (who has asked that her name not be revealed) asked me if I wouldn’t mind staying.
I pause for a second and say, “Yes, but I don’t think it’s that easy.” And she said, “It can be. If you’re interested in adopting, then you’ll need to show up at the next court hearing to state your intentions.” I said okay.
Peter, Kevin and Danny at school, 2007.Courtesy The Stewart-Mercurio Family
Pete:He called me and said “You’re never going to believe this.” And I said, “Absolutely not. Go back into the courtroom right now and tell her no, you misspoke.”
But he doesn’t do that. We don’t really get a chance to talk about it until that night. I said, “What were you thinking? How could you say yes? How are we going to make this work? We don’t have any money. We don’t have the space. There’s no way we can raise a child in this city. We have nothing.”
And he just kept saying over and over again, “This is a gift. We can’t refuse this. We’ll never get this opportunity again.”
We both had never thought we would be parents, ever, only because we were two men with no money and no space. Our lives weren’t geared towards child rearing at all. It was not at the forefront of our thoughts, until it was. We thought this was the universe giving us a gift, it was now or never.
I melted. I realized that we were smart, capable men, and we can definitely make this work. I felt overjoyed that we were going to be starting this family together. I just turned to Danny and I said, “This is our son.”
Danny, Kevin and Pete after their wedding ceremony, 2012.Courtesy The Stewart-Mercurio Family
The “holiday visit” never ended, but it took two years before Kevin’s adoption was finalized in Manhattan Family Court on December 17, 2002.
Peter:That day, I asked, “Your honor, we are wondering why you asked Danny if he was interested in adopting.” And she looked down at us and she said, “I had a hunch. Was I wrong?”
Kevin was such an easy kid to raise. I don’t know how else to say it. We got so lucky. He slept all night. He’s always been a very self-sufficient, self-motivated kid who’s really conscientious. He just came to us that way.
Danny, Pete and Kevin, 2018.Courtesy The Stewart-Mercurio Family
In 2011, after New York State granted same-sex couples the right to marry, we were on a walk to school. I said to Kevin, “Your dad and I are thinking about getting married. What do you think?” He’s 11 at this time. And he goes, “Don’t judges marry people?”
In that second I quickly realized why he asked. I said, “You want to meet the judge who finalized your adoption?” He nodded.
I sent an email to Manhattan Family Court, saying who we were, who the judge was, and could she marry us? That afternoon, I heard from the judge’s clerk: she would be delighted. But first she wanted to meet with Danny and me without Kevin.
The couple married on July 13, 2012 in the judge’s office at Manhattan Family Court.
Pete:When Kevin met her, they hugged. Kevin wasn’t usually star-struck or timid. But he didn’t know what to say at that moment.
Danny:I told her that it’s only because of her that we’re a family. I’m incredibly grateful to her that we became a family, and her performing our wedding was just a beautiful moment that came full circle.
Family at Yosemite, 2019.Courtesy The Stewart-Mercurio Family
Kevin is now 21 and a college senior at a top-ranked college, double majoring in computer science and math. He competes in ultimate frisbee, and is an avid runner.
Pete:When Kevin was really young, we’d go to playgrounds or go to a park and, if possible, bike. We love being outdoors. When he got a little older, we started going to national parks. All three of us love to hike. And just spending time together in nature.
“Sometimes life hinges on little moments, happy accidents, and miraculous surprises. Sometimes babies are born into forever families. Sometimes they are adopted,” he writes. “And sometimes, all it takes to find your family is a chance glance at tiny toes wiggling in the corner of a subway station.”
source: people.com
