Diane, 51, from Launceston, TAS shares her true life story:
Walking into the main entrance of the hospital, I saw him as soon as I walked in the foyer.
Eyes to the ground and shuffling his feet awkwardly, he looked up at me.
“Come here, you,” I said, pulling Theo, 14, into a bear hug.
The two of us shook as we cried together.
Theo was my best friend Carol’s son and she’d just tragically died in a car accident.
She was only 38, the same age as me.
His dad had done a runner shortly after his birth so Carol had bravely, and beautifully, raised him on her own.
After the accident, I offered to take him in.
My husband, Richard, was reluctant as we already had two kids.
“I know you were close by taking in someone else’s teenager shouldn’t be our responsibility,” he said. “what if he goes off the rails and becomes a bad influence?”
It infuriated me.
“She was my best friend,” I seethed. “And they’re not close to their relatives. She’d have done the same for us.”
Theo moved in and was so polite.
He was always playing footy with my boys in the garden and helping them with their homework..
Whenever he was a bit withdrawn, I took him out for a milkshake and we’d reminisce about his mum.
“It’s okay to miss her, mate,” I said. “I do, too.”
For his 16th birthday, I secretly arranged to formally adopt him, giving him the preliminary paperwork when he woke on the morning of the big day.
“You’re the best, Diane,” he said, hugging me. “Thanks for taking me in.”
The boys loved having a big brother too.
The only one not celebrating was Richard.
He’d never warmed to Theo and it caused a rift between us.
“You put him on a pedestal and ignore your own kids,” he sneered.
“I do not!” I cried. “I treat them all equally. It’s just that Theo has been through so much!”
When Theo left school, he said he wanted to use his savings from his casual job at the supermarket to travel around Europe.
I couldn’t stop him but I missed him terribly when he was gone.
He’d been lovely to have around, so considerate with a great sense of humour.
Not to mention the only one who enjoyed watching reality TV shows and cooking programs with me.
He sent me postcards occasionally but ended up staying away longer, so that dwindled in time.
As the years passed, Richard and I argued more and more.
After the kids flew the nest, the house just became so quiet and depressing with just the two of us.
We didn’t really have anything to say to each other.
The only thing we’d had connecting us was the kids.
“I think we should go our separate ways,” Richard said one day. I was relieved he’d said it.
Feeling freer than I had in years, I moved down to Tassie to start a new life.
I got myself a nice little cottage in Hobart and got work a couple of days a week in a clothing and gift shop.
People were friendly there and making friends was easy.
I became a regular at my local gym, going four nights a week and got to know people at the library too.
My 50th birthday came and went without much fuss, just a small dinner at a local Thai with friends.
“You know you look heaps younger than 50,” one friend, Jess said.
“You’re in great shape and you’re pretty hot, even though you don’t wear much makeup. You need to meet a bloke – we’ve gotta get you out more!”
I laughed but the truth was, men hardly came into my thoughts.
Every now and then a fella would flirt with me but my heart just wasn’t in it.
One day I was at Coles, trying to choose what type of salad I’d have for dinner, when someone called out my name.
I turned around and literally gasped.
It was Theo!
This is just the start of Diane and Theo’s strange and twisted love story… things are about to go from zero to 100, fast! Listen to the Take 5 Podcast below to hear the end:
