Expecting a child is one of the most beautiful feelings in the world that a human being experiences, especially when it's the first child. But to raise a child all alone as a single parent is one of the toughest tasks, that every person works really hard for.
Courtney Cadigan is a young, soon to-be-mother, who works as a waitress in a restaurant. She has been trying to save every single penny that she is earning to welcome her baby into this world. But one day in the month of February, a policeman enters the restaurant where Courtney works and changes everything that Courtney had planned for her baby and something so unexpected happens that everything takes an unforeseen turn.
Courtney Cadigan is a 23-year-old young woman who had been expecting her first child in the month of April, that too on April Fool's Day out of all the other days. Little did she know how things were going to change.
Courtney had planned each and every step of her pregnancy. She was already eight months pregnant but had still decided to work and earn as much as she could for the baby that was to come. She had been trying as hard as she could.
Courtney had been working at Lamp Post Diner for quite some time now and she had been a favorite among the customers of the diner. Her bubbly nature and ever-smiling face was all that they needed with a fresh morning breakfast.
The to-be-mother was already eight months pregnant and had decided to work for as long as she could so that she could make some money that would help her during her maternity leave period when she knew she would need extra cash.
The young waitress had been of the nature to treat herself with all the finer things that were wanted by her. But now that she was expecting her first-born, she was ready to cut down on all extra expenses and save every penny that she could.
Like every parent, Courtney had planned on providing the best upbringing for her baby. She wanted everything to be perfect and the best the baby could get. However, there was someone who had other plans, and he would change everything.
The soon to-be-mother had made the decision of giving birth and raising her child all by herself even after she had broken up with the biological father of the child. The ending of the relationship did not stop Courtney from bringing the child to this world.
But things would not go on so smoothly. A Policeman will enter the diner one morning, and what he will do will change everything that Courtney had planned for her child and things will get out of her hands.
Courtney has had full support from her family, especially her father, whom she has been very close to. It is not only her friends and family that help her but also the man of her life, Frank, who has been supportive of her pregnancy since day one.
Frank is not the biological father of the baby but he supports and showers unconditional love towards Courtney and the baby that is to come. The two have been together for quite some time now and have been excited to welcome the baby into this world, unaware of what the future holds for them.
Courtney seemed to have everything, a perfect partner, perfect family and friends, and a job that she was earning decent wages from. She had even obtained her GED, and had plans of eventually becoming a nurse. But life had other plans for her.
Courtney had expected that she would have a healthy delivery and she had a feeling that nothing would be complicated. She was so positive and excited that she had even decided upon a name for the baby- Kayleigh.
On the morning of 15th February 2019, when the whole diner was filled with customers ordering breakfast for themselves, Courtney did not know her whole life was going to change. She was busy taking orders and serving the customers.
Courtney had expected the day to be a pretty normal one, working and earning to be prepared to pamper her child. But at that moment, a policeman entered through the diner's doors and he would be the one to change her life forever.
Courtney had served many police officers since she joined the diner as a waitress. Almost all the cops from the Voorhees Township Police Department would often come to the diner but this particular officer was unknown and Courtney had seen him for the first time.
Courtney saw the man entering and taking a seat. She waited to see if any other waiter was available to attend the policeman but there was nobody around him. Without thinking much, she went towards the policeman and asked him for his order.
Courtney could not see anything strange in the cop. “We didn’t really even talk,” the waitress said. “I brought him his menu, he ordered a salad and I got it for him.” Everything seemed to be pretty normal until...
When Courtney gave the salad to the policeman, she saw him look into it and enjoy it bite by bite. But as soon as she turned around to talk to the table next to his', she noticed the policeman was staring at her and it seemed like he was planning something fishy.
The policeman would do something that would make Courtney run behind him frantically and she would lose all her senses. Who was the policeman? Why would he do such a thing to Courtney? What could possibly be his purpose?
After finishing his salad, the policeman asked for his check and still unaware of his plans, Courtney came with his check smiling kindly looking at him. He was staring at her blankly and Courtney could not understand if she had done something wrong.
As soon as the policeman got the check, he paid for it and left...or so it seemed. Courtney went to clean the table like she always did and collect the bill that the customer pays and leaves behind. But when she opened the check folder this time, she was stunned.
The policeman had left a note for Courtney and when she read it she could not understand anything. The letter was completely and straightforwardly directed at her, and that was very clear even though there was no name specified in the letter.
“Enjoy ur 1st,” the cop wrote. “You will never forget it.” And it did not end here. He had even left $100 for Courtney although the total bill was just $8.75. Such a huge tip and a note? Why? How did he even know about the baby being Courtney's first child?
When Courtney tried understanding what might have happened, she realized that the policeman must have overheard Courtney's conversation with the family sitting on the next table because she had told them about the baby.
Courtney came back to her senses and ran outside the diner in the hopes to find the kind policeman and to thank him in person but he was gone. She could not find him and could not even thank him for all that he had done.
Courtney was so excited that she went running and shouting to her boss who thought that something bad had happened. She could not believe that someone could be so generous to her and do such a great thing for her.
“It’s truly a blessing to come across people like him and I’m forever thankful for that,” Courtney told the Gloucester Township Patch. She knew that she had to find the kind policeman and thank him for his overwhelming expression.
After completing her shift at the diner, Courtney went straight to her place and called the Voorhees Township police station in the hope of finding about the policeman. But the generous soul had decided to keep himself as anonymous.
Courtney told the whole story to her father Brian Cadigan, who then posted the whole incident on his facebook to share the kindness of this anonymous man with the world. He even included images of the note that was given to Courtney.
“It’s not the amount, it’s the humanity of it,” Brian told NJ Advance Media. “He saw she was struggling and a young girl. She was working in a diner while pregnant, standing with that kind of weight on her, and it was his way of saying, ‘I understand your struggle.'”
The misconception that Brian and Courtney had about policemen being brutal and mean officers was dashed away by the act of this particular policeman and his post made this very evident, which ultimately gained a lot of likes from the users.
“You always hear about how bad the police are, how they treated you like dirt, how they are on a power trip,” Brian wrote. “I am sure there are some bad apples, but most of them are just doing their jobs, they deal with the worst of society every day and have to keep going back every day and deal with it all over again.”
The story was so touching and kind that it went viral within a few days. A lot of people shared the story so that more and more people could read about the kindness that still prevails in this world and the post soon gathered 10,000 likes.
More than 3.6K people applauded and appreciated the kind act of the policeman.
“What a wonderful thing to do, this story warms my heart. I’ve always respected police officers,” one person wrote on the facebook post.
Ever since the post went viral, people from all around have tried to contact Courtney as well as the diner, and have asked the manager of the diner about how they could contact Courtney as they wanted to be helpful to her just like the policeman.
“They wanna know if they can help her because it’s the first child,” manager Victor Sierra said. “It’s the gesture about somebody helping somebody else.” All of this enthusiasm, just because one person decided to be kind and helpful.
Since the policeman did not want to reveal his identity, Courtney and Brian decided to visit Voorhees Police Station and took a box of donuts for them. “Thanks to Brian Cadigan & Courtney English for bringing in treats for our staff this morning,” Voorhees Police wrote on their Twitter account.
The kind story of Courtney and the anonymous cop became a favorite among the public and Courtney ended up on the Fox and Friends segment on Fox News. It was on this show that Courtney recounted the whole incident word to word.
In the same interview, Courtney also revealed that by so far, she had come to know that the policeman also had his first child recently and that is why he could relate with Courtney's story. He knew that it might get tough for her, and therefore decided to help her in whatever way he could.
Since the incident, Courtney has been lucky each day. Her daughter entered the world on the 2nd of April, and she is perfectly healthy. She and her partner are enjoying every single moment seeing their daughter grow and are going stronger by the day.