Thursday November 20th 3:09 PM
I do everything sensibly but,this past week I hadn’t been sensible at all.
I had not only found my biological family this week but I had just brought a car and was driving for the first time in 3 years-- headed to the backwoods part of New Jersey you don’t see on TV. I always liked the idea of my biological family being so close but this was almost creepy.
What if I had stood beside my mother in a checkout line. I had seen countless Greene’s at work had I fixed one of my family members computers ?
I had always thought about it but, I had never really thought about it.
Earlier that week I went back to the foster agency and they told me the hospital where I was found and for various reasons they suspected my parents where local. So I searched a local database in the area and came to 20 people named Greene but, there was only one person who had a history the Huntington's gene.Her name was Telsa Greene, a younger relative but a lead none the less. She had admitted to possibly having Huntingtons for some kind of court case but, that wasn't really my main concern. I made a right off the dirt path and I pulled into a small neighborhood and carefully parked next to the house.
2323 Greenbay Road
I saw a girl who looked to be in her late 20’s peek out of the door and walked on to the the front porch.
“Nice car,” she called to me as I walked up to her.
It was a simple and inexpensive Nissan but, it was new.
“Thanks,” I said
“Are you Elias ?” she asked I nodded my head and shook her hand
“I’m so glad I found you,” I said
“I can’t believe I’m in the system. . . I was young, shop lifting was a thrill or
something, I'm not criminal” she laughed
“I’m sorry to do this to just show up," I said "But, I really needed a family history I won’t be a bother—“
“No, it’s good you found me,” she said as we walked in the house and she led me to a table covered in papers,”I have all the information for you we have been through this before.”
I stared at the papers
“Do you know who my mom is ?” I asked her
She gave me a pity look.
“Actually, I’m related to your dad, I guess. Your dad is my uncle . . . your mom, Tyna she got pregnant out of wedlock when she was young and wasn’t ready for motherhood. It’s too bad they gave you up because they got back together and got married a few years later."
“Where is she ?”
“She had it too,” Tyna said shufflling the papers into a folder, “It’s kind of a curse in this family. It keeps happening and it starts so, young . It’s juvenile Huntingtons I think they call it but, it skipped me luckily. You know, the prognosis is 20 years,”
I got it.
“I think you should know maybe the reason they gave you up is because they both had it—it’s part of the reason they got back together. They both had the chorea--I see your getting it.”
She acknowledged the involuntary jerks of my hands, I nodded my head.
"I mean not to defend giving you up but, if they both had the symptoms it wouldn't have been a very nice home for you," Telsa finished
“I understand,” I admitted, “I do have a great family now. Um, well thanks for this, I should go,”
She nodded her head and walked me out to the door.
“Elias,” she called when I was half way to the car
I turned to her
“Your dad is still alive, you know,”
I had no words for that comment. I hadn't asked for a dad, I knew who my father was.
“I, uh it’s in the file if you want to know where he is,” she explained.
“Thank you,” I said getting into my car
I needed to get the hell of out there.
