Sean was what I could only describe as a man born and bred for military; he loved fighting , roughing it, discipline the whole deal. He has been around the world and seen some things—terrible things but he was still the nicest guy I knew.
Morgan had spent her college years building schools in 3rd world countries, I mean everybody talks about it but, nobody actually does it. Well Morgan did.
I had always known Sean and Morgan as my parents and nothing else, even though they were only 18 years older than me.
They adopted me when I was 9 years old. I remember the group home a little bit but, for some reason most of it was a blur. I remember getting the newspaper from the recycle bin so I could read The Amazing Spiderman and then I would tape all the little strips together until I had a big sheet. I loved the idea of heroes and the fantastical elements and the idea of putting on a mask and being someone else. It had been better than my reality.
It wasn’t until high school health class when we learned about pregnancy that I started to wonder about why my real parents had given me away. We had been learning about the bond that can exist between a mother and her newborn baby. I knew I was dropped off when I was like 3 but, I never knew why. All I had been told was my parents last name was Greene, my real dad probably.
Sean was like having a real life GI Joe for a dad so I never wondered about my real dad but I still liked the idea that in my blood I was a Greene. I never thought they had a choice in giving me up for adoption.
Until now.
Morgan told me the reason I was given up for adoption was because it in the “best interest”. Which I was now realizing meant they didn’t want to raise a broken kid. A kid they knew could be broken. I could not help but to imagine they knew what was going to happen, they knew I would have it and gave me away because of that.
We had lived most of our life in New Jersey until I went to college. That’s when Sean got transferred to Texas and I decided to stay here. Being so far away --it always made it hard for me to find time to talk to them.
Which is why I was staring into the Mac book (we had figured out video chatting when Sean was in Iraq) telling them all the information about Huntington’s I had told the Bennetts earlier and adding in my new deductions.
“Elias, you don’t really think they knew—do you ?” Morgan asked. My entire life she never told me anything. She always asked.
“I don’t know. But, I want to find them. I know I was born in New York and that my dad has the last name Greene I want to find them—“
“Elias—I don’t think the law can stop you from looking, I mean they used the safe haven law,” Sean told me. You have your birth certificate you may want to start there.”
“So, this Huntingtons, it will cause tremors that’s it ?,” Morgan asked.
“No,” I went back to the doctor’s office where I had been hours earlier.,” They said mine is early onset and these are early signs. It’s like a neurological thing, it messes with your head.”
I knew my eyes were watering I hope they couldn’t see it.
“They said the more family history I get the more they can tell me,” I said,” I have to go to work guys, I love you.”
I closed the lid.
I had never been more scared in my life.
