“Group homes are filling up and most of the good homes are filling quickly. There’s maybe one or two more I’d feel alright about placing him in, but we just don’t have the resources to care for the amount of children there are that need cared for.”
I watched her walk away, leaving us sitting at the table while Cash played with the card at the small cafe table. He seemed deep in thought as I sat back down next to him. I rested my head on his shoulder. I knew he hated talking about this, and I thought it was because he was starting to feel more and more at ease and more at home with Calen in the apartment.
I was too, if I was honest.
He was a great kid, always helping out or wanting to learn something new. He listened to us well. Thanks to therapy, he was able to talk about his feelings in a way that wasn’t explosive, and he was a great student. He had tried out for thespring soccer team and made it! He was talking about cross-country in the fall and he wanted to do basketball next year also. If he stayed with us, he’d be able to stay in the same school. But if he had to be placed somewhere, he might have to switch schools and who knew if they’d want or be able to let him do all of the things he was hoping to do now.
We needed to hammer out the details today or tomorrow. While he was at school. This was grown up stuff, and I didn’t want it to impact him too much. He was supposed to be home in forty-five minutes.
“You wanna tell me what’s got you so deep in thought?” I ventured, hoping he was in a talking mood. He heaved a sigh. A heavy one.
“I, uh,” he cleared his throat, looking at the table. He’d told me a little bit about his past and I knew he’d submitted his DNA test weeks ago, but I hadn’t heard much else, “I was raised by a single mother. You know that. My mom told me my dad wanted nothing to do with a baby when she found out about me. So, she left and that was it. You also know, I got two DNA tests when I asked Calen if he wanted to test his. I thought if he saw me looking for my family, with our situations being similar, I thought…maybe he’d want to know his old man too, ya know?” He sat there, staring out at nothing for a while before he kissed my cheek.
“I’ve got to head back to the office for a few things. I’ll be home after that.” I nodded and watched him walk away. Knowing there was more to the story, but that he’d tell me tonight.
Walking through the door, dead ass tired, I saw on my TV screen, a picture of a man, with a happy family. A wife andson. Confused, I slowly ventured further into my space. Cash came out of the kitchen, two glasses of wine in hand.
“I found him,” was all he said as he handed me the glass, “And allsevenof my siblings.” My eyes were huge.SEVEN?!I looked at him, jaw on the fucking floor.
“But—There’s–I mean–” I motioned to the family picture on the screen in front of me, at a complete loss for words.
“Yeah, babe. Seven. I haveat leastseven half-siblings. There was contact information for two of them, and I’ve sent texts to them over the last couple of days. So far, it appears I’m the oldest. So, eight total, so far. My younger brother is searching for more of us.”
I was stunned, staring at the TV, looking at the man who looked so much like Cash, and yet so different.
“He had me at nineteen. Mom knew him from college. I heard back first from my little brother, Jason. He’s a fucking doctor!” He looked at me, smiling, tears shining with pride in his eyes. He’d mentioned he’d always wanted a family, a big family, one that he could share his future family with.
“My little sister, Lennon, she’s got her own design business, as well as telling me she’s planning on taking over the deadbeat’s company and ousting the ‘rightful heir’ because, in her words, ‘He’s trash’. Like, not even worth getting to know, when she looked into him.” He looked at his phone, and pulled up a text thread.
There were pictures of a man with dark brown hair in a white coat smiling ever so slightly like I’ve seen Cash do frequently when he didn’t want his picture taken, or he was emotionally worn out. And then the same man sitting on the back of a huge motorcycle with one of those leather vests on andshit. I handed the phone back to him, shocked at how much he and his brother looked alike. The next text thread he pulled up had photos of one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen in my life. She had fiery red hair and eyes so blue they looked like pools that you could swim in.
“These are your siblings?”
“Two of them. Jason said he’s met four of them, and they’re all younger and not yet legal. My youngest sibling is five. Fucking FIVE!” He breathed out, sounding so exacerbated. “Jason is 36. Lennon is 24. I have a brother, Chase, the fuck up. He’s 26. And then I’ve got a set of twin siblings, both boys and they’re fifteen. Then I have two younger siblings. They’re fourteen and five.”
Holy shit. The man on my TV had been busy!
“Jesus. So, your bio-dad got around. Or maybe, still is…getting around.” His nostrils flared and his face turned red in anger.
“He’s a fucking sperm donor. When I talked to my siblings, the ones I have contact with, we came to a decision. We’re going to start a petition for back child support, but ask the judge that the child support be paid to the moms of our younger siblings first. Lennon said she doesn’t want it at all. She’s the granddaughter of the man who started jwm, the clothing company.”
That was my favorite brand! That was half my closet!
“Holy shit!” I whispered, my eyes huge, and secretly hoping that meant somehow I got a discount on clothes. jwm was so classic, timeless, comfortable.
“I know,” he said with a slight chuckle, before his face went through a range of emotions. “Oh! Wait! It gets even crazier! When we finally send the POS the petition, we don’t have to payanylegal fees. Jason is a member of a motorcycle club and they have this kick-ass lawyer who’s taking the case for fucking free!” My jaw dropped even more. I needed to sit down. I made my way to the couch, sitting there in silence as I tried to wrap my head around all the information that had just been dumped in my lap.
“All this in just a few days. Wow,” I whispered, when a thought slammed into me. “Cash? Do you think he’d help us with Calen?”
It was his turn to look shocked. He looked at me, eyebrows and nose scrunched, curiosity and hope dancing together in his eyes, until it clicked. I smiled at him. The appreciation in his eyes shone brightly.
He’s cute.
“I see how you two are together. I know you want him here permanently. I know you don’t want him to go to someplace that could ruin any progress he’s made here, with us.” His eyes were getting glassy, and his lips started to twitch like he wanted to smile, but he wanted to see if there was more I was thinking.
“I was actually talking to a couple of different friends of friends that are lawyers to see what our options were. They said it would be best to rule out any and all possible other blood-related family first because he would most likely try to stick Calen with them first.”
The first tear fell, but I kept talking.
