Soph ponders my words for a moment and then nods. “Jordan is waiting in our break room, and Spade is with her. Do you want to be alone with her?”
“I’d rather have company, so you can both stay.”
We walk to the break room without a word, and once Soph opens the door, I greet Jordan. “So, you’ve got some news for me?”
“Sure do! I think you’ll like what I have to share. Is it okay if your friends are here?”
“Yeah, they can stay.”
Jordan opens her bag and pulls out a large envelope. It looks like any other plain, white envelope that many businesses use. But I know it’s so much more. She hands it over, and I stare at it for a moment.
“You know, that file will not magically open itself if you stare at it long enough,” Spade quips.
“Fuck, guys, I’m so nervous. What if I don’t like what I see?”
“What if you do?” Soph reasons.
“Just do it,” Spade says. With my heart racing like a racehorse and my hands shaking, I finally open it and get my first glance at who Jordan expects to be my birth father. Before I realize what I’m doing, I flop down on a chair and gape at the photo, my mouth open. No fucking way. It’s like I’m glancing into my future; the resemblance is uncanny. That dark hair, those green eyes, skinny build, even his nose is like mine.
“Holy shit,” I hear behind me as Spade peeks at the photo behind my shoulder. “You two are like twins. How wicked is that?”
I feel Soph’s arms wrap around me. She rests her chin on my shoulder and squeezes tighter around me. “Jax, do you need a moment?” Her quiet whisper echoes in my right ear.
“No, I’m right where I should be. I—” My voice breaks, and a tear falls down my face. I can’t believe that this is him. It must be, as Spade pointed out; it’s like we are twins.
Jordan sits across from me. “Are you ready to hear more about him?”
After seeing my nod, she tells me about my father. “Reid Thomas Walters was eighteen when he met your mother while visiting his cousins in Omaha for the summer. Four years later,he graduated from Yale, earning summa cum laude in business. He works at the Wall Street and lives near Washington Square Park with his wife and three young daughters?—”
That catches my attention. “Daughters?”
“Yes, you’ve three half-sisters. The oldest turned eleven this summer, and the other two are eight and five. They all have the same coloring as you and your father; dark hair and green eyes.”
“Holy shit.”
Jordan hands Soph a piece of paper. “Here’s Reid’s number. I haven’t contacted him yet, but what I found about the guy tells me he had no idea you existed. I hope you two get to meet one day.”
Soph thanks her and takes the note. I sit there in shock, there are no words to describe how happy I am. But at the same time, that happiness comes with doubt and hesitation. I know that I want to get to know him, so I’ll contact him soon. Just not right away.
“Thanks, Jordan, for everything.” I get out before more tears fall down my face. “It’s, um, more than I ever expected. Thanks.”
She gets up and walks to me, opening her arms. I hug her and whisper anotherthank youagainst her hair.
“I’m just glad it turned out this way. Let me know if you contact him.”
“You meanwhenI contact him, right?”
She chuckles. “That’s right. It has been good to meet you, Jax.”
“You as well.”
Soph walks Jordan to the front, and I stay behind with Spade. He brings me a Diet Coke and a granola bar. “You better eat and drink something before you make that phone call.”
“Thanks. I appreciate you; you know that, right?”
“Yeah, sure do, boss.”
The only thing I have left to do is to contacthim. It isn’t as easy as it sounds—how do you tell a man that he might have fathered a 26-year-old heavily tattooed rocker dude with a complicated past? But it’s still something that needs to be done. I need this for me. I need more answers. I’m just afraid that he’ll consider it all bizarre and far-fetched. I can’t handle more disappointment right now. I’m trying my best not to get hopeful, but it’s hard not to. I mean, I might have a father. Half-sisters and a stepmother. A family.
