"I think I want more," Alex said to his mum, standing up from his seat at the dining table to scoop himself some more soup.
He was twenty one and had just won a big contract for his new start-up company. His face has been all over the TVs and blogs lately. The dinner was in celebration of his big win.
The doorbell rang, cutting through the clatter of spoons and spoons.
"I'll get it" dropping the soup spoon and his plate. He walked to the door. But before he could get there, his father, who had been on a business call in the sitting room, had already answered it. So he stood there waiting to see who it was.
“Can I help you?” Mark, Alex's father asked, his voice commanding.
"Yeah", the woman at the door said. She had the look of a woman on a mission. “I’m Carla… Alex’s biological mother.”
"What?" Alex screamed. He couldn't believe his ears. That woman is crazy? He said to himself.
But Carla didn't give up. She threw a stack of papers at Mark. A proof of Alex's birth certificate and pictures of a baby. "I'm here for my baby," she said.
Mark stood there staring at the photos, he could recognise the clothes and the cot the baby in the picture had on. It was the same clothes Alex had on when they met him 21 years ago, abandoned on their front porch, cold and shivering. Apart from the picture, there was a birth certificate and hospital reports. He knew a day like this would come and he had dreaded it all the time.
"Just because you have some papers doesn't mean it's the truth. Now get off my property! " Mark yelled, trying to hide the pain in his voice. He slammed the door shut and turned to Alex,
"What? Dad, please don't tell me it's true?!" Alex could feel his head spinning. His skin turned pale.
“Come on, son, we need to talk,” Mark said, leading the way to the sitting room with Alex and his wife, who had heard the commotion and came out to see what was going on.
Making sure they were all seated. He explained to Alex how they had found him one morning on their front porch in an cot abandoned with a tiny note that read
"I'm sorry. Please keep him safe"
At first, they wanted to take him to the police or foster home, but after weeks of waiting to see if his parents might show up, they discovered they had already fallen in love with him and decided to keep him.
"For over twenty-one years, and you didn't care to tell me?" He asked, his voice barely audible.
"When you clocked eighteen, and your mother didn't show up, we thought there was no need any more". He paused, the clock ticking in the background. "Look, son, no matter what happens, we love you as parents should. You're an adult now so I understand if you want her back into your life. I understand if you want to leave us. Just do what is best for you," Mark concluded, stood up, and, with his wife, left Alex to think about what he wanted.
Alex sat there, drowned in thoughts as memories of his twenty-one-year life flashed through his mind. He still couldn't believe that after all these years of living with the people who had shown him love just as his parents should. They were not his biological parents.
He thought of the surprise birthday parties, the school recitals, the bedtime stories and goodnight kisses. He wasn't going to let all those die just because his mother resurfaced.
He was caught in a web of confusion. Mark and Sarah had been the family he had known all his life. Being there for him all his life. But Carla was his flesh and blood.
The following weeks were rough for Alex. Gradually he became a shadow of himself. Each day, in private, he would stare at the stack of papers Carla had thrown at them. Angry at his parents, Mark and Sarah for keeping such secrets away from him for years.
And also wanted to know the truth from Carla. Where had she been all this while? Why did she abandon him? Why resurface now? Was it really about love or something else? He had so many whys that needed answering. He wanted to meet up with Carla to ask her these questions. But the resentment he had within him for her held him back. He was who he is today because of his parents.
He confided in his friend one evening as they sat over drinks. He didn't hide how he felt
"I feel like I'm trapped in this web. They're my parents but she's my blood. My biological mum".
His friend listened passionately, then gave him a pat on his back.
"To be family isn't just by blood. But people who have been there for you. Besides, you're an adult that can make decisions for yourself. Why not keep your parents but don't throw Carla away? Get to know her and why she did what she did, if she's sorry for it and why she's back"
He thought of what his friend told him and decided he wasn't going to let Carla walk back into his life like that. He will keep her close until he feels it's right to let her into his life. And no matter what happened, his parents, Mark and Sarah, were still his parents.
