My Proper Thug

19

Jay
"Yo man, you good?" Carter asked. We was currently at my place. Lena was still at the hospital, I guess she gotta wait a certain amount of time before she leaves. Hell, I don't know how it works. "Yeah man, just been thinking." I told him. "About what?" He asked. "Look, don't tell her I told you but I may or may not have reached out Lena's first daughter." I said. "Woah, what? How?" He asked. "She was telling me about her childhood past. She had her first child at 16 but she had to give it up for adoption. She gave me the name of the child and everything. I went to the adoption center and ask did they remember having her there. Turns out she was never adopted and just left there." I said.

"Awe, that's sad." Carter said. "So, I told them that her birth mother wanted to see her and that I would be back to adopt her." I said. "Dude, you? Adopt a child?" Carter asked. "It's not just a child. It's Lena's first child." I told him. "I have to go back up there today so I could meet her and see if I could get to know her for a little bit." I said. "Are you gonna tell Lena?" Carter asked. "No, it's gonna be a surprise." I said.

ADOPTION CENTER
Aaliyah
Another day in. I crossed the line on the wall, marking another dreadful day and month here. "Liyah." Ms. Tanya said as she walked into the room. "Yes?" I answered. "There's someone here to see you. It could be your adoptive parent." She said. My face lit up and a smile came across my face. I followed her out to a bright room, there was a man in there. He was tall, dark skin, and wore a chain with the letter "J" around it. "Liyah, this is Jay. He wanted to talk to you." Ms. Tanya said. "Hi." I say shyly. "Hey." He said with a smile, showing off his white teeth. "Have a seat Liyah, I'll be right here at my desk if you need anything." Ms. Tanya said as left out the room.

I'm a shy kid, so I didn't know what to say or how to say it. "So, your name is Liyah?" He asked breaking the silence. "Aaliyah, my name is Aaliyah." I told him. "So your name is Jay?" I asked. He chuckled and looked at me. He seemed friendly, I guess. "My name is Jamal. But you can get use to calling me dad." He said. When he said that I got so happy. "Dad!?" I asked. He giggled and nodded. "Yeah." He said. "Where's my other adoptive mom?" I asked. "She's currently in the hospital, she had just given birth to twins." He said. "Twins? That means I'm gonna be a big sister." I cheered. "Can you tell me about my soon to be mom?" I asked. "Um sure." He said.

He adjusted himself in his seat and looked at me. "Your adoptive mom is your birth mother." He said. I dropped my jaw in disbelief. "W-what?" I asked. My eyes instantly got watery. "She gave me away for 14 years and now she wants me back?" I asked. "No, no. Are you familiar with the term rape?" He asked. I nodded my head slowly. "Well, when your mother was 16, her father did things to her and she got pregnant with you. She wanted to keep you but her mother made her give you up. After she got grown she wanted to come and get you but then she got into this horrible marriage with a very bad man. She didn't want you around that." He said. "So, I was a rape baby?" I asked. He leaned closer to me and wiped my eyes as he nodded sadly.

"Your mom told me a few months ago that she wanted to know how you were doing. She wanted to see if you were wit a good family, she wanted to meet you. And so I went around looking for you and I finally found you." He said with a smile. "How is she? What does she look like? Does she work?" I asked him. "She's our color, she's pretty, she's smart, and she owns her own businesses." He told me. "So my mom is rich?" I asked. "She makes a lot of money yes, but rich not quite yet." He said. "Does this mean I'm getting adopted?" I asked. "Yes, I'm going to go sign some papers and later I'll be back to come get you. So you and your mom can meet." He said. After talking wit Jay, Ms. Tanya came and took me to the area where all the kids my age are.

"Guys guess what." I said excitedly. "What?" Keira asked. "I'm getting adopted today." I said. Her, along with a few others cheered for me and congratulated me. "Yeah right. As if anybody would want to adopt you." Vanessa said. "Nobody wants a teenager Aaliyah. They come here, they talk with you, and they lie to you. They tell you they're gonna come back and don't. How many times have you been turned down? What makes you think this time will be different?" She asked as she looked at me. "He said my real mother wanted-" "Your real mother is the one that gave you up. Be for real Aaliyah, you're not getting adopted." Vanessa said cutting me off.

I stated to hang my head low until Ms. Tanya came in the room. "Aaliyah go and get your things up, you're about to go." She said. I smiled and looked at the others. They all hugged me and said their goodbyes. I looked over at Vanessa who refused to look at me. I semi smiled at her and followed Ms. Tanya out the room. I went to go and pack my things and then followed Ms. Tanya. "Here she is, packed and ready to go." She said. I saw Jay and some other people with him. "Don't be afraid. This is your Uncle Carter, your Aunt Stacy, and your Uncle Dee." Jay said. They all greeted me and my Aunt Stacy gave me a hug. I followed them out to the car and got in. I never imagined ever being adopted by my birth mom. "You hungry?" Jay asked. "Yeah." I responded. "It's a place called Saruku, you eat seafood?" He asked. "I never really had any." I replied.

Uncle Dee looked at me. "Oh, you're gonna love it here." He said before smiling. I stated to smile too and enjoyed the ride. I could tell my family was going to be a good one, I just could.