He Will Be Mine

Chapter 39: The Elders Convene Part II

The Elders reconvene a week after their first meeting, after thoroughly digging into the backgrounds of both of Alyssa's potential mates. Again, Elder Gerard arrives last, but this time he brings a stranger with him. The other Elders seem curious about this new addition, but no one speaks out about it. Instead, Elders Antonio and Benjamin rise to retrieve a seat for the man, their version of a welcome for him.

Elder Stirling again calls their meeting to order, then briefly reminds them of where they left things the previous week.

"Elders Vivian and Norissa, you were assigned the task of tracking down the birth certificates, yes?" he asks of the two women to his right.

"Yes, and we were able to do so," Elder Vivian answers for them both. "Interestingly, we discovered that both boys were born at a hospital not far from here on the same day, mere moments apart. I have my suspicions, but as instructed, I turned the information over to Elders Gerard, Antonio, and Benjamin."

"And we ran with it," Elder Benjamin says with a chuckle. "Elder Gerard looked into the circumstances of Tyler's birth, Elder Antonio worked on what became of Matthew, and I took the lead on sorting out how Tyler ended up in New York. I'll start with that if that's alright, Elder Stirling."

"Certainly. Proceed," Elder Stirling urges him on.

"Actually, let me just tell you what I learned about his birth. I'll be brief, but we should probably start at the beginning," Elder Gerard suggests.

Elder Benjamin gestures as if to invite him to the floor and sits down to listen to what he will say.

"Tyler was indeed born without a heartbeat," Elder Gerard begins. "He was the smaller, frailer brother of a set of fraternal twins, although interestingly, the documentation available about him does not reflect that. His birth certificate shows the correct date, place, and time, but lists only his adoptive parents as though they are his birth parents and hospital records show him as a single birth. However, I tracked down a nurse who assisted with the delivery, and as you know, I have my ways with a person's mind. I learned that he was a twin from her, and also that she believed that his birth parents rejected him on sight. There's more to that story, but we'll get to that later. At any rate, his heart stopped during the delivery, but he was able to be revived. He needed some intensive care, and it was a bit touch-and-go for a while, but eventually he recovered and started to get strong and healthy enough to be released."

He sits and gestures for Elder Benjamin to proceed, knowing that whatever he discovered likely ties in at that point.

Elder Benjamin stands once again and clears his throat. "Tyler was adopted by a couple who lived in the same county as the hospital, a young soldier and his wife. I don't have the details of the man's military involvement because most of it is restricted information, but I do know that he was killed overseas when Tyler was only 18 months old. His now widowed mother took them to New York, where her family is from, and he grew up there as the only child of his single mother. Oh, and it was a closed adoption, and I gained only limited access to the information available about it, so I do not know the identities of his birth parents."

"Which brings us to me," Elder Antonio cuts in. "I did not discover information about Tyler's birth parents, either, for the record, but I did follow the trail for Matthew. His family is from around here as well, and if I'm correct about this, I think their home address at the time of his birth is located in Silver Crescent territory."

"You are correct," Elder Gerard confirms without looking at the information in the packet in front of him.

"I'm going to guess you discovered that as well, then," Elder Antonio says, taking in Elder Gerard's affirming nod before continuing. "When Matthew was an infant, the family picked up and moved to Wisconsin. I'm hoping you can fill in some of those blanks, Elder Gerard, for I did not discover their reasons, nor did I ever reconcile why they lived here as humans, but I'm going to move on for the moment."