Meant For You

seventy-one.

Miles Dempsey

A couple of months ago, I didn't even know who my parents were. It had been a twenty-four-year mystery.

Since the minute my mom and dad told me I was adopted, the thought had become engrained in my brain, and slowly through the years, it ate away at me. Mostly because I had so many questions.

Was it normal for your parents to give you away?
Do mom and pops actually love me even though I'm not their own?
Do my real mom and dad love me?

Who are they?
That was the biggest question.

There were times in my life when my birth parents didn't even come to my head. Me being adopted didn't matter and life was okay just the way it was. It came in waves throughout my life. Then, it was just there. Didn't come in waves, it was just constant.

My curiosity kept on building until finally, I had to do it. I had to find them. My parents told me about them and the information came quickly. I knew nothing about them to knowing their names, who they were, and a little bit of my birth mother's story.

Sadly, I didn't have a birth father to get to know. He was gone before I was even born. Learning that face was difficult for me. Having a relationship with both my birth mother and father sounded nice. My reality was that I was only getting one of those.

Bethany was a good woman. I've known her for weeks now and we talk a lot. I feel as if I've grown to know her and if it came to it, I was most likely to defend her. Sometimes my brain brings me to the question, why didn't she keep me? Until I remember the story my mom and pops told me, the one she told me as well.

She was young. Her baby's father had died suddenly.

For her, it felt like there was no better option. She could have chosen another direction to go in the pregnancy. One that would have never let me see the light of day. One that would have never given my parents what they had been wanting their whole life. So, yes, even though she made mistakes, I still appreciate the woman.

When it comes to my birth father, there's still so much about him that I know I can learn. Beth and Brynn only told me so much. They knew him well but his family knows him the most. Getting the chance to meet them means I'll feel more connected to my birth father and build a relationship with his family that I never got to build with him.

Mom and Pops are proud of me for taking this leap. It's not as easy as it sounds. I'm nervous more than anything. What if they don't react the way I'd expect or worse, not bother wanting to get to know me the way I want to get to know them?

Then all of this would have been for nothing. I'd feed off the stories from Bethany and Brynn forever. Speaking of, Nola's mom has been one of my biggest cheerleaders leading up to this day. It was scary to think about. Walking into a home of strangers and telling them I'm related to them from their lost loved one. I knew it was going to be hard to sell myself to them. That's why I asked Mrs. Scott if she could join me.

She didn't need any convincing and agreed to be there with Nola and me on that day. It made me relax a bit more. Ryle's family knows Brynn well. Her being there with me wouldn't make them have any questions. At least no questions pertaining to whether I'm telling the truth or not.

My mind, heart, and body were still in full overdrive with the thought of meeting them. This was the final step of this whole process. I talked to Mom and Pops, met Bethany, and now I was going to meet my birth father's family. There was no soul on planet Earth more nervous than me right now.

Nola grabbed my hands and assured me that everything would be okay. She was there and that was all I needed. Because this girl was my reason. I did everything for her and in times like this where I felt a little weak, she was strong for me. She took that step and held me even when I felt like I should always be the one holding her.