The Son With Two Mom's, Chapter 1

The Son With Two Moms: Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Family

If I am close to someone, I want them to know every aspect that has shaped me as a man, which is why I only tell a select group of people about myself. You are now one of those people. By telling my story I am giving you a part of myself.

Our family came to be on March 26, 1992, when a couple took me out of St. Ann's, an orphanage in Washington, D.C. They had been together for several years and wanted to start a family. One was a lawyer who worked at a firm in Washington, D.C., and the other a data analyst for the Children's Defense Fund, an organization devoted to protecting the rights of children. The two had been going out for a couple of years, and were deeply in love. They were not married yet, but had exchanged informal vows.

The adoption was my mother, Mary's, idea; my other mother, Janet, was career driven and was unsure if bringing a child into the picture was the right move. However, Mary's love proved convincing enough, and by the end of January, they had decided to raise a child together.

Both Mary and Janet had had difficult and somewhat distant relationships with their own parents, but together they knew that they were strong enough to raise a child. They decided upon adoption, and took the necessary steps to ensure it would happen. They procured a lawyer to oversee the process, and went to work finding a suitable child. They would soon discover that a child would be assigned to them based on availability alone, and would have to take whomever was selected for them.

Several long weeks rolled by before they finally received the call they were waiting for. A child by the name of Tony Lee Jones was now available for adoption, and was only 2 ½years old. They were shown a picture of the little guy and decided to visit him.

A few days later, they were driving their small, red car up the road, ready for their adventure. They stepped out of the car slowly, walking up the brown steps, before gingerly pushing open an old wooden door. Upon entering, they were greeted by the sight of several dozen cribs adorned with the things babies and toddlers enjoy. There were Legos. There were cotton blankets with ducks on them and there were colorful rattles strewn all over the place, items which they took great care to avoid as they made their way to Tony's crib.

Both prospective parents were anxious. After all, they had received only background information on the little fellow, and had no idea what type of situation they were walking into. For instance, they knew that he was just over 2 years old, had been living in St. Ann's for 1 year, and that he was given up for adoption by a single mother named Colleen Jones who suffered from schizophrenia. They knew that he had a sister, Angela, who was 9 years older than him, and who lived with his step great aunt. They knew Angela was not interested in being adopted, but still wanted to see Tony whenever it was possible. However, they knew nothing of Tony's medical history, who his father was, or what his favorite food happened to be (chicken nuggets).

However, the sullen, brown face staring at them from the small blue crib was an arresting one. His almond-shaped, brown eyes had a kind but piercing nature about them, and his puffy cheeks stood out as the grownups tried to bargain a grin out of him. The corners of his mouth never twitched into a smile, even with continued baby talk and cooing. Still, despite this minor setback, the couple decided to see him again.

Several days later, they took Tony to the playground to see how he interacted with them. It took a little time, but eventually he started warming up to each of them. He started to smile, even laughing at times. He never spoke, but the warmth they felt around him said volumes about their budding relationship.

Before long, they were taking him to other places: the zoo, the park where he could zip around on the swings, laughing wildly as Mary and Janet anxiously smiled. He went to the movies with them, his eyes transfixed on the man riding on a flying carpet. He came to the house and stayed the night with them, eating cupcakes and listening to Motown. Indeed, in a sense, this child was rented to the couple for 2 days on a short-term lease. They liked him so much, they decided to see him again a week or two later. By the third and fourth visits, they realized that they had to have him, and on March 26, 1992, Mary and Janet took him home to stay.