Stephen

Dedicated to my older brother

There was a knock at the door.

“Get the door, Larry!” I yelled to my brother.

“You get it!” he yelled back.

I didn’t want to argue, so I opened the door.

“Yes?” I said when I saw a young man with brown hair, a square jaw, and dark brown eyes standing before me.

“I noticed that the house next door is for sale, do you know the owner?” he asked.

“Not really,” I replied.

He turned around and looked at his wife and daughter who were sitting in the car behind him.

“Look, I don’t know how else to say this, so I’m just gonna say it.”

“Is something wrong?

“No, no, everything’s fine! Is Janis here?”

“Yes, she is. She’s taking a nap right now. Was she expecting you?”

“No, but if you wake her and tell her it’s her son, Stephen, I’m sure she’ll want to speak with me.”

“You must be mistaken…”

“No, you go wake her and we’ll wait outside.”

“Who was that?” Larry asked.

“I have no idea. He said he needed to talk to Mom,” I said.

I went upstairs and knocked on my mother’s door.

“What is it?” she asked.

“There’s some guy out here who says he’s your son!”

“Who?” she cried.

“He says his name is Stephen and that he’s your son.”

“Oh my God!” she said, as the door flew open.

“Wait a minute! Do you know this guy? What’s going on, Mom?”

“I DID, I mean DO, have a son named Stephen. I gave him up for adoption when I was eighteen. My parents wouldn’t let me keep him. You know back in those days, it was very shameful for a teenage girl to have a child out of wedlock.”

She ran downstairs.

“Where is he? Where did he go?” she said.

“He’s outside,” I responded.

“Well, why didn’t you let him in?”

“He wanted to wait outside!”

She walked toward the door and slowly opened it.

“Stephen?” she called out to him.

He turned around with a smile on his face. We all walked outside. My brother, Larry, looked confused. I looked at my mother in disbelief. I thought it was just my brother and me. To say this moment was awkward would be an understatement.

“Jan?” Stephen asked.

She ran over to him and they embraced each other.

“Who’s this guy?” Larry whispered to me.

I said, “Apparently he’s our other brother.”

“Our what?”

“Our other brother,” I repeated.

“Let’s all go inside, it is so hot out here!” Mom said.

We all walked into the house in a single file line and sat down.

“Jan, I’d like you to meet my wife, Betty, and my daughter, Kelsey,” said Stephen.

My mother hugged them and said, “I am so pleased to meet you!”

Larry and I just looked dumbfounded and didn’t quite know what to do. We introduced ourselves to Stephen and his family.

The conversation carried on between my mother and Stephen for what seemed like an eternity. Stephen’s wife and daughter were just sitting beside Stephen on the couch listening in silence. I don’t know what Larry was feeling, but I was feeling a little angry with my mother for not disclosing this part of her life to us. I didn’t know what to say to Stephen; he was basically a stranger to me. Should I make small talk? Should I ask him personal questions? Which was more appropriate? My mother gave Larry and me an evil look. I suppose she assumed we were being rude for not speaking to Stephen and his family.

I just decided to be honest.

“So, Mom, when were you going to tell Larry and me about Stephen?”

“You don’t have to answer that, Jan, I completely understand why you may have kept this from Kristen and Larry.”

“No, Stephen, I should not have kept you a secret from my children. I should have been honest about you years ago. It was just such a painful time in my life, I just felt uncomfortable reliving it.”

“I am sorry if my presence has disturbed you in any way,” said Stephen.

“No, no, sweetheart, I didn’t mean it like that! I just thought if I were to search for you, you would be angry with me for giving you up for adoption.”

“No, Jan, I am not upset at all. In fact, the family that adopted me has done an excellent job raising me and I have no ill feelings for you or what you felt you had to do.”

“When I was eighteen, things were different than they are now. Young teen mothers weren’t accepted in society as they are these days. My mother sent me away from the family to go live with my grandmother. After you were born, it was just understood that the best thing to do was to give you up for adoption. My mother and father were poor and didn’t have the money to raise another child, and they felt I was too young to handle the responsibility of taking care of a baby.”

“I understand Jan, I truly do, I just wanted to try and find you to satisfy my own curiosity. I thought maybe we could just try to put the past behind us and move forward.”

“Sure, Stephen, I don’t have a problem with that.”

With that, she got up and hugged Stephen and his family again. I had a few questions, but I decided not to bring them up until after Stephen left. Larry and I arose and hugged them as well.

Tears had developed in my mother’s eyes. Tears of joy, of course. Her long-lost son had returned and, luckily, held no bitter feelings for her.

Stephen and his family walked toward the door.

“Let’s meet tomorrow for lunch, Stephen, there are so many things I want to share with you,” said Mother.

“Sure, Mom,” said Stephen.

My mother smiled when he called her “Mom”, as she had not heard him call her that, yet.

After Stephen left, my mother proceeded to walk up the stairs.

“Not so fast, Mom. I have a few questions for you,” I said.

Larry, my mother, and I sat on the sofa.

“Mom, I know Stephen holds no resentment toward you, but don’t you think you should have told Larry and me a little sooner than today? Would you ever have told us if he didn’t come knocking on the door?”

“To be honest with you, dear, I was totally taken aback when Stephen came here. I thought that chapter of my life was closed forever. I really didn’t want to open old wounds. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have thought only of myself. You and Larry had a right to know.”

“Yes, Mom, we did. Thank God he showed up today or we would never have known of him.”

“I guess the Lord assigns a time and a place for everything.”

Larry was silent, choosing not to get involved in the conversation.

“Perhaps I can make amends with Stephen and we can all be a family again,” said Mom.

“Do you really think it’s that simple?” I asked.

“All we can do is try.”

Over the next few months, Stephen and Mom shared a lot of time together. He invited us to visit his home. He had done well for himself and we were all proud of him. I admired him very much for having the courage to take the first step in searching for his mother.

Stephen lived so far away, that it was difficult for us all to visit each other. Over time, we seemed to grow apart. It was like his coming into our life had never happened. I wrote him several letters that all went unanswered. My mother wrote him letters that also held no response.

To this day it is a mystery. Had he moved? Did his address change? He vanished as fast as he appeared, leaving only memories behind.

All I have to say is, I love you, Stephen, wherever you are. Hopefully, the Lord will bring you back into my life one day. Perhaps it is our turn to search for you. Perhaps Stephen is testing us. Are we passing the test? Obviously not, or we would have located him by now. This year I will make it my mission to locate my older sibling. I will not rest until he is found.

I love you, Stephen, wherever you are….

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