Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 71843 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71843 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Hannah: Okay.
Jory: B?
Hannah: …
Jory: That was a heavy sigh.
Hannah: No.
Jory: Yes. Tell me what’s wrong.
Hannah: He’s just—he’s gonna leave.
Jory: Your brother.
Hannah: Yeah. I mean, yes.
Jory: It’s okay. Your uncle’s not here.
Hannah: I…it’s gonna be weird.
Jory: It will, at first. But he’ll be home for Thanksgiving.
Hannah: I know. I wonder if he’ll leave his PlayStation?
Jory: I wouldn’t bet on it.
Hannah: Maybe that should be a question.
DEAR JORY:
How are you going to not lose your mind when your first child leaves home?
Jory: I will have my second child to focus every drop of energy on.
Hannah: That’s not even funny.
Jory: You know, I’ve been contemplating this, and I hope that weekly phone calls will be enough.
Hannah: Meaning once a week or daily calls that happen weekly?
Jory: You’re very clever.
Hannah: Yes, well, I am your child.
Jory: I’m going to try not to call him every day.
Hannah: Maybe you can text him every day and call every two or three.
Jory: I may hyperventilate.
Hannah: We’ll FaceTime him.
Jory: I’m gonna worry, let’s face it, I will. But I want him to have this adventure, and I want him to be on his own, have his own life and his own experiences. It’s just hard, because I want to protect him. I’m going to try and not be an overbearing crazy person.
Hannah: Try for overbearing, because you’re already a crazy person.
Jory: Thanks a lot.
Hannah: I love you no matter what.
Jory: Thank you.
Hannah: Which brings me to another question.
Jory: Okay.
DEAR JORY:
My daughter wants to take one of the DNA tests. She’s adopted and wants to find out about her biological family, but I’m afraid I’m going to lose her. What should I do? I know your children are adopted, so what would you do?
Jory: Oh. Is that something you want to do?
Hannah: I want to know what you’d say first.
Jory: I would say that I would have my child wait until they were eighteen so they could be ready for whatever they would find, but that I would have no issue with them finding out about where, and who, they come from.
Hannah: You really wouldn’t?
Jory: No, honey, of course not. I understand you wanting to know, just like your father understands me not wanting to know.
Hannah: What?
Jory: I could take a DNA test and probably find cousins. I know my grandmother had three children, and my mother was the youngest. No one lived anywhere near us, and I was with my grandmother until she passed and I never met anyone else. She was estranged from the rest of her family, and she made that decision, she told me, when I was born. She took custody of me and started over.
Hannah: I didn’t know that.
Jory: Yeah, so there are probably people out there related to me.
Hannah: But you don’t want to know?
Jory: I don’t. And that probably seems weird to you, but I’m very set in my life. I have you and your brother, your father, his family, and I have your uncle Dane and his family, and honestly, that’s enough family to deal with.
Hannah: Our family is nuts.
Jory: On occasion, yes. But all the best ones are. Now you, you may want to know your biological family, and I support that unconditionally.
Hannah: When I turn eighteen.
Jory: Yes.
Hannah: I might. I might not. I’m not sure, but I appreciate you not thinking it would ever make me love you less.
Jory: Of course not.
Hannah: And you know, if I do, I won’t do it with the spitting in the tube and all that.
Jory: No? How will you do it, then?
Hannah: I’ll have Uncle Aaron do it.
Jory: I’m sorry?
Hannah: You know, he’ll just research it and find whoever’s there to find, check them out, run them all through Interpol records and background, and then of course, if he needs more help, he can ask Dad for additional resources.
Jory: Interpol what now?
Hannah: Watchlists. Stuff like that.
Jory: Oh dear God.
Hannah: It would be FBI records if I was born here.
Jory: So let me understand, you’ve spoken to your uncle Aaron about this already?
Hannah: And Dad. I mean, kinda. Like, not seriously, just asking what I would do and how.
Jory: I see.
Hannah: Dad said the same thing as you, by the way. That I had to be eighteen.
Jory: Well, there you are, great minds and all.
Hannah: And he said we’d have to have a family meeting about it.
Jory: Good. I like us all on the same page.
Hannah: I know you do.
Jory: I wonder if your brother would want to know about his biological family.
Hannah: No. I asked him.
Jory: You did? What did he say?
Hannah: That he doesn’t care. He belongs to you and Dad and that’s it.
Jory: He might change his mind when he gets older. He’s going to be a doctor, and simply for medical background, he might want to reach out.
Hannah: I dunno. It’s Kola. His personality is…inflexible. He’s wanted to be a doctor since he was what, five? Six? I mean, once he makes up his mind about stuff, it’s forever.