A Story for Sunday-Part 5

Soap Opera Sunday is being hosted here. Part 4 with links to parts 1-3 is here.

The Question.

Joe made plans to go visit his uncle the end of May. His daughter would be out of school by then and the weather would be nice. He wasn’t sure how his uncle would respond to his question. He wasn’t sure how he was going to ask, but he would just feel things out as he went. Ok, so he rehearsed a million ways to bring the subject up and what he would say. He tried to choose just the right words, just the right approach so his uncle would sympathize with him. He still wasn’t sure, but he would find a way.

Joe and his wife and daughter had been at Uncle Alex’s visiting for 3 days now. He still hadn’t broached the subject. He knew he needed to soon, but he also felt like he needed some bonding time before dropping the bomb. His uncle had helped him so much when he was just starting out. He had been the one to give him the opportunity to come to a new land. He had been the one to help him find work and make his way there. He had opened the door for so very many good things in his life. Of course, Uncle Alex had a way of helping on his own terms, but he knew his uncle loved him and meant the best for him, even if they didn’t always agree. Joe’s wife had even suggested that it was possible his uncle or one of his aunts could be his biological parent. If that were the case, he might not tell. He doubted it though. Something just told him he would have already figured it out if that were the case. He really didn’t think his uncle could have let him be adopted by his sister, or have left him behind when he was so young to seek asylum without him. He wouldn’t have left him under the circumstances he lived with throughout his childhood.

So now they were having dinner out on the terrace. The weather was nice and the food was great. He hated to mess up how well things were going but the tension in his mind was at a breaking point. He wondered if his uncle felt his undercurrent of tension. So, when the conversation lulled, he made his break. He felt hot all over. He didn’t know if he looked flushed, but he felt it. “ So, I’ve been wanting to ask you something, uncle, and I really want an honest answer. I just really heed to know who my biological parents are. I know I’m adopted.” For a split second the question hung on the air. Then in one fell swoop, his uncle’s hand slammed down on the table as he stood up, turned and shot into the house. Everyone else just sat looking stunned.