Matthew arrived in New York, rented a red VW Beetle, and drove to the address the detective had given him. Once parked in front of the house, Matthew was glad he made it safely after getting lost a few times and having to ask for directions. He had never been to a big city before, but felt at home among the tall buildings. The feeling surprised him because he had always lived in a smaller town. Matthew always thought he would stay in that type of life, taking care of his mother. Now that he caught of taste of a big city life, he wasn’t sure if he liked it better than the small town, but he did like it just the same.
Matthew looked around at the homes as he sat there. Located in the suburbs, just outside the city limits, the two-story home was painted white like the others in the neighborhood. Most of the houses had white picket fences around the front yard, like his brother’s house. All the homes had black trim and matching shutters on the windows, too. Matthew liked the appearance. It was a good place to raise a family.
Matthew took a deep breath and walked up the stone path to the front door. He hoped he had nieces and nephews. He wasn’t going to be lonely anymore. The idea of having a real family made his stomach hurt. He had never had butterflies like this before. What was he going to say? How was his real family going to react? Would they be happy to see him and welcome him into their home with open arms? Or would they turn him away like his birth mother had done? Matthew was scared, but this was something he had been waiting for. Matthew didn’t want to turn back after taking so long to get there. He had to find out why his mother gave him away. He needed closure.
Matthew rang the doorbell and waited. When no one answered the door, Matthew was disappointed that he came all that way and no one was home. He had given the detective so much money to find his blood family. As he stood there, he realized he didn’t really know what to say. He decided to wait a couple more days and come back when his head was clearer.
Matthew returned to his rented car and climbed in, still feeling disappointed that this had been a wasted trip. As he was getting ready to leave, Matthew saw a van drive up and park at his brother’s house. He watched as a man got out on the driver’s side, a man who looked like him. He had to be his brother. Before Matthew could get back out of the Beetle, he saw other people in the van. He saw a beautiful woman and three adorable children. They had to be his brother’s family.
Something came over Matthew, something he had never felt before—jealousy—and it ate away at him. There was no way he would be happy until he had a wife like that. This man who had his face did not deserve a wife as beautiful as that. He had not gone through the things Matthew had and couldn’t possibly appreciate someone so pure standing by his side. This was not fair. Matthew was the one who had grown up being beaten everyday for just breathing. Matthew was the one who had to clean up his mother’s vomit after she drank all night and then blamed him for her needing to drink so much. This man with this perfect life didn’t have to live this way, and that infuriated Matthew.
