Ocean Boy (TSU x Our Life Book 1)

Step II: Family

I- I need to know now!" Andre yawned and slowly padded down the stairs. His brain was still foggy, it was a lazy summer afternoon. As he came downstairs though, he straightened, sensing the tense energy of the room. His light brown eyes focused on the scene, suddenly wide awake. His moms were holding each other, looking resigned. They were preparing themselves to give hard news. Elizabeth stood closest to him, facing them, her hands bunched into tight fists. She was looking at their moms but couldn't stay there, roving the room and briefly seeing him before landing back on their parents. Noe'lani, who he now felt the title 'Ma' was more fitting for than 'Mommy', looked at him and took a deep breath.

"We always knew this day would come," his Ma solemnly said.

"I suppose we just hoped this day would be later rather than sooner," his Mom added. Noe'lani looked at Pamela then and shook her head.

"Perhaps it should've been this way from the beginning," she patted her wife's arm before returning her gaze to his sister, who was standing very still. As their mothers had exchanged glances, Elizabeth had let her shoulders down and shrunk in on herself. Andre was scared to reach out to her, worried that she'd burst into tears or cringe away from his touch. His mom nodded and gestured to the couch.

"Let's all have a seat then? We'll have this talk as a family." His moms walked slowly over to one of their two plush cream sofas then, but Elizabeth didn't move from her spot. Andre took a step towards her and she shook her head sharply.

"...no."

Andre looked at his moms, and they exchanged glances at each other, frowning.

"Al...alright, honey," his Ma allowed. "You were adopted from the Philippines when you were a few months old...We got you from an orphanage. Your parents had already passed away."

Andre's mouth fell open and he knew his sister's had too. Elizabeth was from the Philippines? They had known they were not their mother's biological children because one of their moms was white and the other a native Hawaiian, but- it was one thing to know you cannot be born from your parents and another to hear that 'you must get that from your Ma,' as you grew up. It made you try to find the similarities. You clung onto and identified with those, until any differences seemed perfectly normal. Andre turned to Elizabeth. Her eyes were staring hard at the floor. Her knuckles shook with increased pressure. Andre thought they might start bleeding if she squeezed them any tighter.

"Am I...am I a U.S. Citizen?" Elizabeth's voice came out so brittle it almost broke. Her moms had leaned forward from their couch so as not to miss a word.

"Of course!" their Ma said without skipping a beat.

"You were granted citizenship as part of the adoption process," their Mom added. Andre could almost see their need to come over and hug Elizabeth, hug them both, but they were giving her space. Andre remembered his own position a foot to Elizabeth's right, and realized they all were. He didn't want her to feel so alone, but maybe that was what she needed at the moment. Elizabeth hugged herself tightly and took a shaky breath.

"That's...s'that's good..." tears were leaving her eyes to dribble onto her lips. The choked sobs strangled her speech too. She nodded and ran past Andre up the stairs. The sound of her door slamming shut was a gunshot that echoed throughout the house. His Ma curled into his Mom's shoulder.

"Oh, Pam-! I wanted to tell her, but not like- not like this!"

"I know, 'Lani...I know," his Mom rubbed his Ma's shoulders and did her best to console her. When their Ma got emotional like this, it was best just to ride it out. Much like Elizabeth. Andre sucked in a lungful of air and let his hands rock slowly at his sides. He was still in his boxers and a T-shirt, freshly out of bed to get a snack. He hadn't dressed for earth-shattering revelations. Were they going to tell him about his birth family now too? Oh my God...what if they're dead...?