Messy Love(6)

I smiled and nodded. “I have a wonderful family. My parents are very open and understanding. And I have the best big brother a sister could ask. I’m very close to my family.’’

“It’s good. It’s really good.’’ She pulled away and dabbed at her eyes. “I’ve always wondered if you were happy.’’

“I am.’’ I shrugged and smiled wider at her. “I’m very lucky.’’

“I’m glad. I can’t tell you how glad I am. I’ve almost tried to find you years ago, but I was afraid it’d make things difficult for you. I didn’t know if your parents had told you you’re adopted or if I’d upset your balance, so I promised myself I’d wait for you to find me. That’s partly why I’ve never moved far from Atlanta.’’

“We’ve been living in the same city for two years. When I realized that it shocked me.’’

“You live here?’’

I nodded and laughed softly. “Yes, I rent a small one bedroom apartment in Midtown, close to Georgia Tech’s campus.’’

“Is that where you go to college?’’

I laughed on the inside at the assumption. When people saw me, they never guessed what I was planning for a career. Usually, I’d expect some disappointment or judgment when I explained, but after seeing her son, I didn’t think she was going to be that shocked.

“I’m not in college. I’m a tattoo apprentice at the best shop in Atlanta.’’

“Oh!’’ She blinked and looked at my bare arm, free of any tattoos until her gaze settled on the small tatt on my left wrist. “I wasn’t expecting that. It’s great. You saw Wyatt. He has great ink.’’

“Yeah, I recognized the work. He's been tattooed by Kamren. Kam is my mentor. His art is breathtaking.’’

“Do you have any tattoos?’’

“Just a few and nothing huge. I designed them myself when I was eighteen and went to Kam to take me as an apprentice. He was hard to convince, but when he tattooed me, he accepted. He had me doing all the dirty work for six months before he started training me on fake skin and fruits with the machine.’’

“It must be difficult to learn. Have you tattooed someone already?’’

“Yes, but it’s recent. Kam gave me the green light to start on easy designs four months ago. I’m also always working on building my portfolio for when I can tattoo my designs.’’

She smiled and laughed a very light and warm laugh that helped me relax a little more. “I would have never thought you’d be an artist or working your way to becoming a tattoo artist. How did you parents react when you told them your career choice?’’

“They were worried but hid it. They supported me a lot from the get-go and because I’ve always been doodling, they knew I’d do something artistic. They only asked me to work hard and learn from the best.’’

“You have good parents.’’

“I do. They’re amazing.’’

Silence fell between us, but this time it’s not awkward or tensed. It gave me the time to look around the kitchen more closely. I saw a school picture on the fridge of a young girl who’s probably Ava. She had a big smile, bright chocolate eyes and light brown hair framing her small face and apple cheeks. Besides the school picture, there’s a picture of Wyatt with one big tattooed arms wrapped around Lydia and another picture of Lydia in the arms of a tall man with brown hair and graying temples. They looked like a happy family.

“Wyatt seemed to have known who I was earlier,’’ I finally said, breaking the silence and looking back at Lydia.

“I hope he wasn’t too rude.’’

I snorted and then smiled apologetically at my reaction. “I’ve met people a lot warmer, but I’m the intruder.’’

She tugged on the sleeves of her deep purple blouse, her eyes a bit sad now. “Wyatt and my husband know about you. I’ve never hidden you. My daughter is… She turned ten last month, and I’ve never known how to explain this. My family is very understanding, so I’m sorry if… I mean, Wyatt can be difficult sometimes.’’

I couldn’t help the relief that invaded me like a tidal wave when I realized that she hadn’t lied to her family, that I wasn’t a taboo subject. I also understood her reasoning when it came to the little Ava. At her age, it’d be difficult to get why her mother gave up another daughter.

“He looks older than me.’’

“He is. He’s twenty-four. We adopted him when he was thirteen.’’

“Thirteen! Wow.’’ I wasn't necessarily an expert in adoption just because I was adopted, but I heard that it wasn’t often that kids got adopted the older they got. In a way, knowing she adopted a grown-up kid lessened the pain, I had felt upon discovering she adopted someone after abandoning me. It probably made me an awful person, but sometimes emotions were messy, and I accepted that. “Did you want to adopt a grown up?’’

“When I got married, I told my husband I wanted to adopt one day. I’ve never come to terms with what happened. Danny, my husband, is the sweetest man and he liked the idea of adopting a kid, giving them a real home. After our wedding we went through the process to be on the waiting list and then one day I saw this boy who was so tough playing on the basketball field with other kids near my work. The ball almost hit me in the face when I walked to my car. He jogged to me, apologized and then cursed one of the boys over his shoulder. I can’t explain it, but somehow, we connected even though he tried to keep me at arm’s length for a long time.’’