Adopted Son

by Dominic Peloso

  “Where’s Jerry?”

  Rosemarie continued stirring as she talked. “Oh, I’ve sent him out on an errand. I needed more milk. Daddy should be arriving in an hour or so. They’re not going to want to miss the game, so I’ll expect them all here pretty soon.”

  “Great. Great.” Janice filled the teapot with water and found the last available burner. She then sat at the table quietly staring at the brown and white checkerboard wallpaper.

  “Jannie? How’ve you been doing? I mean really.”

  “I don’t know Rosie, I’m doing ok I guess. Normally I’m fine. It’s been six years and all. But around the holidays it gets a little lonely you know. I’m just glad that I’ve got you guys to be with.”

  “I keep telling you Jannie, you should move back here to Lancaster. It’d be so great to have my big sis back in town again.”

  Janice poured the steaming water into a plain, yellow mug and sat back down. “I don’t know Rosie, I’ve got a house and all, and a job now. Maybe in the spring.”

  “We’re all worried about you all alone down there.”

  “I’m fine really,” she sat up straight in her chair and smiled, “...really. Nothing to worry about.” She tried to change the subject. “So what’s new with you and Jerry?”

  Rosemarie squinched herself up as if she was about to burst. “Oh Jannie, I’ve been dying to tell you. I can’t hold it in any longer.” She rushed to the table and sat next to her sister. She leaned way over and took both of Janice’s hand into her own. “I’m pregnant!” She sat hesitantly trying to gauge her sister’s reaction. Under most conditions she would have been sure that Janice would be ecstatic, but with all the ugliness and all, she thought that her sister might be a little sad to hear that someone else’s family was growing.

  Janice sat puzzled for several seconds, trying to process the information. “That’s fantastic!” she shouted. “I’m going to be an aunt. Have you told Mom and Dad?”

  “No, I haven’t told anybody. We were waiting for Thanksgiving to break the news. I wanted everyone to be here together. But I couldn’t help myself, I’m so excited.”

  “That’s great news Rosie, I’m so happy for you. Is it natural, or did you go embryo?”

  “Natural. We thought about getting an embryo pretty seriously for a while. But I guess that in the end we decided that we wanted our child to fit in. The Lancaster school district is now over 80% alien, and it’ll probably be more in five years. We decided not to give our kid a disadvantage.”

  “Well, he’s already got to grow up with Jerry as a Dad, so he’s going to be disadvantaged enough,” she said with a smile.

  “Jannie stop.”

  “You know, I’ve got boxes and boxes of old baby clothes in my basement if you want them.”

  “I’d appreciate that Jannie.”

  A tear formed in Janice’s eye, but not even she was certain if it was because of happiness for her sister or because the news brought her loss into contrast. She took another sip of tea and tried to smile.

  Text of a handwritten letter addressed to Mrs. Maggie Watson of Reginald, AL. Delivered four years, eight months after the nuclear explosion in Nevada

  Dear Mom,

  I know I haven’t written in a while like you told me I should. Its been pretty messed up here on the front. But we’ve quieted down some and the Sergeant sent me back to base camp for some rest. Of course the first thing I’m gonna do is write to you and tell you that I’m ok. I know that you may have heard a lot of stuff about what’s going on out here, but I want to tell you that mostly there’s no truth to it. It’s scary some of the time, especially at night, but we’re doing good out here Mom, we’re making a difference, and all the guys in my unit are great. There’s this one Indian dude who can twist himself all up in a knot for fun. You should see it! He ain’t no Indian like the one’s we got in America, he’s actually from India and all. They all talk funny too. I’ve been learning a few words of Indian for when I get back, but I can’t hardly pronounce anything. They’re all good about it though. We got guys from all over Europe too. I woulda thought that they’d all be speaking different languages, but most of ‘em speak pretty good English. It’s a NATO thing I guess. Or maybe it’s from watching tv.

  I’m in Lagos right now. That’s in Nigeria. I don’t know if the censors will let that through, but I hope they do because I wanted you to know were I was. You can look it up on a map. Didn’t you say that our family is from round here? It’s funny Mom, you always taught me that I was black, but here, everybody’s the same, you can’t tell black guys from white guys on account of us all being aliens. Even that Indian guy too. It’s funny ya know. All that stuff about civil rights and all that you went through, and here we are, nobody can tell who’s black or white or nothin.

  Mama, you should see them new tanks we got out here. The ones made from that alien ship. They actually float in the air Mama! I’m hoping that by the time I get home they’ll have cars floating around. I wanted to drive one of them floating tanks, but they told me I was just infantry. I can still watch em go though. Man thay’s cool.

  Well Ma, that’s about all the time I’ve got right now. We’re pulling out of town pretty soon. I don’t like fightin out here. Every day we go on patrol, but you never know whos happy your here and whos gonna shoot at ya. I don’t know where they’ll be sending me next. I hope that I can see more of Africa while I’m here, it being like my homeland and all that. I want to take some pictures for you ma, so’s you can see how beautiful it is (at least some parts), but the corps won’t let me have no camera. So I’ll have to just tell you all about it when I get home. It shouldn’t be long now ma, I’ll be home soon. Say hello to Uncle Curtis and the twins for me. gotta go! Semper Fi!

  Your son,

  Lance Corporal Andre Watson

  Six weeks after Lt. Tom Jacobs saved the world. The White House, Washington, DC

  “Welcome to the 6 o’clock news, I’m Toby Phillips. In headlines today, President Talbot posthumously presented the Congressional Medal of Honor to the mother of Lt. Thomas Jacobs today.”

  Switch from video of the anchorwoman to footage from the Rose Garden. President Talbot is presenting an older woman with a small black box. She is overcome with emotion.

  Voiceover:President Talbot proclaimed Lt. Jacobs a ‘national hero’ for destroying himself along with the top secret Zephyr Alpha base in Nevada, mere minutes before base personnel were set to release a virus capable of killing all alien life on the planet.

  Switch to footage of the press conference immediately following the award presentation.

  Pres. Talbot: There is only one time when doing the right thing matters, and that’s at the end. Lt. Jacobs may have been tainted by his association with Zephyr Alpha in the first place, but in the final moments, in the time it really counted, he became a hero.

  Switch to close-up of singer Leilana Banks.

  Voiceover:Also on hand was pop singer Leilana Banks, who praised Lt. Jacobs, saying quote, “I wish I could have met him.”

  Switch back to anchor desk.

  Phillips:Also on hand was Secretary of Alien Affairs James Miller.

  A small, static picture of Secretary Miller appears over the anchor’s left shoulder.

  Phillips: Secretary Miller used this occasion to announce his new ‘United Earth Campaign.’

  Switch to footage of Secretary Miller.

  Miller: Let this be a lesson to all those out there, human and alien, that life, in whatever form, is sacred, and that we must all work together. Let us stop using divisive terms such as ‘human’ or ‘alien.’ We need to get past our backgrounds, past our origins, to understand that we’re all ‘earthlings.’ If Lt. Jacobs’ sacrifice teaches us anything, it should be that love of life, love of our planet, supercedes all divisions between human and alien populations. Lt. Jacobs died for all of us, let’s use this opportunity he gave us to make a better world for all earthlings.

  Switch to anchor de
sk.

  Phillips:In other news, NATO bombers kept up a relentless assault on the Pliedian stronghold of Lagos, Nigeria today. Casualties were reported on both sides. A NATO spokesman said that battle lines have stabilized and that the first priority will be to take back the massive oil fields under Saudi Arabia.

  Switch to footage of a new conference. A general stands in front of a large world map. Most of Africa, the Middle East, South East Asia, and China are colored red.

  Gen. Abrams: NATO and Indian ground troops are being deployed to the Central Asian Republics to reinforce control of the oil resources located there. The Pliedians are using guerrilla hit and run tactics that are proving to be quite effective against our tank columns in rough terrain. But headway is being made in large, open areas such as the Arabian Peninsula. We expect to launch a full-scale assault against several key cities within a few weeks. However, it’s going to be difficult to retake some of the larger population centers without civilian casualties, which obviously we’re working hard to avoid.

  Reporter: What is the refugee situation General?

  Gen. Abrams: I can’t comment on that other to say that refugees are complicating the situation, but they are being handled in a manner consistent with international laws.

  2nd Reporter: General, is there any truth to the reports that NATO plans to use only alien troops in their front lines, so as to psychologically weaken the separatists’ claim that this is a war between aliens and human?

  Gen. Abrams: I can’t comment on that at this time.

  Switch to anchor desk.

  Phillips:The General went on to say that barring further problems, he hoped that the Pliedian Separatists would be eliminated by Spring. As a note to our viewers, we remind you to watch the encore of Channel 7’s special report on the background, motivations, and goals of the separatist leader, Franklin Trinity, tonight at nine pm. Now let’s take a look at our weather, Ken...

  A living room in Peoria, IL. Three years after the first NATO assault on Lagos.

  “Hold it steady, hold it steady.” The camera comes into focus. An older man switches his gaze from the TV playback to the lens. “Good, good, that’s good.” His gives the cameraman a thumbs up. A long, gray arm reaches forward into the shot to mimic to the gesture. “OK Karen, go ahead,” he says.

  A middle-aged woman comes into view next to the man. The pair stands in front of a red brick fireplace. The mantle is covered with cards, and stockings hang waving slightly in the breeze generated from the heat of the fire. To either side of the fireplace bare, beige wall is visible. A small end table barely sneaks into the frame at the left. It has a small bowl of nuts on it. “I’m so nervous,” says the woman to her husband.

  “Just look at the camera.” He points to the lens, “Not me, the camera.” She giggles.

  “They’re going to think their grandparents are a bunch of ditzes,” says the voice behind the lens. “You’re not making a very good impression.” The cameraman chuckles.

  “Ok, ok.” Karen shakes her head vigorously as if to shrug off her nervousness. She stares into the camera. “Hello, my name is Karen Turner, and this is my husband Jake Turner.” He gives the camera a wave. “We’re your grandparents, or great grandparents, or whatever. I guess it depends on how far this tape gets passed down.” She bows. “um... I don’t know where to begin.”

  “Why don’t you tell them why we’re making the tape Karen,” says Jake.

  She turns to her husband. “Ok, good idea.” She faces the camera again. “Why are we making this tape? Well, we’re not going to be around forever, and we wanted you to know us, who we are. We wanted you to see us, to experience a little bit of our lives, sort of as a keepsake. That’s why we’re making this tape.”

  Jake continued, “We’re figuring that you’ll have a lot of questions about your ancestors, now that we’re not around anymore. You’ll probably be bugging your parents to tell you what we looked like and how we lived and all. You are so different than we are, and you won’t be able to see us in your own face, so I guess that this is the next best thing isn’t it?”

  Karen rolled up the sleeves of her thick red sweater. She spread her fingers and rotated her arms around. “Well, for one thing, we’re all pink, or is it peach? I guess it doesn’t matter, we’re this color.”

  “And we’ve got this stuff on our heads, it’s called hair. Just like a dog has, or sort of,” said Jake. “It doesn’t smell bad when it gets wet.” He rubbed the hair on his head. Karen followed suit, pulling the bobby pins out of her bun and letting her long hair fall freely around her face.

  “We’re pretty sure you would have had brown hair, even though Jake’s is now mostly white. It’s kind of fun to have hair, it’s too bad that you guys are missing out.”

  “Please,” says the voice behind the lens, “and spend $50 a month on shampoo and haircuts? Trust me Mom, you’re better off without it. I can jump right out of bed without looking like a mess.”

  Karen moved out of the frame. Jake continued, “Well, I mean, I don’t know what else I can tell you about how we look.” He spun around slowly. “You’ve pretty much seen it all I guess. Hopefully you don’t find us too ugly you know.”

  “Show them this, show them this,” said Karen returning to view. She held up a small, black box with a hinged lid.

  “Oh yeah. Hopefully you’ll know what this is anyway, but maybe seeing us with it can provide you with a stronger link. This is a remembrance box.”

  “They’re the latest thing,” interrupted Karen, “Everybody’s got them now.” Jake looked at her. “Oh I’m sorry, you tell them.”

  Jake opened the lid. “Inside there’s a picture of us, a few actually, plus older photos of our parents. We’ve also got a little family tree. We want you to know where you came from. That’ll help you become a strong adult.

  “Yeah, everybody’s got to know where they came from. You’ve got to remember your roots.”

  “We’ve also got a few locks of hair, just so you can see. Plus there’s two blood samples, one from me and one from your grandmother. They’re for... they’re for...” he choked up a little.

  “They’re for... ‘just in case,’” finished Karen. “I mean you never know about the future right? Maybe we can’t pass our genes along in the regular way, but maybe they’ll be some new way someday.”

  Jake recovered. “Well, at least you’ll always be able to say you’ve got your grandparents’ genes,” he chuckled. “Even if you just keep them in a box.” He closed the lid and placed it on the table besides the nuts. “I hope that you guys will keep us in mind as you get older, and try to live right you know?”

  “Yeah, remember, we love you dearly. No matter where you go and what you do, we’ll always be looking down on you, remember that. You’ll never be alone.” Karen started sniffling.

  As she wiped a tear from her eye with a tissue, Jake said, “I guess that’s it. Keep the Turner name in good standing son. You’re the guardian of it now. It’s up to you. We’re counting on you. And remember, whatever Todd tells you about how he was a good kid, don’t believe it, he was a hellion. I hope you’re as big a pain in the neck to him as he was to us.”

  “Oh stop Jake.” She addresses the camera, “He’s just kidding really. We know you’ll be good and you’ll do great things in life,” sobbed Karen, “We love you very much, you’ll always have a part of us inside you. Make us proud.” She grabs her husband and hugs him tightly, burying her face in his chest.

  “Ok, I guess that’s it. Todd, turn off the tape.” The camera flips over, showing mostly floor.

  “Where’s the button Dad?” says the voice.

  “It’s on the side, gimme that thing.” The camera shakes violently a few times, then the tape ends.

  Five years, three months after the Pliedian Spearhead declared war on humanity. Abidjan, Cote d’Ivorie

  Franklin sat in the garden and waited calmly. He liked coming to the garden. The trees here were beautiful, the flowers consta
ntly grew and bloomed, occasionally a lizard would run across the flagstone path. It was peaceful here. There was no war in the garden, there was no death or logistics or reporters in the garden. There was only peace. He occasionally brought work out here with him, if some order needed to be reviewed, if some secret mission needed to be assigned. But not today. Today Franklin sat and waited and prayed.

  The air over the city was quiet this at this hour. The relentless bombing had ceased for now. No one in the capital city would die on this day. The sound of anti-aircraft fire would not be heard. It was a beautiful morning, a little humid, but not too hot just yet. The sky was clear. Franklin took a deep breath and waited.

  A helicopter flew overhead. It came to a landing on the pad outside of the compound. “It wouldn’t be long now,” he thought. He looked up at the sky and tried to stare through the blue atmosphere to see the stars. “Why haven’t you come?” he thought. “Why have you left us here like this?”

  A few minutes later the door to the garden opened. Franklin stood up from his stone bench to greet the envoy. Enoch came through first, dapper in his dress uniform. “Franklin?” he said, “The envoy is here.” Behind him, still partially lost in the darkness of the hallway stood a figure.

  “Thank you Enoch. Please leave us.” He said. He had noticed a slight stammer in Enoch’s voice, perhaps a small tear was in the corner of his eye. Franklin felt the same way, but he couldn’t show it. He had to be brave, he had to be strong; for his army, for his species, for himself. Enoch stepped aside and allowed the envoy to enter the garden. He then stepped back into the corridor and closed the banded wooden door behind him. The sound of the door creaking echoed noisily in the enclosed courtyard.

  At first, Franklin didn’t know what to make of the envoy. She appeared to be wearing a hood of some sort. As she came into the light, Franklin could see that it was a habit. The woman was a nun. She stepped forward briskly and lifted the fabric to reveal her face. It was one that Franklin recognized immediately despite the extra years chiseled into it.