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I sat beside my foster cousin Charity, impressed by the mountain of gifts stacked in front of her. My meager pile wasn’t insulting since the Bane family had only been saddled with me five weeks ago. I formerly lived with the Stephens family up until they decided to move down south to be closer to their grandchildren. Despite our years of peacefully coexisting, they weren’t moved to adopt me. Thanks to the Stephens’ decision, I was forced to endure the holiday season with people that I barely knew.
My foster cousin Charity Bane was short and thin, with wispy blonde hair. Her shoulder blades jutted out, as if she hadn’t seen a meal in quite some time. She had thin scars crisscrossing her arms. My working theory was that she had endured some kind of trauma. The way that all of the adults indulged her horrid mood swings supported my assumption. Her blue eyes scowled at my pile, as if the objects were a much-hated ex-boyfriend. Thankfully, Charity and I were the only teens there, since the living room was small and a bit claustrophobic. My foster mother, Jane, a tall, willowy woman with short chocolate brown hair, stood in front of us with a camera, wanting to capture the moment. I couldn’t understand why she bothered. I was turning eighteen next month, and doubted that she planned on keeping me around past graduation.
“Jade, smile,” she sang. My lips moved up in a tense smile, as the flash of her digital camera nearly blinded me. As if not to be outdone, Charity’s mother, Mary, stepped forward and enthusiastically took multiple pictures of her daughter. The two identical Bane men were sitting on the worn couch, disinterested by the fanfare. The tantalizing smell of ham distracted them.
“All right, let’s open the gifts,” my foster mother cheered.
“Jade, go on,” Charity reluctantly said, her eyes focused on my gifts. I picked up the first wrapped package and noted that it was from Uncle Nathan. I tore off the wrapping paper and was astonished to see that he bought me an Apple watch. I tamped down my desire to hand the gift back and glanced at the smiling blue-eyed man.
“Thank you, uh, Uncle Nathan?” I stammered out, my sentence ending in an uncertain question. My uncertainty remained when Mary scowled at her grinning husband.
“He isn’t really your uncle,” Charity’s mom hotly said, her gray eyes lacking warmth.
“Nonsense, Mary. You heard what the commander said. Jade is one of us.” His words threw me off. I eyed Jane, whose eyes briefly widened in surprise before she composed herself.
“Jade, ignore them,” Jane said through a tight smile. “Why don’t you open the present from me and your father next?” Despite the fact that I wasn’t comfortable calling perfect strangers Mom and Dad, Jane and Tim had no such hang-ups claiming me. I was dying to ask Jane and Tim who Mary was referring to, but I didn’t want to rock the boat. Instead, I unwrapped the gift from my foster parents, a beautiful comforter set, which was both thoughtful and practical. I thanked them and opened the next gift, from Charity. She’d bought me a makeup bag with lotions and lipstick stashed inside.
“Charity, thank you,” I said. She nodded, delight flashing in her eyes. When I reached for the fourth box, my foster cousin stiffened, which made dread fill me. What was wrong with her? Was there an explosive wrapped in the snowflake Christmas paper? I did notice that the writing said, “From Mrs. Bane.” She definitely didn’t want me calling her aunty. Wanting to get it over with, I ripped the package open and blinked in surprise. I read the big, bold, black letters twice before they could register to me. DNA.
“Uh, thank you?” I wasn’t sure how to feel about being given such a gift.
“Everyone should know where they truly belong. No matter what the commander says, you aren’t family.” Jane’s eyes widened when she squatted down to see the box in my shaking hand.
“Mary,” Jane hissed as she got to her feet. “Was that necessary?”
“What did she get her?” Uncle Nathan asked, his tone hard.
“A family heritage kit,” Jane cried.
“It was given with thought. Unlike you, I’m not willing to play make-believe. Jane, she doesn’t belong in our world, and you know it,” Mary yelled. I glanced down at my mocha skin and felt uneasy. In a way, Mary was right. No one knew where I came from. I had been abandoned in a department store dressing room, and my parents could never be tracked down.
“I guess she’s right,” I softly said.
“Great. Charity, open your presents,” Mary said. To my surprise, Charity got to her feet and sent a scowl in her mother’s direction.
“Donate them to charity, or the other foster children that you have been rude to,” Charity snapped before storming off.
“I’ll go after her,” I volunteered. I rushed up the rickety stairs and knocked on Charity’s door. My foster cousin ignored me, deciding to blast a horrid pop song instead. I gave up and reluctantly joined my parents in the living room. I was surprised to see that Jane and Tim were wearing their coats. Well, Christmas was over. In a way, I was flattered that everyone was taking up for me. But it wasn’t necessary. I wasn’t a member of the Bane family. But before I could protest, Jane handed me the puffy coat that she purchased for me last week. I slipped into it, gathered up my gifts, and allowed myself to be hustled out the door.
***
“Aren’t you curious?” my best friend, Sheena Smith, asked, her voice reaching me through the speaker of the iPhone that my foster parents thoughtfully gave me. I plopped down in the full-size bed in the room that the Banes allocated for a foster child. It didn’t feel like it was mine. The lavender walls were bare, no rugs adorned the hardwood floors, and there were no mementos scattered on the dresser.
“Not really,” I admitted.
“Take the test, Jade. You never know what you’ll discover,” Sheena said. The dread I felt when I first spotted the damned box curled in my stomach. I knew that I was being ridiculous, so I didn’t express my feelings to Sheena.
“And maybe I’ll be the tenth cousin of a duchess,” I teased, recalling the results that Sheena excitedly posted on Instagram last week.
“Or a fifth cousin to a rock star,” Sheena said, excitement coloring her voice. Like me, Sheena grew up in the foster care system, but unlike me, her foster parents adopted her eight years ago. I wasn’t surprised, since my friend was likable, the kind of person that everyone wanted around.
“I wonder if said rock star will discover that I exist and write me a fat check,” I joked as I heard the doorbell ring. That must have been the Chinese food that Tim ordered. “Anyway, it looks like lunch is here.”
“I’m serious, Jade. I think that you should really consider taking the DNA test. Why not? And who knows, maybe you have some long-lost sibling in the world that was abandoned the same way you were.” The thought that someone was discarded in the way that I had been made me queasy. What if my mother was a serial baby dumper?
“I doubt that I have a sibling. But we’ll see,” I said, just as Jane’s voice reached me.
“Jade, honey, the food is here,” she shouted.
“I’ve got to go, Sheena,” I quickly said.
“Promise me that you’ll take the test,” Sheena insisted.
“I promise,” I replied. Her line disconnected, taking the opportunity to retract my words away. For a moment, I stared at the phone, regretting the promise that I had spoken. Then I stood, put my feet into a pair of fluffy slippers, and rushed down the stairs and into the kitchen.
“There you are,” Jane brightly said as she placed three made-up plates onto place settings. I assumed that the plate brimming with food was for Tim, so I chose the place setting by the fridge. There were already glasses of red wine at each setting. Tim hurried in and plopped down and picked up his fork. Jane joined us, a forced smile on her face. “We wanted your first Christmas with us to be special,” Jane admitted before she took a bite of her shrimp fried rice. I followed suit, enjoying the flavor that hit my tongue.
“It is. At least I got gifts, wine, and Chinese food. The Stephens always had me volunteer at the homeless shelter for Christmas. Then, for dinner we usually had pot roast and pie,” I rambled, a poor attempt at placating the Banes. They really didn’t have to go through trouble for me. I knew that I was lucky to place in a home at my age.
“Jade, you deserved a great Christmas. You’re a wonderful girl.” The praise made me feel awkward, so I took a small sip of the half-filled glass of wine.
“I’ll be burning Mary’s gift,” Tim said. “You can give it to me after dinner.”
“It’s okay,” I assured. “I’m kind of curious. I figured that I could take the test.”
“Great. I’ll buy you another one,” Jane said. “There is no way that you’re using hers. I won’t give her the satisfaction of believing that she was right.” So, Jane was being petty. I knew that I wouldn’t be eager to use the kit if Jane bought it for me.
“It’s okay, Jane. Let’s kill her with kindness,” I said. “Trust me, if I bake her cookies and write a nice thank-you note, it will make her uncomfortable.”
Tim let out a chuckle. “That’s a new one. Okay, Jade, let’s kill your aunt with kindness,” Tim agreed as he happily chomped on a chicken finger.