Adopting The Past

By Sarah Munsch

Years after Ethan places his son up for adoption, he is overcome with the feeling that his son is being raised by abusive, neglectful parents. Ethan cannot go on with his life until he finds out the truth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: May 5, 2011
• ISBN: 9781257740574

Book preview

Munsch

CHAPTER 1

I stood motionless in the doorway. I could feel my face getting warm, and my eyes welled up with tears. I dropped to my knees as a river of tears flowed down the sides of my face. Emily knelt down beside me. She wrapped her arms around me and whispered in my ear, "it’s going to be ok. We can work through this together. I raised my head and looked into her eyes. She was so calm. Either she was still in shock, or, in the back of her mind, she had everything already figured out. I guess it was better that one of us was able to stay calm. I knew, at the moment, it was not going to be me.

The date was October 23, 2005. This day was the day my life changed. I was a freshman at Tennessee State University in Nashville. I had everything I wanted in life. I lived near my family and friends. I was majoring in Journalism and was editor for the University paper. Also, I had the most wonderful girlfriend a guy could ever ask for, Emily. Emily was the girl who every guy wanted to date. She had short brown hair and wore very little make up. She liked sports and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. She was the girl next door.

Everything was going right for me until that morning in October. Emily knocked on my door and, when I answered, she had this look of concern on her usually bright, happy face. She entered my room and sat down on my bed. Emily looked up at me and blurted out the words that no teenage guy wants to hear…. I’m pregnant. I just stood there and stared at her. I was in total shock. Neither one of us were ready for a baby. We had our whole lives in front of us. I had plans and a baby did not fit in anywhere.

After a very long discussion, we decided to place the baby up for adoption. It was the only logical thing to do. I knew that there were plenty of families out there that were unable to have children. It only seemed right to give someone a chance to have a child. Also, I was not stable emotionally nor financially to take on the role of a father.

When we finally told our parents our situation, they were angry at how irresponsible we had been. They did, however, agree with our decision. A little less than two months after the end of our freshman year, Emily gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. We named him Nicholas. I looked at him for the first and last time. I did not want to spend too much time with Nicholas for fear of becoming attached to him.

That was also the last time I saw Emily. After Nicholas was born, things were not the same between us. We barley spoke and could look at each other without thinking of what we had done. We went our separate ways.

Everything in my life had changed. My friends did not look at me in the same way. My parents were disappointed in me. My relationship with my girlfriend had come to an end. I, Ethan Summers, was angry with myself.

I could not believe that I let this happen. All my life I have been responsible and rational. I was one who always followed the rules. I never took did anything wrong. I never took risks. For something like this to happen to me was completely out of my character.

That fall, I did not return to Tennessee State. I chose to move up north and start over at a different school. I thought that a change of scenery might be good for me. I moved to Boston and enrolled in the Journalism program at Emerson College.

My life seemed back to normal. I had new friends and a new girlfriend, Chloe. She was the only one who knew my past, and she did not judge me. She understood and loved me for me. I graduated from Emerson in the spring of 2009.

After graduation, I made a huge decision to return to Nashville. I had not been home in three years and felt that I needed to go back. Chloe came with me. I was ready to see my friends and family I had left behind.

Chloe had some summer classes to finish up, so I went back to Nashville alone and looked for a house. I wanted to live close to where I had grown up. I found a small cottage-like house on this little dirt road. It was nice and secluded, but still close to shops and restaurants. It was white with blue shutters. There was a large front porch with a swing and a narrow driveway that wrapped around to the back of the house. There were only a few other houses on the street. It would be a great place to ease my way into coming back home.

Also, while I was home looking for a house, I had an interview with the local newspaper. I always wanted to be a journalist and was exciting about the job. I was hired on the spot.

In July, we rented a moving truck and drove all of our belongings down to Nashville. We pulled up to the house. I climbed out of the truck, and Chloe got out of the car behind me. We were on our own and had a lot to unpack.

I walked over to the back of the truck