and see him like that again.
I blew out a deep breath and released the emotion. “I realized right away that we shared several classes. I’d sit near him and listen to his conversations with others, hanging on his every word. I was mesmerized by his thirst for knowledge and hunger for life. Not to mention, he was the absolute cutest guy in the room.”
I couldn’t keep the smirk off my face at that memory of Jack. I glanced over at Reynolds, and he smiled, his eyes soft, and kind. A strange sense of confidence came over me to continue. “I was assigned to lead a discussion on siblings in our speech class. I told the story of my brother and afterward, we had a question and answer session. This topic was actually quite near and dear to me. See, my brother, David, was born with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Many people in our society know it as mental retardation. Anyway, David is the sweetest little brother I could imagine, but not everyone can see beyond his disability. I gave my talk on the way I felt when I watched him get picked on, heard him called names, or saw strangers point and stare.” I shook my head, recalling those hurtful moments. “Jack was engrossed in my presentation and asked a thousand questions during the class. Afterward, he asked me out for coffee.”
A slow smile stretched across my face. “That was our first date. Jack wanted to get to know me. He wondered what it was like to grow up with a baby brother who could never lead a ‘normal’ life. I had never met anyone who cared about what my life was like as a sibling of someone with a disability. I fell in love fast.” For a moment, I was back in that coffee shop, sitting across from Jack. My memories could never do justice to the way he had made me feel that day. I had always felt special when I was with Jack. As outgoing as he was, I was introverted. We complemented each other and became the best of friends. Eventually, we became lovers.
“We spent the next four years of college in a serious relationship. Once I fell in love with Jack, there was no going back. He loved me deeply, and I loved him with my whole heart.” I stopped dicing celery and wiped the tears running down my cheeks.
Reynolds walked over, handing me a tissue. “Let’s take a break. This is tough to talk about.” He then placed his hand on my upper arm, but I flinched at his touch, stepping away. Having a man touch me felt foreign. Reynolds rubbed his hands together and looked around the kitchen as if he was lost or uncomfortable.
I’m such a jerk. I squeezed my hands together. “No, I need to do this. I need to tell you all about him. Really get you to understand him to the core. As we dated and fell in love, Jack fell in love with my family, too. He came home with me on breaks and talked to David and his friends, who were always at our home. David called Jack his ‘real brother’, and Jack felt the same about their relationship.” I made a mental note to reach out to David. I’d been so wrapped up in my own loss and that of the boys that I had forgotten that my brother also lost Jack.
I shook my head clear of more guilty thoughts and refocused. “Jack also spent a lot of time talking to my parents about David’s future. My father had explained to Jack that when David was born, he and my mother had started a trust fund for him. He would be taken care of in old age and would hopefully find a placement in a group home when he was twenty-one. Sadly, many of David’s friends wouldn’t be as lucky. Their parents weren’t as financially well off, and there weren’t enough homes for everyone who needed them. Some would end up in a state-run institution.”
Reynolds leaned over the counter and grabbed a potato chip from the bowl I was filling. “I don’t know much about the institutions, other than what I researched online. What I read was unbelievable.”
I nodded, grinding salt and pepper over the chicken, celery, and mayonnaise. “Your
I blew out a deep breath and released the emotion. “I realized right away that we shared several classes. I’d sit near him and listen to his conversations with others, hanging on his every word. I was mesmerized by his thirst for knowledge and hunger for life. Not to mention, he was the absolute cutest guy in the room.”
I couldn’t keep the smirk off my face at that memory of Jack. I glanced over at Reynolds, and he smiled, his eyes soft, and kind. A strange sense of confidence came over me to continue. “I was assigned to lead a discussion on siblings in our speech class. I told the story of my brother and afterward, we had a question and answer session. This topic was actually quite near and dear to me. See, my brother, David, was born with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Many people in our society know it as mental retardation. Anyway, David is the sweetest little brother I could imagine, but not everyone can see beyond his disability. I gave my talk on the way I felt when I watched him get picked on, heard him called names, or saw strangers point and stare.” I shook my head, recalling those hurtful moments. “Jack was engrossed in my presentation and asked a thousand questions during the class. Afterward, he asked me out for coffee.”
A slow smile stretched across my face. “That was our first date. Jack wanted to get to know me. He wondered what it was like to grow up with a baby brother who could never lead a ‘normal’ life. I had never met anyone who cared about what my life was like as a sibling of someone with a disability. I fell in love fast.” For a moment, I was back in that coffee shop, sitting across from Jack. My memories could never do justice to the way he had made me feel that day. I had always felt special when I was with Jack. As outgoing as he was, I was introverted. We complemented each other and became the best of friends. Eventually, we became lovers.
“We spent the next four years of college in a serious relationship. Once I fell in love with Jack, there was no going back. He loved me deeply, and I loved him with my whole heart.” I stopped dicing celery and wiped the tears running down my cheeks.
Reynolds walked over, handing me a tissue. “Let’s take a break. This is tough to talk about.” He then placed his hand on my upper arm, but I flinched at his touch, stepping away. Having a man touch me felt foreign. Reynolds rubbed his hands together and looked around the kitchen as if he was lost or uncomfortable.
I’m such a jerk. I squeezed my hands together. “No, I need to do this. I need to tell you all about him. Really get you to understand him to the core. As we dated and fell in love, Jack fell in love with my family, too. He came home with me on breaks and talked to David and his friends, who were always at our home. David called Jack his ‘real brother’, and Jack felt the same about their relationship.” I made a mental note to reach out to David. I’d been so wrapped up in my own loss and that of the boys that I had forgotten that my brother also lost Jack.
I shook my head clear of more guilty thoughts and refocused. “Jack also spent a lot of time talking to my parents about David’s future. My father had explained to Jack that when David was born, he and my mother had started a trust fund for him. He would be taken care of in old age and would hopefully find a placement in a group home when he was twenty-one. Sadly, many of David’s friends wouldn’t be as lucky. Their parents weren’t as financially well off, and there weren’t enough homes for everyone who needed them. Some would end up in a state-run institution.”
Reynolds leaned over the counter and grabbed a potato chip from the bowl I was filling. “I don’t know much about the institutions, other than what I researched online. What I read was unbelievable.”
I nodded, grinding salt and pepper over the chicken, celery, and mayonnaise. “Your
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