Chapter 10: Discovering Adulthood

The next ten years flew by at an accelerated pace. Kim married the lawyer she worked for, and was successful as a para-legal. She had several kids of her own. Denise divorced, then remarried, and continued to raise her children full time until they started school. Then she went to work at the TV station. Mama was the happy grandma to all of her grandchildren.

Aimee graduated and became one of three optometrist in our town. She specialized in examining children's eyes, and soon developed a reputation that got her lots of patients, who would continue to be with her even in their adulthood. Eventually Aimee met a really nice guy, well he was her competition actually, another eye doctor, Ryan Chapin, but the two of them became friends first, and eventually lovers, and eventually married and I became an uncle again.

I was the best man for their wedding, and I was happy for Aimee, but a little sad as well. I think maybe I thought that no one was just good enough my Aimee. And maybe a little jealous that he was going to be, if he wasn't already, intimate with someone that had been special to me. But that was my problem and I had to get over it. And I did. The wedding was beautiful, and for their present, I gave them a round trip vacation, 1st class air fare, and room at the Hawaiian Resort Hotel. I could afford it.

You see, after high school I went to college, and then on to medical school. After med school I studied and interned with the best endocrinologists in the world, and soon became certified in the field myself. I guess all that interest I had in my childhood paid off. I just had a natural ability to help people who had problems with hormones.

I was actually part of the group that helped to develop long term insulin, and I made the proper investments in the pharmacy company. By the time I was 35 years old I was a millionaire several times over. By the time I was 60, I was a multi-millionaire. By the time I was 70, I was ready to implement my last big experiment, or plan.

When I was 69, I lost my wife. I didn't mention her earlier, because there isn't much to mention. I met Jill when I was interning at the university hospital. She was studying nursing and the two of use got along together. We enjoyed each other, our free time, and even enjoyed sex. So it followed that we would marry one day, and we did. We never had children however, an infection in Jill's youth prevented her from having children. We could have adopted I guess, but we enjoyed just having our time together, and we loved to travel around the world and see things, so kids became a nice thought but never became a reality for us.

Mama was the first to die. She died in her sleep. Aimee had tried to call her and when she didn't answer she went over to check on her. Mama was pretty old by this time, in her early 80s. She didn't have any medical problems that we knew of. She just went to bed one night and didn't wake up.

Denise, Kim, Aimee, and I all cried at her funeral. She was the world's best mom in my opinion. Loving, caring, just the best.

We laid her to rest next to dad, and though Aimee and I never really knew him, Denise and Kim both remembered him, even if they were little when he died.

Kim had several of her own children and was happy. Denise, who was now on her third marriage seemed happy too. She had kept this one for over 20 years, so I guess it was the real thing. Her two children grew up and would probably have been little snots if mama hadn't been the one with the stick to keep them in line. When they had children, mama had been a great-grandmother to them as well.

Aimee was the real baby maker though. I don't know how she did it. She kept working until she was in her mid-60s. She had 5 children, two boys, three girls. And they were grown now and had children of their own. One of Aimee's great grandchildren was a girl that was named Sara. She looked the spitting image of Aimee when she was little. Sara was almost 20 when I got to know her closer.

Sara wanted to become a doctor like her great Uncle Mikey. I had never gotten really close with any of my nephews or nieces, but Sara was different. I don't know if it was cause she looked so much like Aimee, or it was just because she was so sweet and honest.

Regardless, by the time Sara had graduated college and was going to medical school, she and I had become very close. I was getting older and I knew that time was coming to an end for my life. But I waited until Sara graduated medical school before I called her up. I was 86 now.

"Uncle Mikey, what's up?" she asked.

"Sara honey," I said, "I need to ask you a big favor, a very big favor ... the most important favor in the world."

"Uncle Mikey, the answer is yes," she said.

"Honey, you don't even know what I'm going to ask," I said.

"It doesn't matter," she said, "You know I love you more than anyone, maybe even more than mom or dad."

I knew her mom and dad, but only a little. My niece was something of a spoiled pain in the ass, and she and I never saw the same in anything, but she had created this little jewel.

"Well honey," I started, "It involves you having children. But I think this would be easier if you would find time to come talk to me in person. I can't drive any longer you know since they took my license, and probably shouldn't be even if they didn't, 86 year old men can be a menace you know."

"No problem Uncle Mikey," I'm off tomorrow, so why don't I come over, say around noon time."

"That would be great," I said. We talked for a couple minutes more and then I hung up the phone. The first part of my plan was all set. Now I had to perform the second, more critical part of the plan. I dialed up Aimee.

"Mikey," she answered, "How's it hanging."

"That's all it does these days sis," I said, "It just hangs there."

"You mean with your super powers you couldn't fix it up a little?" she asked.

"I haven't used those powers in decades," I said, "But to the point, do you think you might be able to come over in a couple of days and see me? I mean are you still driving?"

"I was just thinking yesterday that I was overdue in coming for a visit, how about Friday, we can go out to some place and find some bland geriatric food we can manage to swallow."

I laughed, Aimee still knew how to make me laugh and feel good. "Great," I said, "I'll see you Friday then."

Part two of my plan fell into place. Now I was all set.

Sara came over the next day.

"Uncle Mikey," she said, and then kissed me on the lips. Not a real tantalizing kiss mind you, just a sweet little kiss with a hint of tease in it.

We made small talk for a while, she told me about her job as an emergency room physician, and how things were going well for her and Mark, her long time fiancé and soon to be husband. Then we got down to business.

"So what is this question about me having children?" she asked. "I was wondering on the way over here if you were going to ask if you could impregnate me or something."

"Hmm," I said, "Now there's an idea I hadn't thought of, but it's not a bad idea."

"Uncle Mikey, if you could, I probably would, but I don't think you can any longer ... or can you?"

"Nope, sorry sweetheart, but you are right ... I can't any longer, and even if I could, I wouldn't do that to you."

"Oh I probably wouldn't have minded," said Sara, "I might even have enjoyed it."

"You're gonna kill me if you keep talking like that," I said, "But seriously, here is the question I have for you."

"I'm all ears," she said, and then she put on her serious side and listened.

I began, "I'll come straight to the point, if a couple of babies showed up on your doorstep one day, would you adopt them and care for them like they were your own?"