Ya know, a lot of people have unconventional families these days.
They’ve got adopted siblings, or two moms or two dads, and tons of people have stepsiblings
too.
But me?
I’ve got ‘em all beat.
Hi, my name is Paris, and this is the story how I ended up with probably the most unconventional
family of all.
To give you a little background about me: My family has pretty much always been just
me and my Mom.
Mom had fertility issues, so having even one kid was a huge surprise for her, and then
after they had me, my Dad died of cancer.
I was only 2, so I don’t really remember him, but from what Mom tells me, he was an
amazing guy.
I think that’s why she never really got back into the dating scene; she felt like
nobody would ever be able to live up to the sweet, caring, funny, creative guy she was
married to.
I understood.
Besides, Mom and I were super close – I never felt like I needed anyone else.
Fast forward 13 years: I’m a well-balanced, happy teenager and …surprise!
For the first time, I started to have feelings for a boy!
Real feelings, instead of just a crush.
His name was Will McAfee, and he was in my group at church.
Not only did he like the same music and videos I did, but I thought he was all-around pretty
great, too.
We started to hang out even when we weren’t doing church stuff – you know - going for
ice cream, or to the skate park, or the movies and then, one weekend, he asked me if I wanted
to be his girlfriend.
Are you KIDDING??
Of course, I said yes!
I couldn’t wait to tell my Mom.
She’d already noticed that I was spending an awful lot of time with Will recently, and
kind of looked at me with “those eyes”, so I was sure she knew that I had a crush
on him.
But me being her only kid, she was always a little overprotective, so I was nervous
that if she knew it was official, I wouldn’t be allowed to spend so much time with him
anymore.
Still, Mom was Mom, and I had to let her know.
So I went up to her after school one day and said I had something important I needed to
tell her.
“Paris…I have something really exciting to tell you, too!” and she gives me this
big smile.
Hmmm, what could she be talking about?
Maybe we were going on vacation?
“You first!”
I said, and gave her a little hug.
“Well…I know it’s been a long time coming, but I’ve started to date again.”
“Mom!”
I was so excited!
“Anyone special?”
“Yes, actually, and we’ve decided to make it official instead of just going on dates.
He has a kid too, and we both just really want to settle down.
I can even see us getting married soon.
I’m really serious about this man, Paris.
I think he’s amazing - and not only that - you’ve met him!”
“Uhhh…I have?”
“Yes, at church!
And I think it’s his son who’s your buddy!”
I kid you not, my entire life flashed before my eyes.
I only had one friend at church – most of the kids there were either too young, or almost
adults.
Well actually - now I had no friends at church, because my friend was now my boyfriend.
“You’re dating…Will’s dad?”
“Yes, Dave McAfee.
Is that weird since you know his son?”
YES, I screamed mentally, YES!
HE IS MY BOYFRIEND’S DAD.
“No,” I croaked, “it’s just ….a….
surprise, that’s all.
I’d, um, I’d love to meet him properly.”
“Oh, thank you, honey!
Wait – what did you want to tell me?”
Right in that moment, I made a decision.
My mom meant the absolute world to me, and she had lost the love of her life when I was
just a baby.
This was her time.
“It was something I was…umm…more going to ask you, actually.
I was wondering if I could…get a dog…because I wanted to tell you that I’m - uh…ready
for one?”
It wasn’t my best lie, but it was the best I could do at the time.
“Oh, Paris, I’ve been thinking the same thing!
Let’s go to the shelter this weekend!”
Great, now I was getting a dog that I didn’t want.
“One more thing.
Has, um, your “boyfriend”?..
told Will that you’re dating?”
“He did, just now!
We thought we’d break the news at the same time because we were just so nervous about
what you guys would think.”
I gave her another hug and told her I was proud of her – which wasn’t a lie.
It just wasn’t exactly what I was focusing on at the time – and texted Will: We need
to talk.
He replied almost instantly: “OMG.”
He texted me to meet him at Starbucks, and I biked there so fast I thought my legs would
fall off.
When Will sat down opposite me, he looked like he had been crying, which was about the
same way I felt.
“Your dad doesn’t know we’re dating, right?”
I asked.
“No, I was planning on telling him later – does your mom?”
“No.”
I didn’t actually know too much about Will’s relationship with his dad, but turns out,
he was close to his dad like I was to Mom.
We decided it was better to break up than do something like keep dating secretly.
We both knew our parents well enough to know they’d stop seeing each other if we were
dating.
That’s not to say it was easy, though.
We both shed a tear.
But once the crying was done, we promised that we’d never tell ANYONE – friend,
family, or future boyfriend or girlfriend– that we had ever been in a relationship, just
in case it ever got back to our parents.
And then we pinky promised.
I know – real mature.
I allowed myself one day of being super sad.
I told Mom I had my period, then spent the day in bed, eating an entire pint of Ben and
Jerrys and watching Bridget Jones’ Diary, just sobbing.
Every once in a while, a girl just has to be dramatic.
Will and I agreed to not talk for a few days, but I really missed talking to him.
But within a week, I knew it was for the best.
I have never, ever seen Mom that happy – she was like a schoolgirl with a crush (like me,
I guess) and everything was Dave said this, Dave did that.
It was actually really nice to see.
I was also quite distracted, because Mom took my suggestion VERY seriously and I now had
a very energetic border collie puppy eating all my belongings and peeing on my floor.
His name is Brodie and he’s a real troublemaker!
Anyway, the day came when all 4 of us went out to dinner – me, my Mom, my only ex-boyfriend,
and my ex boyfriend’s Dad, who is going to marry my mom.
I was dreading it, but it actually went ok.
I only talked to Will a little, but I’m pretty sure Mom just chalked that up to me
feeling a bit shy, which was fine by me.
Dave is really cool; he’s a gentle guy who loves painting and animals, and he was really
good with Brodie.
I guess some of probably wanted me to keep a secret relationship going, but I’m so
glad I didn’t.
Dave and Mom got married last spring, so now Will is officially my step-brother, and that
would have been wayyyy too weird.
Plus, who wants to be in a secret relationship?
Not me, that’s for sure.
It got less weird over time, honestly.
I think it would have been a lot harder if we had ever kissed or anything, but fortunately
Mom broke the news early enough in our relationship that that wasn’t a problem.
Mom and Dave still don’t know we ever dated, and they never will – that’s a secret
Will and I will take to our graves.
So, there you have it – the story of how my boyfriend became my brother!
It’s less crazy than it sounds, but still VERY weird.
Do you have any weird family stories you’d like to share with me?
Let me know in the comments below!
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