There's a laptop waiting for me in the comms room. And there's signal, which is a fucking miracle. I put through the video call to Mom. It's midnight back in North Carolina, but fuck if I'm waiting to hear whatever bad news they've got to tell me.
"Hey honey." Mom rubs her eyes as she sits up in bed. She switches a light on, and the screen flares for a moment.
"Is everything okay?"
In the corner of the screen, I get a glimpse of striped blue pajamas as Dad sits up next to her.
It's not Dad.
"We're fine and your sister's fine."
Relief floods me, and my heart slows down a notch. "Who is it? Ed?"
She shakes her head. "Sorry to worry you, honey. We're all okay. We've just had some strange news, that's all."
I relax a little. No one's sick. There's been no accident. Dad is in his striped pajamas next to Mom, looking as pissed off and stern as ever. Then her words catch up with me.
"What do you mean strange news?"
"Did Jake ever mention anything to you about a ..." She hesitates, and her face is scanning mine through the screen. "Did he ever mention a son?"
I stare at her, trying to make sense of what she's saying.
"A son?" The rocking of the ship tilts the laptop, and I grip the edges and center it on my knees. "Jake's got a son?"
Dad takes the laptop from Mom, and his face fills the screen. He holds it so close I can see the nostril hairs up his nose. Dad was an excellent rear admiral, but he's shit with basic tech.
"He's got a boy. Did you know anything about this? It's come as a shock to your mother, and she doesn't need any more surprises."
He's pissed. He thinks I've been keeping Jake's secret, but this is all news to me. I'm as shocked as they are.
"Are you asking me if I knew Jake had a son? I had no fucking idea."
"Watch your mouth, Amos," Mom chides.
"Sorry Mom," I mumble. "It's been a long day."
I pinch the bridge of my nose, trying to process this strange news. "Jake has a son. How do you know?"
Mom wrestles the laptop back from Dad. "We got a call at dinner tonight. The boy's mom was in an accident, and sadly she didn't make it."
"Who's the boy’s mom?"
"We don't know. The details are vague. All we know is she has no family, and Jake's named as the boy's father on the birth certificate."
"What the f..." I trail off at the sight of Mom's frown. Mom hates swearing, and it's hard to go from military mouth to speaking to my parents. But if Jake has a son, there's a piece of him still living. Hope blooms in my chest. I miss my brother every day, and if there's a part of him living on in this boy, then I can't wait to meet him.
If the boy is his.
The thought invades my mind and bursts the bubble of hope. But once I've thought it, I can't let it go. If Jake had a son, he would have told us.
"The boy's in the hospital. He suffered minor injuries, but they're keeping him for observation." Mom says. "There's a caseworker coming to meet us in a few days. As next of kin, they'll be handing him over to us."
"They want you to take him?" I'm surprised they're considering handing him over to strangers. We don't even know if the boy is definitely Jake's.
"That's a big deal, Mom. They're asking you to take on this boy because someone named Jake on a birth certificate?"
"Not asking, Amos. He's coming to live with us."
