Page 116 of Men or Paws

For me, this is what it felt like to be a part of a family. At times a little crazy, other times happy, but more than anything, it was a place to belong.

I stopped in my tracks, allowing it to sink in.

All these wonderful friends were actually my family.

Not blood relatives, but connected by love.

It wasn’t like I didn’t want to know who my real relatives were, but growing up in the foster care system since I was an infant came with basically non-existent information regarding my roots. That being said, I had done one of those DNA tests through 23andMe a couple of months ago. I even had an email sitting in my inbox, saying “Your Reports Are Ready.”

That was as far as I had gotten.

I knew if I clicked on the link in that email and logged in, I would see my DNA matches. I would see actual people I was related to around the world.

Did I really want to know?

What if I didn’t like them?

I had a very small circle of close friends who I loved.

Why would I want to complicate things?

Okay, sure, I was scared to find out.

That was why I hadn’t logged in yet.

“I took one of those DNA tests,” I blurted out for some reason. “To see if they could match me up with people I’m related to.”

Maybe I wanted Beth to convince me to see the results.

“What a wonderful idea.” She smiled. “And? What did you find out?”

“Nothing,” I said. “I haven’t logged in to see the results yet.”

Beth blinked. “Okay then . . . when did you get the results back?”

I shrugged. “Two months ago.”

She cocked her head to the side. “You’re joking, right?”

I shook my head.

“Rocco! What are you waiting for? There could be some absolutely wonderful people in the world that you’re related to!”

“True, but they could also be serial killers or corrupt politicians. What if I’m connected to the mafia?”

Beth laughed. “You’re being silly. ”

I nodded. “I know.”

She rubbed the side of my arm. “You’ve gone through some things in your life most people will never have to go through. Still, you need to just do it. Look at the results. You may be pleasantly surprised.”

Marcello waved us over. “You’re missing the fun! You have to see this.” He pointed up at the bowling scores overhead. “Gwen is bowling against Douglas and it’s down to the very last frame. If she gets six pins they tie. Seven pins or more and she wins.”

“You never told us,” I said. “What’s the bet?”

“If I win, Douglas takes me out on a date,” Gwen said, her eyes sparkling.

I knew she was fond of him, but I had no idea she was that interested.