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More Than One Way (1/1)

"Grace, can I ask you a question?" DJ asked as they sat on the couch at Danny's place getting ready to watch a movie. Angie had gone with Catherine and Steve to watch a gymnastics competition on the Big Island and when Grace offered to spend the day with DJ he eagerly accepted.

"Absolutely." Grace smiled softly. "You can ask me anything."

"Have you ever searched Uncle Danny on Google?

The young boy bit his lip nervously. Afraid he'd asked something he shouldn't have.

"Sometimes," Grace admitted. "Why do you ask?"

DJ picked at a piece of imaginary lint on his shorts. "A kid at day camp said he found information about my mom and dad when he did a search online so I looked too and I found a story about one time when they were kidnapped."

Grace nodded. Steve and Catherine had given her the heads up that DJ had been searching them online. They said that he'd come to them with what he found, talked things out, and seemed satisfied with their answers. But they also knew he had a mind that liked to ask lots of questions. Questions he might feel more comfortable asking someone on the searcher side of the equation as opposed to the searchee.

"I remember when that happened," Grace said. "It was very scary."

"But mom and dad handled it because they were together," DJ said. "And Uncle Danny and Uncle Chin and Auntie Kono and everybody on the outside were helping find them."

Grace nodded. "Exactly." But she could tell by the nervous look on DJ's face there was more he wanted to talk about so she just waited.

"Do you think I should google Seth and Maria McDonnald?" he asked, choosing to use the full names of his birth parents as opposed to assigning them any familial connection.

Steve and Catherine had decided early on in the adoption process not to hide anything from DJ. He could know as much or as little about his birth family as he decided he wanted to know. Grace was glad he felt comfortable enough with her to bring up the topic and if she felt it was something Steve and Catherine needed to know about she'd pass along the information.

"Is there something specific you want to know about them?" Grace asked. She wanted to be very careful not to make DJ feel like he was wrong for wanting to find out information about his birth parents. In her mind, it was a natural thing for a child to wonder about.

DJ took a few seconds to gather his thoughts.

"When I was reading about the kidnapping … I know my mom and dad made it out because they are smart and brave and strong. And I know Angie is all of those things too. And I just wonder if …" He looked at her with wide brown eyes. "I just wonder if there's anything I inherited from Seth and Maria."

Grace's heart melted at his earnest expression. She reached out and took his hand.

"I took a genetics class as one of my electives. Do you know what genetics is?"

"Not exactly," DJ replied.

"It's the study of how things get passed on from one generation to the next," Grace explained. "And one thing I learned is that there are some things that get passed on that you can't control. Things like eye color and height. But when it comes to things like how people think or how they behave, those kinds of things don't necessarily pass on."

"So you mean I can't change how tall I'll be but I won't necessarily get bad thoughts like they had?" DJ asked hopefully.

"Definitely not." Grace thought for a minute about the best way to explain. "You've heard Kendra talk about her little sister, right? The one they call Cricket?"

DJ nodded.

"Cricket can't wait to grow up and move to a big city," Grace said. "She talks about it all the time. It isn't that she's unhappy in Montana, or on the ranch, it's just that she really likes the idea of living somewhere like New York or Chicago or Los Angeles. And they all tease her about it all the time because it's just so different from the way the other members of the family feel."

"So you think that just because Seth and Maria did bad things and made bad decisions it doesn't mean I will?"

"Is that something you worry about?" Grace asked.

"Not really worry about," DJ said. "I just think about it sometimes."

"Let me tell you a story I don't think I've ever told you before," Grace said with a soft smile. "The first time I heard about you coming to live with Auntie Cath and Uncle Steve and Angie I couldn't wait to meet you. We didn't even know you were going to join the family at that point. But I am very protective of the people I love and somehow got it into my head that I needed to make sure you were a good fit to live with some of my favorite people."

DJ smiled. "I remember you came over and you brought brownies."

"I did," Grace said. "And you know what? I knew within seconds of meeting you that you were meant to be part of our family. I saw right away how kind you are. And how you always think of others. And how you would never deliberately hurt anyone. I called Nonna that same night and I told her all about you and how I just knew you'd be a perfect fit for our family."

DJ's face lit up. "Really?"

"Nonna said that sometimes wires get crossed and people get born into the wrong family, but that she believes God has a way of making sure, somehow, someway, that those people find their way to where they belong. Sometimes it takes a lot of years but you were lucky. You found your family when you were still pretty young."

DJ beamed.

"You might not have inherited your strength and kindness and bravery directly from your mom and dad," Grace said confidently. "But that doesn't mean you don't have those traits, every bit as much as Angie."

DJ thought for a few seconds then wrapped Grace in a spontaneous hug. "I love you and I'm so glad you're my cousin."

She kissed his cheek. "I feel the exact same way."

THE END

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