When a little boy lost his mother, his aunt and uncle were supposed to care for him. But they gave him up for adoption and forgot about him until several years later when he showed up at their house in the most shocking manner.

“We can’t keep him!” Angelica yelled at her husband, Vinnie. “We have to think of ourselves. Our kids!”

“But… he’s just a child,” Vinnie hedged, biting his lips. He knew his wife was right, but the idea of giving up his late sister’s son, Cody, was too terrible.

“I don’t care. He is not our responsibility! I will not raise or feed another mouth. We’re struggling as it is. NO! And if you don’t give him up soon, I’m leaving you and taking our kids far away from New Jersey!” she threatened, and Vinnie had no choice. He called CPS, who had reached them after his sister died because he was her only family left, and surrendered Cody to them.

He would never forget the look in the boy’s eyes as he walked out of their house holding the social worker’s hand. Cody looked at him in betrayal and sadness. Clearly, the boy had no idea where he was going, but he knew that Vinnie and his family had gotten rid of him.

Vinnie looked down in shame, knowing exactly why he had felt dread before. He had this coming. He had done something horrible years ago, and now, he would have to pay.
“May God forgive me,” Vinnie breathed and heard his wife scoff cynically as she went back into the house.

***

Thirty years later…

Vinnie was repairing his front porch with his son George after it fell apart suddenly. Their whole house seemed to be worsening, but they couldn’t even consider moving with this housing market. But that was not the only reason. Of his three kids, George was the only one who had moved out and lived in a tiny studio apartment a few miles away from them.

His other son, Marco, played games all day, determined to become a “Twitch star.” Whatever that means. I wish he would get a real job, Vinnie thought often, but he wouldn’t dare say anything because Angelica would kill him.

Meanwhile, his daughter, Sandra, got pregnant at 18, and the baby daddy abandoned them. So, she was still with them. Angelica watched their grandson while Sandra worked as a cashier at a local grocery store. Vinnie was still providing for everyone, except George, who still came over often and raided their fridge.

It was tough. Money was tighter every month, and he had saved nothing for his retirement. He wished his kids were more independent, but Angelica coddled them. She often said times were tougher now, but their children didn’t seem to make much effort in school or at anything. And now, Vinnie felt stuck, supporting everyone as he would likely do until his dying day.

But as he hammered the wood and asked George to pass him some more nails, Vinnie thought about Cody. It had been years since he thought of his nephew. At first, the guilt had been tremendous, but then, life distracted him. Vinnie had no idea why he thought of the kid now, but he hoped Cody got adopted and was doing better than his own family.

Surprisingly, a limousine appeared on their street and parked right in front of their house. “Wow,” George whistled, his lips pouting.

Vinnie squinted and wiped the sweat from his forehead as he stood straighter. He wondered who was inside the limo and why they were in their neighborhood. Rich people never drove through this area, and the latest cars ever seen here were typically pickups from the early 2000s.

But the driver got out and walked around the expensive car to open the door in the back. A businessman in a fancy gray suit stepped out. He was wearing sunglasses as he took a few steps towards his yard and looked at his house. Vinnie saw his mouth turned down and felt something cold down his spine. The kind of feeling you get when something bad is going to happen.

Was someone in trouble? Is that man a lawyer? Do I owe someone money? Did Angelica do something? The questions ran through Vinnie’s mind as he took off his work gloves and went down the porch steps. “Can I help you, sir?” he asked and felt George behind him.

The man was quiet for a few moments as he faced Vinnie with a frown. Vinnie felt his stare even through his dark glasses, and the feeling of dread increased. Finally, the man raised his hand and took off his shades, revealing a face Vinnie would know anywhere.

It was his father’s face and his sister’s face. It was Cody.

“Hey, Uncle Vinnie,” the man said stoically.

“Cody… God, kid. It’s good to see you,” Vinnie said, feeling sweat gathering once more. He bit his bottom lip again at the awkwardness of that moment. He had no idea what to say to the kid he had abandoned years ago. Especially now that he came so impeccably dressed and in a fancy car.

“Cody?” George asked.

“He’s your cousin. You met him briefly when you were little,” Vinnie said, knowing that the kids didn’t remember their cousin, as they were a bit younger than five-year-old Cody at the time.

“You must be George, right?” Cody said, nodding. But a slight smile formed on his mouth as he stared down at Vinnie’s son. His jeans were ripped and dirty from construction, and his hair was messy. Vinnie was not much better, but he ran a hand through his mostly gray hair to feel better.

“Do you want to come in for something to drink?” Vinnie offered, and Cody immediately shook his head.

“Not a chance. I only came here to see this disaster and tell you something,” Cody began but stopped as they heard the front door open, and his wife, daughters, and grandkid stepped out. “Hmmm. There’s the wicked witch.”

“Excuse me?” George questioned, offended because Cody had not been quiet at all.

Cody looked at his cousin and smiled grandly. “I meant your mother. The wicked witch who told uncle Vinnie to get rid of me years ago when my mother died. And uncle Vinnie didn’t have the backbone to stand up to her, and by the looks of things, he still doesn’t. It’s sad,” he explained, leaving them all speechless.

Vinnie looked down in shame, knowing exactly why he had felt dread before. He had this coming. He had done something horrible years ago, and now, he would have to pay, maybe not monetarily but by losing his pride.

“Hey, you don’t get to say that about my mother,” George complained, looking angry.

“Shut up,” Cody scoffed at his cousin. “I’m leaving this hellhole in a minute, and I’m only here to tell Uncle Vinnie that even though what he did was cowardly, I still have to thank him. I was adopted by the best parents in the world, and I earned a scholarship to Harvard and set up my business. They will never have to worry about money again. While you, well….”

Cody twisted his head, looked straight at Vinnie, and grinned cattily. The women had gotten closer and heard everything.

“You brat! GET OUT OF MY YARD NOW!” Angelica began yelling as their daughters joined in, calling Cody names and insulting him.

Cody’s grin was set in stone, and Vinnie could only look at his shoes, drowning in shame. Finally, Cody laughed, put his sunglasses back up, and buttoned his fancy jacket. “Bye, nightmare relatives. Hope you have a nice life,” he said, turning around.

His driver opened the door again, but before he stepped in, Cody looked back at Vinnie, who raised his eyes to make contact. His nephew shook his head again and got in. The limousine drove away, and Vinnie had to listen to his family’s terrible nagging and ranting.

At one point, he just plopped down on the porch steps and thought about his life, mistakes, horrible decisions, and most of all, his lack of a backbone, as Cody had pointed out. He would never forget that terrible moment. But despite the shame it brought, he was glad his nephew did well in life.

Years later, Vinnie finally got the courage to write Cody an email after finding it on his company’s website, apologizing and asking about his life. He didn’t expect a response, but he got one. Cody accepted his apology and told him about his business, wife, kids, and adoptive parents. Eventually, they met for coffee and formed a tentative bond as uncle and nephew. Vinnie told Cody stories of his mother, and he loved those.

Years later, Vinnie got sick, and someone anonymous paid for his hospital bill. He knew who it was all along, and soon, the rest of the family found out. His children were happy about it and felt terrible about insulting Cody at some point. But Angelica ranted, raged, and hated Cody for “showing off his money.”

That was the final straw for Vinnie. He packed his bags, told his children that it was time to grow up and be adults at last, and left New Jersey for Florida. His relationship with Cody was much better by then, so his nephew rented him an apartment, paying a few months in advance so he could start a new life.

He contacted his children every once in a while and sent money for his grandchild. But that was it. He never divorced Angelica, and she never filed, either. He was just out of her life.

Cody sometimes visited him with his family on their way to expensive vacations in Orlando. But other than that, Vinnie was alone and happier than ever.