intensive care because they said she lost her liver. The next day, my sister and I spent the entire day with our mother, right by her side.”Gazing into space, Chance smiled. “That's when it dawned on me—this was the first time since I could remember that my mother wasn't drunk. She spoke to me clearly without slurring, and I didn't smell that horrible rotting odor from her mouth.
“Everything seemed like it was finally gonna be all right. She was in the right place getting cured, and besides, she had a white doctor. At that moment all the pressure and burden was lifted off my shoulders, and just like that, I felt normal again. My sister and I went home.
“When we got to the hospital the next day, I told the reception desk lady I was there to see my mother in room 416. The lady looked through the chart and made a phone call and whispered into the phone and hung up and told us to have a seat for a moment. After twenty minutes of waiting, I saw my mother's doctor get off the elevator and walk toward us. With him was a woman that I knew I had seen somewhere before. She was black, with a large purse over her shoulder, and behind her was a man in a uniform. They all had these fake smiles on their faces, except the man in the uniform, who didn't smile at all. Bending down, the doctor spoke first.
“ ‘Hi, I'm Dr. Epstein, Clara Haze's doctor. Are you her children?’
“All I could do was nod. That's when I remembered where I'd seen the lady from—she was one of those Child Welfare people that used to stake out my house.
They were there to get us!
They must have followed us, I thought. I immediately wanted to jet out of there with my sister, but I knew I wouldn't make it. The lady bent down and introduced herself.
“ ‘I'm Mrs. Cherice Mayo, with the Bureau of Child Welfare.I'm sorry I have to tell you this, but your mother expired at around two o'clock this morning.’ “
As if Chance was right back at the moment, he shook his head in dismay. “For some reason it didn't register. I was unable to comprehend those words. All I could do was stare at them. I went numb and began to think,
How can this be? I just saw her yesterday. My mother was getting better—she wasn't drunk, she was getting help. There must be some mistake.
But the two faces in front of me told me a different story. It wasn't until I looked over at the receptionist wiping tears from her eyes that it hit me—my mother was really gone. All the while the social worker's mouth was moving, but I couldn't hear a single word. Time had suddenly stopped. It wasn't until I heard the cries of my little sister that I came back to reality. Not only were they there to tell us our mother was dead, they were there to break us up.”
Chance shook his head in anger. “So I went after my sister, who was crying and reaching out for me, but the guard held on to me. I broke loose anyway and ran to her. We sobbed and held on to each other for dear life, but they finally pried us apart. All I could do was call out for her over and over. The next thing I remember was waking up in a hospital bed handcuffed to the railing. After that I went from one group home to another, and I haven't seen my baby sister since.”
Silver's eyes swam with tears. She'd had no idea how much suffering he had been through. All at once things began to make sense to her. “Oh, Chance … I'm so, so sorry. I didn't know. Why didn't you tell me?”
“I was afraid that you would look down on me like everyone else. But,” he quickly added, “it's not like that with you … you're so different from anyone I've ever met.” He stared intoher eyes for a moment. “That day in the cafeteria when we first met—you remember?”
Silver nodded.
“And you asked me to look at you when we're talking?”
She nodded again.
“Well, when I did … oh, my God.” He smiled at the memory. “I looked up and saw the most beautiful thing I've ever laid my eyes on. I said to myself,
Could there be
“Everything seemed like it was finally gonna be all right. She was in the right place getting cured, and besides, she had a white doctor. At that moment all the pressure and burden was lifted off my shoulders, and just like that, I felt normal again. My sister and I went home.
“When we got to the hospital the next day, I told the reception desk lady I was there to see my mother in room 416. The lady looked through the chart and made a phone call and whispered into the phone and hung up and told us to have a seat for a moment. After twenty minutes of waiting, I saw my mother's doctor get off the elevator and walk toward us. With him was a woman that I knew I had seen somewhere before. She was black, with a large purse over her shoulder, and behind her was a man in a uniform. They all had these fake smiles on their faces, except the man in the uniform, who didn't smile at all. Bending down, the doctor spoke first.
“ ‘Hi, I'm Dr. Epstein, Clara Haze's doctor. Are you her children?’
“All I could do was nod. That's when I remembered where I'd seen the lady from—she was one of those Child Welfare people that used to stake out my house.
They were there to get us!
They must have followed us, I thought. I immediately wanted to jet out of there with my sister, but I knew I wouldn't make it. The lady bent down and introduced herself.
“ ‘I'm Mrs. Cherice Mayo, with the Bureau of Child Welfare.I'm sorry I have to tell you this, but your mother expired at around two o'clock this morning.’ “
As if Chance was right back at the moment, he shook his head in dismay. “For some reason it didn't register. I was unable to comprehend those words. All I could do was stare at them. I went numb and began to think,
How can this be? I just saw her yesterday. My mother was getting better—she wasn't drunk, she was getting help. There must be some mistake.
But the two faces in front of me told me a different story. It wasn't until I looked over at the receptionist wiping tears from her eyes that it hit me—my mother was really gone. All the while the social worker's mouth was moving, but I couldn't hear a single word. Time had suddenly stopped. It wasn't until I heard the cries of my little sister that I came back to reality. Not only were they there to tell us our mother was dead, they were there to break us up.”
Chance shook his head in anger. “So I went after my sister, who was crying and reaching out for me, but the guard held on to me. I broke loose anyway and ran to her. We sobbed and held on to each other for dear life, but they finally pried us apart. All I could do was call out for her over and over. The next thing I remember was waking up in a hospital bed handcuffed to the railing. After that I went from one group home to another, and I haven't seen my baby sister since.”
Silver's eyes swam with tears. She'd had no idea how much suffering he had been through. All at once things began to make sense to her. “Oh, Chance … I'm so, so sorry. I didn't know. Why didn't you tell me?”
“I was afraid that you would look down on me like everyone else. But,” he quickly added, “it's not like that with you … you're so different from anyone I've ever met.” He stared intoher eyes for a moment. “That day in the cafeteria when we first met—you remember?”
Silver nodded.
“And you asked me to look at you when we're talking?”
She nodded again.
“Well, when I did … oh, my God.” He smiled at the memory. “I looked up and saw the most beautiful thing I've ever laid my eyes on. I said to myself,
Could there be
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