As he was a Vietnam veteran, Oliver, he lived a military man’s life. He was 82, and was thinking that how his life would be, if he had a family.
But he had no regrets, as he lived his dream on his life, as he served in the military like his father, and grandfather. He was 18, when he first stepped into the army, and trained in in Fort Benning near Columbus, Georgia.
After he returned from Vietnam, he served as the National Guard, and retired in 2004. But as he grow older, he wished that he had created a family. He only dated one woman, Sophie. They had dated when he returned from Vietnam, and they got separated, when he was transferred to Texas, in 70s, but Sophie didn’t wanted to move with Oliver.
One day, Oliver’s phone ranged. “Hello?” he answered.
“Hello! Am I speaking to Mr. Oliver Brown?” a man’s voice responded.
“I’m Coronel Oliver Brown. How can I help you?”
“Ah, yes, Coronel Brown. This is going to sound strange, but my name is Daniel Green. My mother was Sophie Green,” the man said.
“I believe you dated her in the early ‘70s?”
“Sophie…,” Oliver said, silently. Then continued, “I haven’t thought about her in years. Are you her son? How is she doing?”
Daniel responded, “Ah, sir. My mother died last year,”
“Oh, I’m so sorry, boy,” Oliver was sad, he added, “So, how can I help you?”
“I believe I am your son,”
Oliver was froze, as he was shocked. He thought that Sophie would tell her if she was pregnant, before he left.
Daniel asked, “Hello? Are you still there?”
“I’m sorry. Yes, I’m here. I… Are you sure?” Oliver asked, as he was still in shock.
“I took a DNA test a few months ago, and the results stated that there’s a 99% chance that you’re my father. You also took the same test, I believe?” Daniel stated.
Oliver continued, “Yeah. It was a gift from a buddy of mine. We all got tested to see what diseases we should watch out for…But how can you be my son? Sophie never said anything.”
Daniel responded as, “On her death bed, mom told us about you and how she found out she was pregnant after you broke up and left the state. She didn’t know how to reach you so she raised us on her own. Then we took the test hoping to find you,”
“Oh, ok. That explains it then — wait a minute. You said ‘we.’ Who is ‘we?’” Oliver asked, as he was surprised.
“My twin brother, Anthony. Listen, I still live in Georgia. Is there any chance we could meet?” Daniel asked.
Oliver said, “Of course, I moved to Texas when Sophie and I broke up. I’m still here. Can you fly here?”
“YES! We’ll be there this week!”
As they went to Texas, to meet with their father, they talked for long hours, as Oliver apologized for not being with them, as he stated that he had no idea he had sons.
Oliver said, “I never imagined this would happen in a million years. After retiring, I had regrets about not having a family of my own, but I couldn’t see myself in that role before,”
Anthony said, “Honestly, I thought about going into the military in my teens, but my mother encouraged me to go to college instead,”
Oliver responded, “That makes sense. Sophie didn’t like this life, and I mean, you probably would’ve been deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq. That was serious business. Very dangerous,”
As they kept talking, his sons stated that they had their own families, and he was a grandfather too. Then they asked that if he would like to meet with their families, which made Oliver cry. He immediately started to arrange his move back to Georgia.
He spend a decade with his family, that he found latter in his life. As he was sorry that he missed the growing of Anthony and Daniel, he was thankful that Sophie raised them well.
At a family dinner one day, Oliver said, “Thank you for reaching out, Daniel. I would’ve missed all of this if you never had. Your kids and Anthony’s daughters are amazing. I can’t believe it,”
Daniel said, “We’re glad too. My wife doesn’t have any family left, and when Mom died, the kids missed their grandmother so much. I think gaining a granddad was the best thing for them,”
“Thank you for moving here.”
On the day Oliver passed, Daniel found out that he left everything to his twin sons. And a separate account for his grandchildren to their college fund.
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