It was an early fall morning when my daughter met him. He was a new school student just as I was 18 years ago in Forks, Washington. But unlike Edward Cullen and me, Ney and Anthony hit things off right away.

“Hi, my name is Ney.”

“Ney? That’s an interesting name. Mr. Bonner told me to sit next to you and said that your name was Renee.”

“I was named after my grandmother, Renee, but my friend’s call me Ney.”

“So I’m your friend and you don’t even know my name.”

“Well, you seem like a nice guy and besides, I already know your name. It’s Anthony, right?”

“Anthony, that’s right.”

“The whole school has been talking about you and your family.” Ney said as she blushed. She subconsciously pushed back her hair behind her ear. “Just that you and your brothers and sisters come from a rich family. It’s a small town. Sometimes there’s nothing much to talk about.”

I should have known better. A small town, adopted kids from a rich family, dad is a doctor. But when I heard that there were 6 kids and not five, I guess it just slipped my mind. What are the chances, right? Had I not realized that I was living in a town with hardly any sun light?

My daughter’s conversation continued with Anthony right after class:

“I’m actually adopted. All of my brothers and sisters are.”

“Really? I’ve never known anyone who was adopted before.” Ney said.

“You’d be surprised. Some parents never tell their sons or daughters that they are. It’s like a big secret to them.”

There was a moment of silence as Ney thought about that. How many secrets had I not told her?

“So, am I going to meet the rest of your family at lunch?”

“I don’t know. My family doesn’t usually eat school lunch. It’s kind of our thing.” Anthony said.

“Oh, ok.” Ney quietly said.

“But that doesn’t mean that you can’t meet them later. How about after school in the parking lot?”

“Sure, sure.” Ney smiled.

Ney found herself disappointed when she came to the parking lot after school and found Anthony no-where in sight.

“Looking for your new friend?” Amanda, Ney’s best friend, asked.