Well, I am back from Panama where I met young Francisco, who may well be my son.
He, my wife and I went to the El Panama for lunch. He expressed a desire to go to his mother (who is living in the US illegally). He had no desire to attend a boarding school.
We took some photos and I must say they do not do justice to his remarkable similarity to my appearance.
The next day we went to the clinic for the ‘blood test.’ In fact it was a DNA test that involved scraping some cheek cells. No muss, no fuss. We will get the results in three months. Still, we are proceeding as if he is my son.
He is enrolled in a private school, he is a couple of years behind. He has already seen my dentist who has declared his mouth a disaster area. He has done blood tests for all the usual family disorders.
The (new, family-law) lawyer hopes to have all the Panama side of this ready to go by the time the DNA tests come back. They we will get the guy a US passport and I hope to have him in New Jersey before the end of the year.
Sounds exciting! Is he a nice kid? Is he interested in you and your life? Is he looking forward to New Jersey? (Man, I don’t think anyone has ever looked forward to Jersey before!) Good luck with your new adventure.
Yes, he seems like a nice kid. I have never met a Panamanian with less English in all my born days.
If he can get up to speed in English, I hope to take him home to meet his grandmother at Christmastime. Of course the real shame of it is we will never be as close as we should have been.
I cannot imagine why his mother would have done such a thing.
Me either. Especially if she is living in the U.S. illegally, but has a son who will be able to petition for his mother to immigrate legally to the U.S. once he turns 21. IIRC parents of U.S. citizens are quota-exempt, even.
Congratulations! And good on you for doing right by this child.
So how come New Jersey? Who will he be staying with there, if you’re in Saudi and your wife is in Panama? (Just being nosey. Disregard if you’d rather not say.)
Thanks for the updates. This place is much more betterer than any Reality TV show and with more likeable people involved. Unlike R-Tv, I hope for a positive outcome on all parties involved. ( on the shows, I hope they all fall into a pit of big hairy spiders before having to have a rectal exam.)
How did your parents take the news of this unexpected grandson?
The young man’s mother is living in New Jersey. I had visions of sending hi o boarding school in Spain or the US, but he wants to live with Mom. OK, sounds like a plan.
My Mom (and my wife) both said the same thing, if they had known about the kid’s existence, they would have adopted him at once.
It is good to have a good family. I hope young Francisco feels the same way.
Out of curiosity what does his mom have to say about all this? If she kept him from you (even if passively) for 15 years I imagine there might be some unresolved issues involved on her part.
Mom? I hardly knew her (except in the Biblical sense of course). A one-night (maybe two) stand. I want nothing to do with here. So far I have not even spoken to her; although that will change at some point I suppose.