Connecticut Christmas (1 of 3)

I am 16 but have never met my father. That is why I am here in this convertible. My name is Matthew and sitting next to me is my brother Chew. We have been driving for 2 days now and are getting excited to see our birth father. Last we heard, he lived in Arizona so that is where we will search.
“Where are we going?” Chew asks.
“We’re almost there, Chew.”
Chew isn’t actually my brother and his name isn’t actually Chew. I guess I should start at the beginning.
My mom was a beautiful girl when she was young. Long before her truck driving days. When she was 17 she met a nice young man who turned out to be my father. Nine months later at least.
The tricky part is that my mom’s twin sister also met this nice young man a week later and she had his baby too. That’s where chew comes in. My mom and Chew’s mom are twin sisters who were knocked up by the same man. To make things more unique, me and Chew were both born on the same day only hours apart.
We have a lot of pride in our family and I love my step-twin brother. He is the most important person to me and the way I see it, he is my whole brother.
It gets weirder though. Our mom’s were in different rooms when they named us. My grandpa’s name is Matthew and they seemed to have the same idea to name their kids after him. So we were both named Matthew, but Chew came out a little different.
Chew grew up with what we thought was a lisp. We soon learned that Chew was actually mentally retarded. He couldn’t pronounce Matthew, he could only say MaChew, so we now call him Chew. My mom always said that it was a miracle that Chew came out retarded or else there would have been a lot of confusion. I agree.
So our dad skipped town and no one’s seen him since. The last we heard he was living in Arizona. He called Grandpa Matthew a few years back. He told him what he was doing and how life was. I’d like to think that he was looking to come back into our lives. But I don’t think Grandpa Matthew would like that too much. So, we’re heading south to find him.
Not only are we looking to meet this man but we’ve also run into some money trouble. Chew’s mom is pretty sick so she can’t work. My mom just lost a finger on her cross-country trucking route and we’ve been waiting for her worker’s compensation. We’re in the market for a prosthetic finger but times are tough. Plus, Grandpa Matthew just died last month so everyone’s been pretty down. Chew always has a smile on his face, but I just need to get out.
Last week I told Chew we were leaving and going to find our dad. He doesn’t really understand but he needs to come. We both need this.
So, Chew and I suited up and said our goodbyes to our moms. We left Connecticut and headed south for Arizona. We’ve been driving a beat up car but traded it in with our baseball card collection for this awesome convertible. The convertible can only reach 30 mph but it has been a lifesaver with the heat.
Chew has been complaining for most of the trip. “Its so hot here, Machew. And I stuck my head out the window like you told me to but I can’t breath. I can’t breath Machew. And if I can’t breath then I will die Machew. I don’t want to die!”
Chew is wearing a dirty starter jacket, sweat pants and LA gear light up shoes. It is a week away from Christmas and Chew is positive it will snow. I’ve explained to him that it won’t snow where we’re going but he is adamant that it will. So I let him.
Chew turns the radio on, “Rockin’ Jams 101.7 the Rockin-est Rock!”
A DJ comes on the radio, “big news for the drivers out there. It seems there has been a huge recall on several makes and models of cars. It appears that the airbags are deploying for no reason. This could become a serious problem. Be safe out there drivers and check online to see if your car is included in the recall.”
Chew continues to sweat and try to breath while sticking his head over the door. We drive into Phoenix and Chew starts to get excited. “Penix, Penix!” Chew yells.