There was nothing special about the day that Jennifer Lynn Canton came into this world, other than the fact that it was within minutes of her twin brother. The newborns already showing their differences in attitude from the start. Opposites, but forever holding a bond that was tighter than anything else they would ever have in their lives. One of those reasons being that the woman that had given birth to them had decided that she could not handle such a task as motherhood for these babies. She was alone without the assistance of their father.
It wouldn't take long to find them homes, let alone with one another. Newborn babies, but their mother's only hope and contingency on this was that they could stay together. A family had been willing to not only wait on the children, but also to take care of their mother through the pregnancy. Be there through the each of the ultrasounds, and monitor how their progress was. A slightly older couple with the monetary means of handling whatever might come and the inability to have any natural children of their own. It felt like a match made in heaven.
Mark Canton, an anesthesiologist at Froedtert Hospital. Sarah, a zoologist at Milwaukee Zoo. What more could any children want here? The family only holding the best kinds of memories as the twins grew older. At least until the age of ten, when they began to talk back and ask more questions than was felt necessary. Their adoptive mother stressed beyond her own means, as her relationship with her husband had become strained. But she wasn't who began the abuse, she was simply put who didn't want to hear about it. All while their adoptive father worked longer hours and was believed to be having an affair.
It was the nanny that they were left home with, that was far less capable of handling the children than anyone had realized. Falsified references and work experience, as she played pretend to get the job. Believing the children to be nothing more than rich brats, she sat around with friends getting high and drinking, clearing out everything before their mother came home. Barely paying attention to each other in passing, other than to hand over payment, there was little to be discussed. The twins coped with this life for the next few years in their own ways, along with their anger and confusion with their parents until they were old enough to leave the home.
The two of them refused to be separated, even in going to college and found that they were both accepted to Boston University. So that was how they made their decision on where to go. A new life in Boston, it felt like a dream come true. A new place to start, to have their own lives. Above all, to be free of what chips were hanging over their shoulders over the past. Milwaukee being a long way from where they were now. None of it mattered anymore.
After listening to a few speakers during her freshman year, it didn't take long for her to choose the environmental sciences. She wasn't looking to save the world, but Jenny wanted to do something worth her time. Not to have sat around feeling like she wasted far more than she believed, with her childhood a mess and now here looking at a real beach. It wasn't the beach they claimed in Milwaukee, which wasn't real. Just sand bordering a lake. Here she could see and smell the actual ocean, work with plants, and tend to trees. It felt like she was going to have and hold the most peaceful time of her life and she has embraced it with open arms ever since.
Now at twenty-four, she feels that she holds a real stability, and is forever there for her brother above all else. She calls home or shares emails with her adoptive parents, but holds no love loss over any of it. The past is the past, but she is not looking to relive it.
