This Fredericton man had a sister somewhere in the world. Now, they have some catching up to do
Jason Flores's relationship with his long-lost sister started on April 10
"Hello, I think I'm your little brother."
That was the message Fredericton's Jason Flores sent on Facebook to a woman in Montana less than a month ago.
And now, he has an older sister he messages every day and video calls at least once a week.
It all started when Flores, who works at a daycare as a cook, was preparing a meal at work one day when he noticed a message pop up on his phone.
That message was from his first cousin who told him that she did a DNA test and was connected with someone who had the same birth grandparents.
"About 15 years ago, I learned that I have a sister out there somewhere," he said.
"All my mom knew was that she was very young when she had her and had to give her up for adoption. … Every now and then I'll think about, you know, 'What's she doing? Where is she at?'
"And so immediately, my mind goes to that — I'm like, 'Oh, my gosh, it could be her.'"
Flores's hunch was right.
Details lined up
The date was April 10, one day before Flores's birthday. So, in preparation for his phone call with his potential sister later that night, he called his mom and asked for an early birthday gift — a few minutes of her time to answer some uncomfortable questions.
He learned that his birth sister was born in Santa Monica, Calif., in the winter of 1974 and went to live with a family in Alaska.
Flores stared at the clock for the rest of the day, shaking, waiting for his could-be sister to get home from coaching at a track meet. And when they got on the phone, Kristina Rodriguez of Montana quickly confirmed that she was born in February 1974 in California, before moving to Alaska.
That was when he knew. This was his long-lost sister.
For Rodriguez, the news prompted waterworks and a plethora of emotions.
When one of her daughters got her a DNA testing kit for her birthday, she was hesitant at first. She grew up in a family with three other adopted siblings, and while her brother had an amazing reunion experience, her sister did not.
Scared she would have a similar experience to her sister, the kit sat on her counter until one day, she bit the bullet.
When her results came in on April 2, she looked up her family tree and got in touch with her first cousin, which led to connecting with Jason and Adrianna Flores.
"It's all so surreal," she said.
That surreal feeling also hit Adrianna, who reunited with her daughter and is now in Montana, visiting her new grandchildren.
Adrianna said she always dreamed of being reunited with her daughter.
"I always wondered if she was alive. I wondered where she was, was she thinking of me. I was thinking of her," she said.
"You don't ever forget that, you don't ever let that go in your heart."
And for Jason Flores, he hopes to meet Rodriguez in person someday soon and he is working out how to bring her to Fredericton.
But until then, he will continue to talk and share stories with his new big sister on a regular basis.
"We have, like, 50 years to catch up on."
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With files from Information Morning Fredericton