Character Spotlight: Corey

Corey is the firstborn son of Cora and Matthew. He is Ellis’s brother. He grows up in a home with a mother who is fiercely independent, she demonstrates family is first, her family is first above everything else. His father Matthew is dependable, and with a steady presence to balance Cora’s determination. 

 Corey’s parents made every effort not to bring their children as they were bought, he grew up seeing a loving relationship between his parents. His parents warning about the effects of alcohol and drugs, Matthew discussed with him about sex and responsibility of fatherhood. Their goals are to prepare their children for adulthood. After Corey graduated high school, he decided to enlist in the miliary, never having a conversation with parents about his desire to join the miliary. Although unexpected, the military shaped him to become a confident and independent man.

 After the military he meets his second future wife on the plane after visiting with a friend. She lived outside of New York and Corey decided to make another decision which family did not anticipate. He chose to move to another state to build a life with her. Corey silently decides the importance of love and family, now putting his wife first. Whatever his family invited him to family gatherings or any other family plans, Corey would say that he needed to check in to hear what his wife wants first.

 Cora struggles to understand that children become adults and should charter their own paths and sometimes that path means creating a new family away from their parents. Cora fails to see that Corey is falling his heart and continues the value of family first. Cora fails to see that family grows and expands. Like a-tree, a family continues to grow. A tree’s trunk has a circular shape; it provides stability and nourishment. The branches grow extended never touching each other. They are connected through the trunk. Cora is the trunk of this family. The branches are Ellis, Corey, and Landon. Each child grows in different direction yet remains rooted in the values their parents instilled.

Corey’s silent independence and devotion to his wife exhibits the value which his parents instilled. By following his heart, he demonstrates that love and family remain essential. He creates new branches of his own while remaining forever connected to the trunk Cora and Matthew.