Rebecca opened the door before I knocked.<\/p>\n
She had changed clothes since I last saw her.<\/p>\n
Sweatpants.<\/p>\n
An old college sweatshirt.<\/p>\n
Her hair was tied back.<\/p>\n
She looked exhausted.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome in.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stepped inside.<\/p>\n
The house was quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are the boys?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMark took them to his mother's.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her husband.<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat there\u2019s something about my adoption and I need space.\u201d<\/p>\n
I removed my coat.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you want me to tell him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer was immediate.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca walked toward the living room.<\/p>\n
On the coffee table lay a notebook.<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
She sat on the sofa.<\/p>\n
I took the chair opposite.<\/p>\n
For a moment, neither of us spoke.<\/p>\n
Then she opened the notebook.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wrote questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAsk anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if you don't like it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially then.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Mom know Anna was pregnant before you and Mom started dating?\u201d<\/p>\n
I considered the timeline.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know exactly when Carol first knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut she knew before you married.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore you adopted me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Grandma Ruth know Anna still wanted you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca wrote something.<\/p>\n
The scratching of the pen sounded enormous.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Mom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another note.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Anna try to contact you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many times?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you try to contact her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter I moved. But I had received what I thought was her letter asking me to leave her alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou still tried?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA few times.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Mom know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca wrote again.<\/p>\n
Then she stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas the letter fake?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWritten by Grandma?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you have it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you keep it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI threw it away before we moved into the house you grew up in.\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded slowly.<\/p>\n
Another vanished piece.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Mom know Anna was my birth mother?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
That one still hurt every time.<\/p>\n
Rebecca's jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she know you were my father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
She set the pen down.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she choose me because I was yours?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
The question was harder than all the others.<\/p>\n
\u201cI spoke to a woman today who helped arrange the adoption.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is ninety-three.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou found her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol and Grandma Ruth kept her name in their papers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca leaned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course they did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHer name is Marjorie Collins Bryant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n
I told her.<\/p>\n
Not every detail at first.<\/p>\n
Only enough.<\/p>\n
Ruth wanted Anna gone.<\/p>\n
Carol wanted the baby.<\/p>\n
The adoption was arranged before Rebecca was born.<\/p>\n
When I reached that sentence, Rebecca lifted a hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore I was born?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom knew she wanted me before Anna even gave birth?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca stared at the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I wasn't some random adoption.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe picked me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was yours.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat seems to be part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPart?\u201d<\/p>\n
I forced myself not to soften the answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe couldn't have children.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s face twisted.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo she took yours.\u201d<\/p>\n
I flinched.<\/p>\n
My daughter saw it.<\/p>\n
\u201cToo harsh?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat word do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAdopted sounds clean.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStole sounds ugly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich is true?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know legally.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not asking legally.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I think what happened to Anna was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Carol?\u201d<\/p>\n
I swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe helped make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
There was no way to protect her from this without repeating the same sin.<\/p>\n
After several seconds, she asked, \u201cDid Anna want me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer came immediately.<\/p>\n
Rebecca opened her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe tried to reverse the adoption three days after you were born.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca went utterly still.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe woman I spoke with confirmed it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree days?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe tried to get me back?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t she?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandma Ruth told her the papers were final.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWere they?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca stood.<\/p>\n
Her notebook fell to the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
She walked toward the fireplace.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. No. No.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stayed seated.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe could have gotten me back?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Grandma lied?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Mom know?\u201d<\/p>\n
I hesitated.<\/p>\n
Rebecca turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stared at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom knew Anna wanted me back?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter we brought you home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
The grief became fury.<\/p>\n
She picked up a framed photograph from the mantel.<\/p>\n
Carol holding Rebecca on her wedding day.<\/p>\n
For one terrifying second, I thought she would throw it.<\/p>\n
Instead she placed it face down.<\/p>\n
Her hands shook.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll those years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
Rebecca covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
I had watched my daughter cry many times.<\/p>\n
Broken bones.<\/p>\n
First heartbreak.<\/p>\n
Her grandfather\u2019s funeral.<\/p>\n
Carol\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
This was different.<\/p>\n
She did not cry like someone mourning a person.<\/p>\n
She cried like someone losing the meaning of a memory.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat story she told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat story?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was little. About how you both waited forever for a baby.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did wait.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said they called one morning and told you a baby girl needed a home.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what I believed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knew it wasn\u2019t true.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe gave me that story every birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
Every birthday, Carol told Rebecca about the day we brought her home.<\/p>\n
How nervous I was.<\/p>\n
How Rebecca opened her eyes.<\/p>\n
How Carol knew immediately.<\/p>\n
I had always believed the retelling was love.<\/p>\n
Now I understood why Carol insisted on controlling every detail.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Anna name me?\u201d<\/p>\n
The question surprised me.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn't officially.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was taken too quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she hold me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she breastfeed me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she take a picture?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw a hospital bracelet. No photograph.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca wiped her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes she have other children?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't think so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't think?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't ask.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause when I saw her, I was still trying to understand everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca lowered herself onto the sofa.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs she married?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou spent four hours with this woman and didn't ask basic questions?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn't interviewing her.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat were you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n
I answered honestly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWatching my past come back to life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca went quiet.<\/p>\n
I regretted the words immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
She picked up the notebook.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's useful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou still love her.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t say that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t have to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad, I\u2019m not twelve.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnna and I loved each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn\u2019t my question.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know what I feel now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca studied me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom knew you would leave her for Anna.\u201d<\/p>\n
I swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what Carol apparently believed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWould you have?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 1985?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I forced myself to answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I had known Anna was pregnant and still wanted to be with me, I believe I would have gone to her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca nodded slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Mom was right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout my choice then, maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s awful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd also understandable.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
She gave a humorless laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hate that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo do I.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca closed the notebook.<\/p>\n
Then asked the question Anna had predicted.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes Anna hate Mom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can she not?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has anger.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn\u2019t my question.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told me a terrible choice and a lifetime of love can exist in the same person.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca stared at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout Mom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s face crumpled.<\/p>\n
For the first time, she let herself cry without fighting it.<\/p>\n
I moved toward her.<\/p>\n
Then stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I?\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
I sat beside her.<\/p>\n
She leaned against me.<\/p>\n
At thirty-eight, married, raising children, my daughter folded into my shoulder the same way she had after nightmares as a child.<\/p>\n
I held her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI miss her,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m furious at her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can both happen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe lied to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe loved me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe let another woman lose me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca cried harder.<\/p>\n
I did too.<\/p>\n
For several minutes, neither of us tried to speak.<\/p>\n
Eventually she sat up.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes Anna want to meet me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said maybe she could meet the woman you became.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca inhaled shakily.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot get her daughter back?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot be my mom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca wiped her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat helps.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told me not to rush you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe sounds smarter than everyone else in this family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat would not be difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca almost smiled.<\/p>\n
Then her expression became serious again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to meet her.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut not tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou choose.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I want DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n
The request did not surprise me.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot because I think you're lying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need one fact no one can rewrite.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence stayed with me.<\/p>\n
One fact no one could rewrite.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll arrange it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Anna too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll three of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll ask her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca picked up the photograph she had placed face down.<\/p>\n
She turned it over.<\/p>\n
Carol smiled from inside the frame.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't want to destroy pictures.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't have to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't want to stop loving her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't have to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI also don't want anyone telling me to forgive her because she\u2019s dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca held the frame against her chest.<\/p>\n
Then she asked, \u201cWhy did Mom wait until she was dying?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish I knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe she was scared you'd leave even after all those years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLeave for Anna?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I shook my head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was taking care of Carol while she was dying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not what I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n
I understood.<\/p>\n
Rebecca was asking about emotional loyalty.<\/p>\n
About the possibility that truth could reopen something Carol had spent decades containing.<\/p>\n
Before I could answer, my phone rang.<\/p>\n
Unknown Tennessee number.<\/p>\n
I almost ignored it.<\/p>\n
Then I remembered.<\/p>\n
Reverend Greene.<\/p>\n
I had left a message while driving home.<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry,\u201d I said. \u201cThis might matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n
I answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWalter?\u201d<\/p>\n
The voice was older but familiar.<\/p>\n
\u201cReverend Greene?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSam. I haven\u2019t been Reverend anything for fifteen years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite everything, I smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cSam.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI got your message.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry to bother you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said it concerned your father.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca watched me.<\/p>\n
I stood and walked toward the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas told me years ago you might call someday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every hair on my arms rose.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said if the truth ever reached you, I should tell you what he knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
I tightened my grip on the phone.<\/p>\n
Rebecca stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did he tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo weeks before he died.\u201d<\/p>\n
My father had known he was dying.<\/p>\n
Cancer.<\/p>\n
A short illness.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew about Anna?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Rebecca?\u201d<\/p>\n
A longer pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
Rebecca whispered, \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
I held up one finger.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did Dad find out?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout six months before he died.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca was twelve.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRuth told him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Thomas found papers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
Secrets always left paper.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe confronted her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sam exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWalter, your father wanted to tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n
My throat tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Ruth told him something that frightened him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then Sam said, \u201cShe told him Anna had another child.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca stared at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother child?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sam continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cA boy.\u201d<\/p>\n
I gripped the window frame.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnna told me she had a daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m telling you what your father told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose son?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe believed the boy was yours.\u201d<\/p>\n
My knees weakened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca whispered, \u201cDad?\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned toward her.<\/p>\n
Sam said, \u201cThomas said the boy had been born before Rebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everything inside me stopped.<\/p>\n
Before Rebecca.<\/p>\n
Anna and I had only been together a little over two years.<\/p>\n
There had never been another pregnancy.<\/p>\n
At least none I knew about.<\/p>\n
\u201cSam, I think my father misunderstood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat proof did he have?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRuth showed him a photograph.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart pounded.<\/p>\n
\u201cA photograph of what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA boy of about fourteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fourteen when Rebecca was twelve.<\/p>\n
Two years older.<\/p>\n
Impossible.<\/p>\n
Unless the photograph had not been current.<\/p>\n
Unless dates had been misunderstood.<\/p>\n
Unless another lie waited beneath the first.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was his name?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sam hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
The name meant nothing to me.<\/p>\n
Then Rebecca spoke behind me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
Her face had gone pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat name?\u201d<\/p>\n
I lowered the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stared at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom had a picture.\u201d<\/p>\n
My blood went cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat picture?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn her dresser.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf who?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA boy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room seemed to narrow.<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s voice dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told me he was the son of a friend who died.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca opened the door before I knocked. She had changed clothes since I last saw her. Sweatpants. An old college sweatshirt. Her hair was tied back. She looked exhausted. \u201cCome … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24222"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24257,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24222\/revisions\/24257"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}