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“Hello. Are you Aubrey? Nice to meet you. What can I help you with today? Link over here said you had something life-changing for me.” He chuckled, almost as if he was being sarcastic or thought Link was just being dramatic.
“Um, I do, actually. I mean, yes, I’m Aubrey. Sorry, I’m a bit nervous. Can we talk somewhere privately?” I handed him the coffee, and I could tell he was getting weary. He looked at it, almost scared because it was his exact order.
“Miss Mable,” I said. He looked at me with recognition.
“Ah, okay, and sure. Would you like to talk here or outside?” I bit my lip because I honestly wasn’t sure.
“Um, wherever we will have the most privacy, please.” August looked at Link, and one eyebrow arched.
“Okay, dear. We can talk in my office if you’re comfortable with that?”
“Yes, that works for me.” I started walking toward the back, all the while fidgeting with my fingers. Link gave me a concerned look, but I just ignored it and went on back.
August came in behind me and closed the door. He looked at me as if to ask if the closed door was okay. He could tell I was extremely uncomfortable. I nodded yes. He pulled up an extra chair across from his desk for me and then went to the other side to sit in his own chair.
“Okay. So how can I help you?” he asked. The concern was evident in his tone.
I had to swallow the lump that had formed in my throat. “Well, I’m not quite sure how to start this or even attempt to say this with any type of finesse, so I’m just going to come out and say it.” I paused and took a breath. I started fidgeting with my hands again.
“I’m…um…I’m actually your daughter.”
His eyebrows went up, and he looked at me like I had two heads. He sat up a bit straighter and cleared his throat. “Okay, I’ll play. What gave you that conclusion?”
I handed him the DNA test that showed our results.
“We have a fifty percent match for DNA. That makes you my parent. You actually should have received an email that you had a new match. We were matched almost two weeks ago now.” I couldn’t tell if he was just stunned or stopped breathing altogether. He looked at the results for a few minutes longer.
“What? How? Wait a second, I didn’t get anything. I did this years ago when my whole family did it for fun at Christmas. We thought it would be interesting to trace our heritage back.” He was shuffling papers around on his desk. “Sorry, I just got back from vacation a few minutes ago. Well, I got back Friday night, but today was my first day back here.”
“I ramble too,” I blurted out, trying to break the tension.
He reached for his phone. I assumed to check his email. He kept rubbing his eyebrow, just like I do when I’m about to panic. He had a few beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
I didn’t say anything. I was sitting quietly letting him process the news.
“Oh wow! It looks like I missed it. I’m so sorry. I usually don’t check my own email.” He thought for another moment. “How did you come across this? Why are you just now finding me? How old are you? I have never cheated on my wife. We have been together for over twenty years. This is impossible.”
I let him catch his breath from all the questions, and I started to share the whole story. “I found a birth certificate that was blank in the father portion, which was weird because I grew up with a dad. I found a few other things that led me to confront my parents, and I’m twenty-three.”
“Who’s your mom?” he asked abruptly.
“Her name is Michelle. She was nineteen when you met at a party at someone’s apartment who went to Southern Connecticut State University.”
He seemed to be doing some math in his head, trying to figure out where he was or how this happened. I showed him a picture of her, and his face suddenly went white.
“That’s your mother?” he said with disbelief.
His voice was shaky. He looked like he was trying to recall some memories. “This can’t be. It’s just about impossible. I was always careful when I was young. I always used—” He stopped talking; I think for my benefit.
“She did mention that you took precautions that night. She said, ‘God had other plans.’ When she found out she was pregnant, she tried to reach out to people there to find out who you were. She tried for her whole pregnancy to find you, but she had no luck.” I could tell his mind was reeling.
“No one there really knew me. I was only there for a few days and, if I remember correctly, I was visiting my cousin. I forced him to take me out because I was bored. He told me he had friends who went to the local college, and we all met up for a house party. He didn’t even stay long at that party; I only did because I met your mom. I didn’t even get her name that night. I also looked for her for a while, but no one knew her from how I described her. I gave up because I wasn’t from there, and figured she would have asked for my information if she had wanted anything more. When I woke up the morning after…she was gone.” He blushed a little. “Sorry, this conversation is a bit awkward.” He was rubbing the back of his head. It was like he read my mind. “Why didn’t she keep looking until she found me?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Well, she kind of hit a dead end. As I said, she didn’t really know anyone. She was new in town and barely knew the person who invited her, plus,” I paused. “My dad also asked her not to. They met after you two, obviously, but they were in love, and he didn’t care that I wasn’t his biologically, so they raised me like I was and never told me. They legally changed my name and had my birth certificate ‘fixed,’ if you will.”
I paused for a moment to get him to look at me. He didn’t, so I looked at my hands.
“I know you probably still have a million and one questions, which I still do, too. I’ve even had time to process it somewhat. I want you to know I don’t want anything from you. I’m not looking for handouts or anything like that. I have now—and have always had— a great life.” He was still looking down. “I just wanted you to know I existed and to meet you once. You don’t have to get to know me if you don’t want to.”
