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“We fell in love,” Mary Elizabeth said, ignoring her friend’s comment.“I’d ride my bike to the gas station every day to get a soda and see him.He was amazing.So sweet.Kind.A gentle soul.”
“So what happened when you told him?”
Mary Elizabeth wiped a hand beneath her runny nose and shook her head.“I didn’t.His draft number came up right before the end of the war.He left before I found out and then he…died three weeks after he got there.”
“Oh, MeMe.I remember that now.The town had a funeral for him and some of those hippie idiots protested.”
She nodded, tearing up again, remembering it like it was yesterday.“At first I thought I was just upset because of what happened.Sick to my stomach from heartbreak.But then my clothes got tighter and I realized I’d missed my period and…I was so scared.”
“I can only imagine your parents’ response.”
She nodded, remembering the yelling and tears.“I was pretty far along by then.My father threatened to kill Dean, and when I said…when I said he had died in Vietnam, my father said Dean had probably taken a bullet to get out of having to marry me.”
Tessa’s sharp gasp revealed her thoughts.
“Wow.I can’t believe they’d… I mean, you were a kid but… I always knew something had happened between you and your parents that summer.You were different.”
“How could I not be?Things like that have a tendency to change people,” Mary Elizabeth murmured, focusing on a pelican skimming the ocean in the distance.
“What happened to the baby?”Tessa asked again.
“He died…at least, that’s what Aunt Dottie told me when I woke up.You know how they used to put you to sleep in those days and then handed you the baby once the drugs wore off.But today…” She turned toward Tessa and gripped her hand.“IsawDean today.”
“What?Honey, that’s impossible.Like you said, he died in Vietnam.”
“No, I don’t meanDeanbut our baby.It was him, Tessa.I’m telling you it washim.”
“What?Where?”
“At Hadley’s,” she said, explaining how she’d dropped by to deliver the basket of goodies and what had happened.
“So the man looked like Dean?Honey, that’s easy enough to explain.No doubt Dean has family in the area.Brothers or sisters, cousins who’ve had children?”
Mary Elizabeth stared out at the waves crashing against the shore and struggled to breathe.“I-I suppose that could be the case.But the resemblance was uncanny.”
“Have you ever seen the photo on the internet of Abraham Lincoln’s modern-day descendant?It’s eerie.I have no doubt it’s the same kind of situation with the man at Hadley’s.And not to change the subject, but why was he there?”
“I’m not sure.Wait…he brought a coffee cup, I think.To return it?It all happened so fast it’s a bit of a blur.I was so surprised to see him that I dropped a loaded tray of tea and cookies.Made a horrible mess.”
“Well, I have no doubt it was upsetting for you but realistically you know it wasn’t him.”
“I know but—”
“What buts?”
“My parents,” Mary Elizabeth said, unable to shake her uneasiness about the situation.“What if my parents and Aunt Dottie lied about the baby?About it dying?”
“Honey, no parent could be so cruel.”
“The man looked to be the right age.”
“Again, perhaps a relative?Mary Elizabeth, do you really think your parents would have done that to you?”
“I think they were mortified that their unwed fifteen-year-old daughter was pregnant and the father… Yes.I think they would have if it meant hiding their shame and keeping it secret.The things Daddy said that day…the way helookedat me… It’ll haunt me until the day I die.”
“Okay, well,” Tessa said softly, “if you truly believe there’s even a chance the man at Hadley’s could be your long-lost son, there’s only one thing to do.”
“What’s that?”
“We need to get a DNA test.”
Mary Elizabeth stared at her friend, shaking her head.“How on earth are we going to do that?”
