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“No. But if they’ve already sent three messages, me not responding will probably just mean they’ll keep sending more.”
“Do you want me to read them for you?” Gareth offered.
Aria wasn’t sure, but she appreciated his offer. Over the past several months, he had proven to be a protective, loving boyfriend. If situations arose that he could see were causing her anxiety, he tried to step in to help her. He hadn’t always been able to do that, but she so appreciated that he cared enough to try.
“I’ll read them.” Without moving out of his embrace, she lifted her phone again. “I just hope that this isn’t some weirdo. I don’t want to be related to a weirdo.”
Gareth laughed, and she joined him, the humor helping to ease the tension. “I don’t know. I’m related to a weirdo, and it’s not too bad.”
She looked up at him. “Who are you calling a weirdo?”
With a smile, Gareth dropped a kiss on her nose, then said, “Who do you think?”
“Oh. I’m not going to go there.”
“Frankly, we’ve all got a bit of weirdo in us.”
“True. Some of us just flaunt it more than others.”
“Well, let’s find out who is claiming to be related to you.”
Aria nodded and looked down at her phone again. She tapped on the first message and began to read it out loud.
Hi Aria ~ My name is Micah Ross, and I’m your half-brother. I have no idea if you know anything about your dad’s side of the family, but I’m contacting you on behalf of my mother. She has been in declining health for the past year and asked me to help her find you. Apparently, she lost contact with your mom a couple of years ago and only recently found out that she had passed away. Mom is concerned about you, and she wants to make sure you’re okay. After exhausting other options, I submitted to every DNA site I could find, hoping you had tried to find your family as well. I hope that you’ll reply, so that I can give my mom some peace of mind about your well-being. Take care.
“Someone from your dad’s family was in contact with your mom?” Gareth asked. “Did you know that?”
“I had no idea.” Aria stared at the message. “Mom never said anything about her.”
“What does the next message say?”
She clicked on it, both excited and worried about its contents.
Hi Aria ~ I hope you’re doing well. I don’t mean to pester you, but I want you to know that you have people who care about you. Are there questions you have about your past? We’d love to share with you what we know, but only if you’re interested in that. I know it probably seems strange that our moms were in contact the way they were. My mom cared about both of you and was distressed to discover that your mom had passed away. Now, she is concerned about you. If you could just let me know that you’re okay, I’ll pass that on to her and not bother you again if that’s what you want.
“Should I reply to him?” Aria asked.
The nervous flutters in her stomach were making her feel a little sick. Did she want to know the answers to her parentage? Honestly, the messages from this man had left her with even more questions. The biggest being why her mom had been in contact with the wife of her father.
“I can’t answer that for you,” Gareth told her gently. “But I’ll support whatever decision you make. If you have questions, though, this seems like the person who can answer them for you.”
“I can’t decide right now. I think I need to pray about it.”
“You know that I’ll be praying about it as well. You’re not alone in this.”
And that reassurance from Gareth helped to soothe the upheaval in her heart. It was a reminder that she could count on him and his family to be there for her.
“Here.” Gareth leaned forward and picked up one of the mugs. “Janessa helped me make it, so you know it’s going to be good.”
Aria cupped the mug in her hands, glad for the warmth that seeped into her palms. She took a sip and closed her eyes, pushing aside the thoughts of what she’d just learned and cherishing the nearness of the man she loved. The man she knew who would be by her side, no matter what decision she made. It comforted her more than she could ever put into words.
***
Gareth shook the pastor’s hand as Aria moved on to speak to the man’s wife. “Happy New Year.”
The man smiled broadly. “The same to you, Gareth. Praying God blesses you greatly in the new year.”
“You, too,” Gareth replied.
