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“I have two older brothers, but they were born before Mom came into the picture.”
“So?” he questioned.
“This is a guess, but I think Madeline lied to get Christian back.”
“Christian?”
“Sorry, I don’t really call him Dad. Anyway, I think she lied, and when she found out Mom was pregnant, she worked on getting herself knocked up.”
“The truth would come out.”
“Exactly. But she’s smart. She told him she miscarried, but didn’t tell him out of fear because Mom was pregnant. Then suddenly she did get pregnant and he had to stay with her and the kids.”
“He did,” he said.
“He did,” I echoed. “I also think that his feelings for Mom and hers too haven’t exactly died. Mom would never cross any lines, but I worry she’s not been with anyone else because she loves him that much.”
“You did say she might be autistic.”
“True. Which is why it’s hard for her to get close to anyone.”
“Including you?”
I nodded because I could feel tears brimming in my eyes. “What about you? Where’s your mom?”
He shifted and I noticed for the first time the towel wrapped around his hips.
“Mom left when I was six or so.”
I remembered him telling me that before. Yet, I still asked the question. “Do you see her?”
“Nope. She left without looking back.”
My jaw dropped. I might not have had my father in my life, but he wasn’t exactly a ghost either.
“You haven’t seen her at all.”
“Not a word, a birthday card, Christmas present, nothing until recently.”
It was my turn to give him a questioning gaze.
“Recently? What happened?”
“She lives in New Jersey. After we drove to New York, I decided I’d go see her.”
I moved forward as if on the edge of my seat. To be a fly on the wall for that meeting would have been something. “How’d it go?”
“As you can expect, she was shocked to see me.”
“And?” I probed.
“And she wasn’t exactly happy about it. She has a new family and I wasn’t exactly a welcomed visitor.”
“Wow,” I said, sitting back. “That sucks.”
“It turned out all right. I met my brothers and I wasn’t exactly a stranger to them. Apparently, their father had told them about me, though very little. At least they weren’t shocked and were actually pretty excited.”
“How old are they?”
