I could not finish.
Because what had I thought?
That a stranger had been lingering at the edge of our lives.
That perhaps Adrian’s absent father had developed a conscience through the mail.
That I had raised my son alone except for the people physically present around us.
All those years, it had been my father.
Or rather, my father’s love carried forward by someone loyal enough to keep a promise.
Adrian quickly wiped his eyes as though embarrassed, even though we were alone.
“So Thomas isn’t my dad.”
I
