“It doesn’t explain ten years.”Support Causes
He looked down.
“Teagan told me not to come back until I
was willing to choose for myself.”
“And?”Plan Family Trips
“I finally did.”
“After she died.”
“I didn’t know she was gone when I left home that day.”
“But you found out at the hospital.”
“Yes.”
“And you saw me carrying Lucas.”
He wiped his face.Find an OBGYN
“I panicked.”
“What about the next day?”
Silence.
“The next week?”
Nothing.
“The next year?”
His eyes dropped.Study Biology
“You weren’t eighteen for ten years,” I said.
“I know.”
“I kept telling myself I had waited too long. Every year made that excuse easier.”
I believed him.
That didn’t excuse him.
“Does Lucas know about me?” he asked.
“He knows his father exists.”Browse Reference
“Can I see him?”
“No.”
His head lifted.
“I’m his father.”
“You are the man who fathered him. What happens next depends on what you choose to do now.”
He swallowed.
“What do you want me to do?”Support Causes
“Write him a letter.”
“A letter?”
“Tell
him who you are. Tell him why you weren’t there. And tell him why you’re here now.”
He nodded.Plan Family Trips
“And don’t blame Teagan.”
“I won’t.”
“You don’t get credit for finally showing up ten years late,” I said. “But you do get a chance to decide what kind of man you’re going to be from this point forward.”
Two days later, an envelope appeared on my porch.
Lucas’s name was written across the front.
I hated opening something addressed to him.Find an OBGYN
But Lucas was ten, and I was still responsible for protecting him.
One sentence stayed with me.
I was scared when I was eighteen, but being scared doesn’t explain ten years.
He asked for no forgiveness.
He blamed no one.
Before I gave the letter to Lucas, I called Trudy again.
“Can we meet?”Study Biology
She sounded surprised.
“I thought you’d never want to see me again.”
“I didn’t say
I forgave you.”
“I understand.”Plan Family Trips
“There’s something else I need.”
