Beth should raise one baby so Mark would not be overwhelmed.
She said Mark had come to her while I was unconscious. He told her both babies were alive, but one needed extended care. He claimed I had said that if things went badly, Beth should raise one baby so Mark would not be overwhelmed.
« No, » I said. « No, I never said that. »
Beth nodded through tears. « I didn’t believe him at first. Then he showed me a signed letter that looked like it came from you. He said you trusted me. He said he’d explain once you recovered. »
Beth refused to uproot Stefan again for a lie she still did not fully understand.
I could barely breathe. « And you took him? »
« I took my nephew because I thought his mother had asked me to, » she said. « Then Mark kept telling me you were too fragile to see me, and later that you blamed me and wanted nothing to do with either of us. »
Years passed. Stefan grew. Then he won a place at Cole’s elementary school after Beth moved back for work. Mark told her to choose another school. Beth refused to uproot Stefan again for a lie she still did not fully understand.
She reached into her purse and handed me the letter.
I stared at her. « I called you for months. »
