Secrets had.
Shame had.
Silence had.
I folded the swimsuit and put it back in my drawer.
PART 32 — THE INVESTIGATION
My attorney helped us understand what could still be established.
We obtained medical records where available.
Adoption documents.
Correspondence.
Archived logs.
We documented inconsistencies.
But forty-one years is a long time.
Witnesses die.
Institutions merge.
Records disappear.
I learned that discovering the truth and obtaining a complete legal
remedy are different things.
I wanted accountability.
I also had to live in reality.
PART 33 — WHAT AARON WANTED
Aaron surprised me.
“I don’t want my life reduced to being stolen.”
I stared at him.
“What do you want?”
“To know where I came from.”
So I told him.
About my father.
About his crescent birthmark.
About his grandmother’s terrible cooking.
About Christopher’s obsession with toy trucks.
About the name Benjamin.
About how desperately I had wanted to see him.
