She wiped her eyes.
“But recently, my mom and my stepdad started treating me differently. They kept arguing about money and about how expensive it was to have me at home. Last week, my stepdad told me that if I wanted to stay there, I should start paying rent.”
My anger began to give way to confusion.
“You’re sixteen,” I said. “How are you supposed to pay rent?”
Julia shrugged, looking embarrassed.
“That’s what I asked. My mom said I was old enough to take responsibility for myself. She told me that if I thought my real father was so wonderful, I should go find him.”
Her lips trembled.
“So I did.”
Mark sat down heavily on the couch.
“She showed up at my workplace about two months ago,” he said. “She had a photograph of Denise and an old letter with my name on it. At first, I didn’t know what to think. Then we did a paternity test, and the results confirmed that she’s my daughter.”
