“Not tonight. There’s someone here I need to tell you about.”
Don’t miss
I explained that Ethan was her older brother and that another family had raised him because I’d been very young.
“I’ll explain everything to Dad tonight.”
“Does Dad know him?”
The question stopped me. “Not yet. I’ll explain everything to Dad tonight.”
“Does Ethan know my name?”
“Yes, sweetheart.”
She smiled. “Okay. Where is he?”
“Thank you for bringing me!”
Backstage, she asked Ethan whether he knew every singer.
Later, when a familiar song began, Nancy wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank you for bringing me!”
He held her close as she sang, tears running into his beard. I reached over from the next seat and squeezed his arm.
“Did I hurt you?” Nancy asked.
Jason’s photograph hadn’t included me.
He wiped his cheeks. “No. I’m happy.”
Jason’s photograph hadn’t included me.
My phone vibrated inside my bag. I let the first calls go unanswered, trying to find words that wouldn’t make this worse. By the time I stepped into the corridor and answered, my husband had seen the picture.
“He deserves the truth.”
There would be no careful introduction.
“He deserves the truth,” I told Ethan afterward. “Tonight.”
