We were happy.
At least, I thought we were.
Then I found the photograph.
It was a Sunday afternoon, and Ryan was helping me sort through old pictures for a slideshow.
One photograph showed him at about seven years old, sitting on the shoulders of a woman with dark hair and laughing so hard his eyes were closed.
“Who’s that?” I asked.
Ryan glanced over.
“My aunt Elaine.”
“You look so happy.”
“I was.”
Something in his voice made me look at him.
“What happened to her?”
His smile disappeared.
“She abandoned us.”
He explained that Elaine was his father’s younger sister. After his parents separated, she had helped Patricia care for him.
Then, according to Patricia, Elaine decided she no longer wanted anything to do with the family.
“Mom says she stopped visiting and never bothered to contact me again,” Ryan said.
“Did you ever try to find her?”
