We stayed at Elizabeth's house for another hour.
There were so many questions that we couldn't ask them all at once.
I wanted to know where Sarah had lived.
I wanted to know whether she had tried to contact us.
I wanted to know why Raymond had never told us the truth.
Most of all, I wanted to know why Gwendolyn had been so determined to keep us away from her.
Elizabeth answered what she could.
She told us that Sarah had been young when she became our mother.
She had struggled to manage everything alone.
Raymond and Gwendolyn had offered to adopt us.
At first, Sarah believed it might give us a more secure future.
She had trusted that we would still know who she was.
But that understanding had not lasted.
I looked at Elizabeth.
"Did Sarah agree to the adoption?"
Elizabeth nodded.
"She agreed to the arrangement because she believed it would protect you."
Grant leaned forward.
"Was she forced?"
Elizabeth hesitated.
"She was under tremendous pressure. I won't pretend otherwise."
I looked down.
That was not the same as the story we had been told.
It wasn't abandonment.
It was something much more complicated.
"Did she ever try to see us?"
Elizabeth's eyes filled.
"Yes."
The word came quietly.
I felt my stomach tighten.
"When?"
"More than once."
Grant sat back.
"Who stopped her?"
Elizabeth looked uncomfortable.
"I don't want to accuse someone without showing you what I have."
She opened the wooden box.
There were several letters inside.
Some were folded.
Others were still sealed.
She handed me one.
The envelope had Sarah's handwriting.
My name wasn't written on it.
It was addressed to Raymond.
I opened it carefully.
The letter was dated many years earlier.
Sarah had written that she hoped the boys were healthy.
She asked whether they were enjoying school.
She said she still remembered the sound of us laughing.
I stopped reading.
I couldn't continue.
Grant took the letter from me.
His face changed as he reached the final lines.
"She wanted to know if we remembered her."
Elizabeth nodded.
"She hoped you would."
I looked at the envelope again.
There was no indication that the letter had ever been delivered.
"Did Dad receive these?"
Elizabeth shook her head.
"I gave him some. Others were returned."
"Returned by whom?"
"That is something I never understood."
Grant's expression hardened.
"Did Gwendolyn know?"
Elizabeth didn't answer immediately.
Then she said:
"She knew Sarah wanted contact."
I felt my jaw tighten.
The image of Gwendolyn sitting at the kitchen table came back to me.
The way she laughed.
The way she said we had believed everything.
I suddenly understood why those words had sounded so comfortable coming from her.
She had lived with that secret for years.
I asked Elizabeth about the address.
She wrote it down on a small piece of paper.
It was in another town.
Not very far away.
She warned us that Sarah might no longer live there.
"Do you know anything about her life now?"
"Only that she was still there the last time I heard from her."
Grant folded the paper.
"Thank you."
Elizabeth looked at both of us.
"There's one more thing."
I waited.
She picked up the photograph of Sarah holding us.
"Your father gave me this because he was afraid it would disappear."
I stared at the picture.
"Why would it disappear?"
Elizabeth looked down.
"He said Gwendolyn wanted all reminders of your first family removed."
My chest tightened.
"Did Dad know she was doing that?"
"He knew some of it."
"Why didn't he stop her?"
Elizabeth took a breath.
"He tried."
That was all she said.
I wanted more.
But I could see that she was becoming upset.
Before we left, she gave us copies of the letters.
She kept the originals.
I understood why.
They were some of the few things Sarah had left behind.
Grant put the photograph inside the folder.
We thanked Elizabeth.
At the door, she touched my arm.
"Whatever you discover, remember something."
I looked at her.
"Your mother loved you."
I nodded.
But I couldn't speak.
The drive back was quiet.
Grant held the address in his hand.
I watched the road.
After a while, he said:
"Do you think she knows we're coming?"
"I don't know."
"Do you think she'll want to see us?"
I looked out the window.
"I hope so."
He folded the paper again.
"We should go tomorrow."
I agreed.
When we reached my apartment, I placed the photograph on the table.
I couldn't stop looking at it.
Sarah was holding us close.
My little brother was leaning against her shoulder.
I was looking toward the camera.
I wondered what she had said while the photograph was taken.
I wondered whether she had kissed our foreheads.
I wondered whether she had been crying after we left.
There were so many years missing from that picture.
And none of them could be returned.
That evening, Gwendolyn called.
I watched her name appear on my screen.
I almost ignored it.
Then I answered.
"Where have you been?"
Her voice sounded irritated.
"Out."
"Your brother told me you've been asking questions."
I looked toward Grant.
He was sitting across the room.
"Why are you worried about that?"
"I'm not worried."
"Then tell me who Sarah is."
The silence was immediate.
I could hear her breathing.
Finally, she said:
"Who told you that name?"
"Does it matter?"
"Yes, Wesley. It matters."
"Why?"
She didn't answer.
I waited.
Then she said:
"Some people should remain in the past."
I felt my anger rising.
"She was our mother."
Gwendolyn's voice became sharp.
"I raised you."
"You told us she abandoned us."
"She left you."
"That's not what Elizabeth said."
The silence returned.
Then Gwendolyn spoke quietly.
"Stay away from that woman."
I looked at the photograph.
"Why?"
"Because she doesn't know the whole story."
"Then tell me the whole story."
She ended the call.
I placed my phone on the table.
Grant looked at me.
"She knows we're close."
I nodded.
For the first time, I wasn't frightened of her anger.
I was frightened of how much more we might discover.
Click here to continue reading: PART 8: When We Finally Reached the Address Elizabeth Gave Us, We Had to Decide Whether We Were Ready to Meet the Woman We Had Been Told Abandoned Us
I Thought Bringing Her Birthday Flowers Might Finally Make Her See Me as Her Son
Part 7 of 20
