“George handled those matters.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
She twisted her hands. “We talked about answering. More than once.”
Dad’s things.
Michael stared at her. “So you knew I’d found you?”
Mom couldn’t look at him. “Yes. We recognized the details. George remembered your name from the adoption information.”
“And you never answered?”
“I wanted to,” Mom whispered. “But George was afraid you’d find your birth family and leave us.”
We talked about answering.
“And you agreed with him?”
She looked down.
“At first, I thought he was being ridiculous. Then I started imagining you calling another woman Mom. I was afraid too.”
I pushed back my chair. “You decided that for me?”
George was afraid.
Mom reached for my hand. “Claire, we were afraid of losing you.”
“Twenty years, Mom. I could’ve known my brother.”
Michael looked down. “I got married. Had two children. I wanted you to meet them.”
