I Became a Mother at 17 – Years Later, My Son Took a DNA Test to Find His Father but Uncovered a Truth That Left Me Weak in the Knees
I opened it.
Leo dropped beside me.
« Heather,
I know this looks bad. Please don’t believe I left you. I’m trying to come back. I promise.
— A. »
The air left my lungs.
« Mom? » Leo whispered.
I couldn’t answer. I grabbed another letter.
« I don’t know if you hate me. My mother says you do. I don’t believe her, but I don’t know how to reach you otherwise. »
« Oh no, no, no, » I muttered.
« I know this looks bad. »
Leo moved closer. « What is it? »
« He thought I hated him. »
Gwen let out a shaky breath. « That’s what our mother told him. She didn’t just lie, Heather. She stole eighteen years from all of you. »
I opened the third letter so fast I almost tore it.
« If it’s a boy, I hope he laughs like you do when you’re really happy. »
My hand flew to my mouth.
Leo stared at me. « He wrote that. »
« He thought I hated him. »
I nodded and passed him one of the birthday cards.
« Read it, » I said.
He opened it carefully.
Inside, the handwriting was Andrew’s.
« To my child,
I don’t know if you’ll ever see this. But if your mom tells you I loved her, believe that with your entire heart. »
Nobody spoke.
Then Leo looked at Gwen. « You knew about this? »
« I don’t know if you’ll ever see this. »
« I didn’t know about the letters then, » Gwen said. « I was away at college, and my mother had already decided I was a disgrace, so nobody told me anything unless they had to. Andrew called me after they moved, frantic. He told me Heather was pregnant, and that Mom wouldn’t let him go back. »
« I just wanted him to stay… » I whispered.
« I know, » Gwen said. « But I didn’t learn that until much later. By then, she’d already lied to both of you. »
Leo stared at the box in his lap. « So that’s it? » he asked. « He wanted us, and all this time we thought he walked away? »
« She’d already lied to both of you. »
Gwen wiped her face. « He didn’t walk away. Three years ago, he was driving home from a job when a truck ran a red light. He died before they got him to the hospital. »
« My dad’s really gone? »
« Yes. »
Gwen gave me Andrew’s school photo and the worn pregnancy test I’d given him eighteen years ago. « After our mother got sick, she gave the letters back. He kept every one. He was going to try again. »
Gwen wiped her face.
***
Outside, after I told my parents the truth, my dad cleared his throat. « Let’s get you home, kid. »
On the drive back, Leo fell asleep with a hand on the box. At a red light, I looked over at him and finally understood the truth of everything.
For eighteen years, I thought I was the girl Andrew ran from.
I wasn’t.
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