For several seconds, I was certain I had heard Anna incorrectly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe night before my wedding?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo Carol?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat makes no sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know how it sounds.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I don\u2019t think you do.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood from the bench again, too restless to stay seated. Cars moved through Harbor Ridge behind us, ordinary people doing ordinary things while my life kept rearranging itself sentence by sentence.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol and I were married in June of 1987.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca was fifteen months old.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you\u2019re saying Carol tried to tell me the truth the night before our wedding?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what Ruth wrote.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou saw the letter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout six weeks after the wedding.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped pacing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would my mother write to you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause guilt finally caught up with her.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat took long enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wrote that she had convinced herself everything could stay buried if Carol married you and raised Rebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n
My jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds like her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStop apologizing for my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna looked at me carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not apologizing for Ruth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m apologizing because I participated in the silence.\u201d<\/p>\n
That answer left me with nowhere easy to place my anger.<\/p>\n
I sat again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat exactly did Ruth write?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t remember every sentence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me what you remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna folded her hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said Carol had come to her the evening before the wedding. Carol was upset.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout marrying you while you still didn\u2019t know who Rebecca was.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
Somewhere beneath everything else, an old memory stirred.<\/p>\n
The night before the wedding.<\/p>\n
Carol and I had met at Grace Methodist after the rehearsal dinner because she said she needed to talk.<\/p>\n
I had forgotten most of that conversation.<\/p>\n
Or perhaps I had remembered only the part that made sense.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d Anna asked.<\/p>\n
I opened my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe almost called off the wedding.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna did not look surprised.<\/p>\n
That frightened me.<\/p>\n
I stared beyond her toward the diner window and let the memory come back.<\/p>\n
Grace Methodist had smelled of floor polish and flowers that night.<\/p>\n
The church ladies had spent the afternoon arranging white roses along the aisle. My father had already gone home. Ruth had stayed behind, fussing over place cards in the fellowship hall.<\/p>\n
Carol found me near the sanctuary.<\/p>\n
She wore jeans and one of my old sweatshirts.<\/p>\n
I remember laughing because she looked nothing like a bride twelve hours from her wedding.<\/p>\n
She did not laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d Anna asked quietly.<\/p>\n
I rubbed my palms together.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe asked whether I had ever regretted losing you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you tell her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich was?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat I had loved you.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told her I had spent a long time thinking I would never get over you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told her that eventually I had.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence hurt to say in front of Anna.<\/p>\n
She nodded once.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word surprised me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou mean that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hoped you did.\u201d<\/p>\n
I returned to the memory.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol asked whether I ever wondered what happened to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna looked back at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you said?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat I did sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I could hear Carol\u2019s voice as if she stood beside the bench.<\/p>\n
If Anna walked through that door right now, what would you do?<\/p>\n
I had laughed then.<\/p>\n
I thought she was nervous about the wedding.<\/p>\n
I told her I would wish Anna well and then marry the woman standing in front of me.<\/p>\n
Carol had started crying.<\/p>\n
I assumed relief.<\/p>\n
Now I understood that had not been relief at all.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked what was wrong,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Anna listened without interrupting.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told me there was something about Rebecca\u2019s adoption she needed to tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
My own voice slowed.<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
The missing piece.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said the adoption wasn\u2019t as simple as I believed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna\u2019s face went pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you ask?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked if there was some legal problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said no.\u201d<\/p>\n
I could picture Carol twisting the sleeve of my sweatshirt around her fist.<\/p>\n
Then Ruth entered the sanctuary.<\/p>\n
My mother had laughed at seeing us together and told Carol it was bad luck for the bride and groom to meet before the ceremony.<\/p>\n
Carol immediately stopped talking.<\/p>\n
I had kissed her forehead and told her whatever it was could wait until after the honeymoon.<\/p>\n
I looked at Anna.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was trying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Ruth stopped her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI only know what Ruth wrote.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna drew a slow breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter you left the church that night, Ruth confronted Carol.\u201d<\/p>\n
The muscles in my neck tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told Carol that if she confessed, you would lose Rebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRuth said the adoption could be challenged.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Ruth?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
Threats.<\/p>\n
Always threats.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow would I lose Rebecca?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRuth claimed the court could remove her because the adoption involved deception about paternity.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the pavement.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe frightened Carol.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe always knew where to push.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Carol believed her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe had been Rebecca\u2019s mother for more than a year.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Anna sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what Carol was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna did not retreat.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd she was terrified someone would take Rebecca away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo she married me without telling me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood again.<\/p>\n
The fact had existed before today.<\/p>\n
Yet hearing the sequence made it feel new.<\/p>\n
Carol in the church.<\/p>\n
Carol trying to confess.<\/p>\n
Ruth entering at precisely the wrong moment.<\/p>\n
Or perhaps the right moment, if Ruth had been watching.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid my mother follow us?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was always around.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe arranged the adoption, pressured you, lied to me, lied to Carol, and then threatened her the night before our wedding.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna\u2019s voice was low.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat woman won volunteer awards.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna almost smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo did half the women who frightened us when we were twenty.\u201d<\/p>\n
The remark was so recognizably Anna that for a second I saw the young woman again.<\/p>\n
I sat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to Ruth\u2019s letter?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI mailed it to Carol.\u201d<\/p>\n
My head snapped toward her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c1987.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought she needed to see that Ruth had admitted what she did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Carol receive it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe called me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was crying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout the letter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna looked toward the street.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told me she had married you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that part.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said she had almost confessed before the ceremony.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said she wanted to tell you after reading Ruth\u2019s letter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why didn\u2019t she?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna looked back at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Rebecca got sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was hospitalized with pneumonia.\u201d<\/p>\n
The memory returned immediately.<\/p>\n
Rebecca at sixteen months.<\/p>\n
High fever.<\/p>\n
Three nights at St. Catherine\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Carol refusing to leave her bedside.<\/p>\n
I slept in a chair beside them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Rebecca recovered,\u201d Anna continued, \u201cCarol said she couldn\u2019t risk losing her.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo every crisis became a reason to wait.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery year became the wrong year.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then thirty-six years passed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna nodded.<\/p>\n
I pressed my knuckles to my mouth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to the letter after Carol read it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told me she destroyed it.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBurned?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what she said.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you think she didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe preserved the photograph. The blanket. Your hospital bracelet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol kept things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Ruth keep a copy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI doubt it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of the boxes in my attic.<\/p>\n
Maybe Ruth had kept everything too.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat exactly did the letter prove?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Ruth knew about the pregnancy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat she interfered.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid it say I was the father?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart kicked.<\/p>\n
\u201cClearly?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat words?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t remember exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wrote something like, \u2018I believed Walter would ruin his future if he learned the child was his.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf that letter exists, Rebecca could read it herself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe would know none of this was some story we invented after Carol died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to go home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna looked surprised.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca is driving there tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought you wanted to hear everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s more.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course there is.\u201d<\/p>\n
She winced slightly.<\/p>\n
I softened my tone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. You\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need the letter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Carol destroyed it\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told you she destroyed it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol also told me you changed your mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna looked down.<\/p>\n
Fair.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her head lifted.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo Millfield?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t been there in forty years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither had the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t funny.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t joking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna looked toward the diner.<\/p>\n
Daniel stood inside near the register.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnna.\u201d<\/p>\n
She rubbed her thumb along the edge of her phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca will be there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe doesn\u2019t know who you are to her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you want me sitting in the room?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what I want.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was the first completely true sentence I had said in an hour.<\/p>\n
I exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Rebecca deserves to meet you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe may not want that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe already searched for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was before she knew about you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that change?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything.\u201d<\/p>\n
I understood.<\/p>\n
Rebecca believed she had one adoptive father, one absent biological father, one adoptive mother, one newly discovered biological mother.<\/p>\n
Tonight I intended to collapse half those categories.<\/p>\n
Anna\u2019s place in Rebecca\u2019s life would change too.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not asking you to become anything overnight,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m asking you to be there when she hears the story.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna looked frightened.<\/p>\n
Not reluctant.<\/p>\n
Frightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I don\u2019t want to tell her your side for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds fair.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m done with people speaking for people who aren\u2019t in the room.\u201d<\/p>\n
That landed between us.<\/p>\n
Anna looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel came outside.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom?\u201d<\/p>\n
She turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to Millfield.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just got back in contact with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at me.<\/p>\n
Not hostile.<\/p>\n
Protective.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe doesn\u2019t do long drives well.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can drive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna said, \u201cI\u2019m standing right here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel ignored her.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe gets migraines.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd her blood pressure\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
He sighed.<\/p>\n
Anna stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll pack a bag.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re serious.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at me again.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf anything happens\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing is going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pointed at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is exactly what someone says right before something happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the chaos, I almost smiled.<\/p>\n
Anna did.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s always like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can see that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel shook his head.<\/p>\n
Then his expression softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cCall me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPromise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI promise.\u201d<\/p>\n
The echo of Rebecca\u2019s words to me that morning was not lost on anyone.<\/p>\n
An hour later, Anna climbed into the passenger seat of my truck.<\/p>\n
She brought one overnight bag and a small wooden box.<\/p>\n
I noticed it immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n
She rested both hands on it.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething I should have returned a long time ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ring.<\/p>\n
I knew without asking.<\/p>\n
I started the engine.<\/p>\n
We left Harbor Ridge beneath a sky threatening rain.<\/p>\n
For the first thirty miles, neither of us spoke.<\/p>\n
Then Anna looked at Carol\u2019s dented thermos in the cup holder.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe still used that?\u201d<\/p>\n
I glanced over.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou recognize it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI gave it to her.\u201d<\/p>\n
My foot eased slightly off the accelerator.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe visited me in 1998.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the road.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol went to Pennsylvania?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told me she was at a nursing conference.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna turned toward the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe came to see me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca was twelve.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered that year.<\/p>\n
Middle school.<\/p>\n
Braces.<\/p>\n
A science fair volcano that erupted across our dining room table.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened when she was twelve?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna\u2019s answer came quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe asked Carol why she didn\u2019t have baby pictures from the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n
My hands tightened on the steering wheel.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol panicked.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Anna.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe thought Rebecca was starting to suspect.\u201d<\/p>\n
I forced my eyes back to the road.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she tell you then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did she visit?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo ask whether I still wanted the truth told.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna looked at the wooden box in her lap.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told her yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The road seemed to narrow ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Carol had another chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd she chose silence again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I breathed through my nose.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas that the last time you saw her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I glanced over.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many times did you see my wife?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cFour.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost missed the lane.<\/p>\n
\u201cFour?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c1986. 1998. 2009. And last spring.\u201d<\/p>\n
My head turned sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast spring?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWalter, watch the road.\u201d<\/p>\n
I corrected the truck.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol saw you this year?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is the part you are going to hate most.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared straight ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she want?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna\u2019s answer came barely above the road noise.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe came to ask me whether, after she died, I would let you believe Rebecca was never your biological daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
For several seconds, I was certain I had heard Anna incorrectly. \u201cThe night before my wedding?\u201d \u201cYes.\u201d \u201cTo Carol?\u201d \u201cYes.\u201d I stared at her. \u201cThat makes no sense.\u201d \u201cI know … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3344,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feel-every-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3353"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3353\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3388,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3353\/revisions\/3388"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}