Chapter 2 - The Woman I Abandoned
Evelyn looked exactly like the woman I remembered.
And completely different.
Thirteen years had changed her.
Her hair was shorter.
There were faint lines around her eyes.
But she still had the same quiet strength.
The same expression that used to make me feel like she could see through every lie I told.
I had once loved that about her.
Then I had started hating it.
Because she could see what I was becoming.
“You knew I was here?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“How?”
She glanced toward the auditorium.
“The tournament committee contacted me weeks ago.”
“And you knew I was the sponsor?”
“Yes.”
I felt confused.
“Then why didn't you tell me the boys were competing?”
She gave me a sad smile.
“Would you have come?”
I opened my mouth.
Nothing came out.
She already knew the answer.
“No,” she said.
“You wouldn't have.”
The man beside her stepped forward.
“My name is Daniel.”
I looked at him.
“Are you…”
Evelyn touched his arm.
“Daniel is my husband.”
The words landed harder than I expected.
I looked at him again.
He wasn't arrogant.
He wasn't hostile.
He simply looked at me with the calm confidence of a man who had been there when I wasn't.
“You're the one who raised them.”
Daniel nodded.
“I helped.”
Something about that answer humbled me.
Not I replaced you.
Not I'm their father.
Just:
“I helped.”
Evelyn looked toward the stage.
“Julian and Miles are brilliant.”
“I know.”
“You don't.”
I looked at her.
She continued.
“You know their test scores.”
I froze.
“You know nothing about their lives.”
She was right.
“Julian hates loud restaurants.”
She paused.
“Miles can't sleep unless his bedroom door is slightly open.”
I swallowed.
“Julian wants to study astrophysics.”
“Miles wants to become an engineer.”
“Julian plays piano.”
“Miles cooks better than I do.”
I smiled despite myself.
“That sounds like me.”
Evelyn's expression softened.
“No.”
She shook her head.
“That sounds like them.”
I deserved that.
I looked down.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
She stared at me.
“Tell you what?”
“That they were mine.”
Her eyes hardened.
“You knew I was pregnant.”
“I didn't know there were two.”
“You knew enough.”
I remembered.
The night I left.
The argument.
My promotion.
The investment opportunity.
The woman I had been seeing.
Victoria.
I had told myself I needed a different life.
A bigger life.
A better life.
Evelyn had begged me to stay.
She had told me she was pregnant.
I had looked at her.
And I had walked away.
I had convinced myself that I was escaping responsibility.
I hadn't realized I was abandoning two human beings who hadn't even been born.
“I was a coward,” I whispered.
“Yes.”
Her answer was immediate.
I looked at her.
“I thought I was building something.”
“You were.”
“What?”
“A life without us.”
I closed my eyes.
That sentence hurt because it was true.
Then Evelyn handed me a folder.
“What is this?”
“Everything you should have known.”
I opened it.
Inside were photographs.
Julian at five.
Miles at five.
Their first day of school.
Their science fair.
Their soccer games.
Their birthdays.
Their injuries.
Their awards.
Their Christmas mornings.
I turned page after page.
My sons grew before my eyes.
And I had missed every moment.
At the bottom of the folder was a letter.
My name was written on it.
I opened it.
It was from thirteen years ago.
Evelyn's handwriting.
Richard,
I don't know if you'll ever read this.
The boys are healthy.
Yes. Boys. Two of them.
I stopped.
Two sons.
My sons.
The letter continued.
I won't beg you to come back.
But someday, when they're old enough to understand, I will tell them the truth.
Their father left because he wanted another life.
I couldn't breathe.
At the bottom was one sentence.
I hope one day you become the man they deserve, even if it isn't with us.
I folded the letter.
“I don't deserve them.”
Evelyn nodded.
“No.”
Then she looked toward the stage.
“But that doesn't mean you can't try to become worthy.”
I looked at her.
“Can I see them again?”
She didn't answer immediately.
Finally, she said:
“That isn't my decision.”
I knew exactly whose decision it was.
May you like
My sons'.
And for the first time in my life, I was going to have to wait for someone else to decide whether I deserved a place in their world.
