“Who?”
“The boy you’ve apparently had time to visit at Harper’s college.”
Graham went silent.
“And whose tuition have you been paying?”
“Hannah…”
“Don’t. Harper knows too.”
Harper stepped into the kitchen.
Graham looked between us.
“How much do you know?”
“Apparently not nearly enough.”
He rubbed his face.
“Please. Just give me until tonight. I’ll tell you everything.”
I wanted answers immediately, but Harper spoke first.
“Fine. Tonight.”
That evening, we sat at the dining table waiting for him.
When Graham entered, Harper didn’t let him sit down.
“Is he your son?”
Graham froze.
“Harper…”
“Just answer me. Do I have a brother you’ve been hiding from me?”
Before Graham could respond, the doorbell rang.
All three of us looked toward the hallway.
Graham closed his eyes.
“Who is that?” I asked.
He didn’t answer.
I went to the door with Harper behind me.
I opened it and froze.
“What are YOU doing here?”
Leah stood on my porch.
I hadn’t seen her in nearly 20 years, but I recognized my former college roommate immediately.
“Hannah.”
“What are you doing here?”
She looked past me at Graham.
That was when I knew her arrival wasn’t a coincidence.
I turned to him.
“Start talking.”
Leah stepped inside.
“The young man Harper saw today is my son,” she said quietly.
My chest tightened.
I looked at Graham.
“Is he yours?”
Nobody answered quickly enough.
“Wow,” Harper whispered.
“Harper, please,” Graham said.
“No. Answer her.”
Graham looked at me.
“Yes.”
One word made 20 years of marriage feel suddenly unstable.
“How old is he?”
“21.”
