By the second letter, her hands were shaking.
“Mom knew?”
“Yes.”
Rebecca wiped tears from her face and asked whether Carol had been trying to protect her. I told her that might have been true at first, but after enough years had passed, I believed Carol had also been protecting herself from what the truth might cost her.
“Did she love me?”
That question hurt more than any accusation could have.
“Every single day.”
Rebecca sat quietly before asking whether Anna knew who she was. I told her Anna knew everything now and wanted more than anything to meet her.
Rebecca swallowed hard.
“I want to meet her. Soon.”
“You should.”
She studied my face before asking whether I was truly comfortable with that. After forty years of learning what happened when people controlled the truth for one another, there was only one answer I could give her.
“I’ve had enough people deciding what’s best for someone else.”
