He looked startled.
Then genuinely uncertain.
“I don't know.”
I stared.
“You don't know?”
He shook his head.
“Mom never explained how I came to have his name on my birth certificate. When I was old enough to ask directly, she would say, ‘Thomas kept his promise.’”
“What promise?”
“I never found out.”
My heart pounded.
“What happened to your mother?”
“She died eight years ago.”
“I'm sorry.”
He nodded.
“Thank you.”
I looked around the office.
“Thomas came here?”
“Regularly during the last three years.”
“Why only then?”
Julian looked down.
“His health started changing. He said he was tired of living in separate pieces.”
My eyes filled.
“He should have told me.”
“Yes,” Julian said quietly. “He should have.”
That answer surprised me.
I'd expected him to defend Thomas.
To explain.
To tell me that I didn't understand.
Instead, he said:
“I asked him to tell you. I told him I would meet you whenever you were ready.”
