“Your father is alive.”
The cabin seemed to disappear.
Lydia could hear Theo breathing against her chest.
She could feel Hazel holding her wrist.
Everything else faded.
“No.”
Arthur said nothing.
“My father is gone.”
“No, Lydia. He isn’t.”
She stared at him.
“How do you know my name?”
Arthur answered quietly.
“Because Graham asked me to find you.”
Fourteen Years of Silence
Lydia sat because her legs would no longer support her.
Hazel pressed against her shoulder.
“Mom, is Grandpa really alive?”
Lydia could not answer.
She looked at Arthur.
“If he is alive, why didn’t he call me?”
Arthur removed his glasses.
“Because he believed contacting you would put your family in danger.”
Lydia gave a hollow laugh.
“For fourteen years?”
Arthur lowered his eyes.
That silence angered her more than any explanation.
“He missed my graduation.”
Arthur said nothing.
“He missed my wedding.”
Still nothing.
