I examined my mother from top to bottom. She was a head shorter than me. Aside from her blond hair, she had a lighter shade of green eyes than me. Her nose was small like mine, and she was a pretty lady. “Flowers? Is that your married name?”
She fidgeted with her fingers and nodded.
“Why did you abandon me?” I might as well get to the heart of why I was there. “Who and where is my father? Did you marry him?”
She gave me a tentative smile. “I was fifteen when I found out I was pregnant, and I was scared to death. I had no father. My mother was a drug addict, and I couldn’t end up like her. She had me at sixteen. She did the best she could, but somewhere along the way, she cracked. She lost her job and fell into a deep depression and started using drugs.” She paused and swept her gaze over me.
I felt compelled to say, “I’m listening.” I got the impression she thought I would run.
“I kind of followed in her footsteps. I got in with the wrong crowd and the wrong boy. Before I knew it, I was pregnant. I didn’t know what to do. The boy I slept with wanted no part of me. I debated whether to have an abortion, but I couldn’t bring myself to do that. Then after you were born, life became difficult. I didn’t have money for food or clothes or diapers. Every day was a struggle. You deserved better.”
The main door opened, and three more students came out, chatting and giggling. Both Sophie and I watched them until they faded from view.
She sighed. “Every state has a safe-haven law, and so I decided that you would have a better life with a family who could take care of you.”
I chewed on my bottom lip. She definitely held an enormous amount of regret, which was evident in her tone. But to forgive or not to forgive. The question flittering through my mind was whether to tell her my life story and make her feel even worse.
Her gaze was on my neck. I was wearing a scoop-neck blouse and no scarf. I’d come to the conclusion that I shouldn’t be ashamed of what had happened to me because it wasn’t my fault. Dillon helped me to come to terms with my scar. It also helped that he thought I was beautiful despite all my scars, and I had a couple more thanks to Miguel and Cory.
I took hold of her hand. “Sophie, I’m not going to sit here and tell you how angry I was with you for abandoning me. That wouldn’t change what happened. Honestly, I don’t know what I would’ve done in your shoes.” I thought back to how Cory had raped me. I could’ve gotten pregnant. Then I might’ve been in the same predicament she had been in with me. “But I’m here, and that means I want to get to know you.”
She threw her arms around me and hugged me so darn tight, I couldn’t breathe. Then she sobbed. “Thank you.”
I couldn’t help but cry either, and all those pent-up emotions I’d harbored for so long vanished. I hugged her back.
We stayed in that embrace for several long seconds until she shuddered and let go. “You turned out to be such a strong and beautiful woman.”
“Just like you,” I said as I dashed away the tears on my cheeks.
“Let’s take a walk. I have something for you in my car.”
Once we were at her modest SUV, she ducked into the back seat and emerged with a framed photo. “Before I gave you up, I took a picture of you. I never forgot about you.” She handed me the picture.
I eyed the photo of the chubby baby with light-blond hair, wrapped in a pink blanket. “Thank you,” was all I could say as I choked back more tears. I’d never taken pictures of myself or with friends or even with Ted. But I would make it my mission to make sure Dillon and I had lots of photos of us sprinkled around his house.
He’d asked me to move in with him two weeks ago. Actually, he’d been taking care of me since I’d gotten out of the hospital.
“When you got your life together, why didn’t you try and find me?” I asked.
She gripped the edge of the car door. “I did. I started at the firehouse where I left you, but no one there knew of the incident. One fireman steered me to a retired man who had been working there, but when I contacted him, his wife informed me he’d died. I didn’t even have a name for you. So it was difficult to find you, especially when social services won’t divulge cases.”
She had a point, and she wasn’t a detective like Ted, who could find details civilians couldn’t.
“Do you have a family now?” I wasn’t sure how that would sit with me, but as I asked the question, I was cool, especially after hearing her reasons for leaving me at a firehouse.
She closed her car door. “After you, I couldn’t have any more children. I have a husband, though. I saw you with your boyfriend when he dropped you off. Are you happy?”
I smiled and got all giddy inside. “He’s a great guy, and he loves me, and I couldn’t be happier.”
As if Dillon knew we were talking about him, he and Kross drove up and stopped behind Sophie’s SUV.
Dillon climbed out. His hair was tousled as usual. I’d told him not to ever cut his hair. He rounded the car then waved to Kross as he sped away. Dillon tucked his hands into the pockets of his jeans, keeping his distance and giving me privacy.
“Dillon,” I called.
He sauntered over and gave me a chaste kiss on the lips. “The real estate gal had to cancel on Kross.”
Sophie extended her hand. “Sophie Flowers.”
