Jeremy took the photocopy from my hand carefully, as if touching it too quickly might change the words.<\/p>\n
He read the first line.<\/p>\n
Then the second.<\/p>\n
By the time he reached He never came, his face had gone gray.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never seen this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou also said nobody knew about the letter in the box.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was wrong about that too.\u201d<\/p>\n
I crossed my arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you recognize Lacey\u2019s handwriting?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt looks like hers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not the same as saying it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t seen her handwriting from back then in years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have a photograph she wrote on?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. That was my handwriting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
He read the note again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere exactly was this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBottom folder.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no bottom folder.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy stood and walked past me toward the kitchen.<\/p>\n
I followed.<\/p>\n
He emptied the box onto the table with more force than necessary.<\/p>\n
Folders slid across the wood.<\/p>\n
Statements.<\/p>\n
Legal papers.<\/p>\n
Receipts.<\/p>\n
The unlabeled folder lay among them.<\/p>\n
Jeremy picked it up.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the plain manila cover.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I use reinforced folders.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want me to believe office supplies are the clue now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m serious.\u201d<\/p>\n
He grabbed another folder from the box.<\/p>\n
Metal fasteners.<\/p>\n
Thicker edges.<\/p>\n
Printed label.<\/p>\n
Then he held up the unlabeled one.<\/p>\n
Thin cardboard.<\/p>\n
No fasteners.<\/p>\n
No label.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t put documents in this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat proves very little.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
His frustration sounded genuine.<\/p>\n
He opened it.<\/p>\n
The note was the only page inside.<\/p>\n
I watched him study the photocopy margins.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was copied recently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe paper.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked.<\/p>\n
Ordinary white copy paper.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould have been years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
He turned it over.<\/p>\n
Blank.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo fax line. No old copier shadowing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have suddenly become a forensic document examiner?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He rubbed his forehead.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m trying to understand how something I\u2019ve never seen ended up in a locked box.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho had the key?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe already listed them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. We listed people who could find the spare.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe main key?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cI carry one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid had one during the renovation last winter.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe borrowed the workshop while his garage was being rebuilt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo months.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you never thought that mattered when we were discussing missing page four?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the time I was thinking about people who knew the letter existed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe whoever opened the box learned it existed by opening the box.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy sat down.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n
I hated how often I was hearing those words.<\/p>\n
\u201cCall David.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s late.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy looked at the clock.<\/p>\n
12:21.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe starts early. He\u2019ll answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
He called.<\/p>\n
David picked up after five rings.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy put the phone on speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ever open the locked cabinet in my workshop?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then, \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
I leaned toward the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWrong answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
David exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cJill\u2019s there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you find?\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
Jeremy looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou opened it.\u201d<\/p>\n
David did not deny it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d Jeremy asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cA while ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe six months.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was looking for invoices.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew I kept invoices in the filing cabinet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why were you in the locked cabinet?\u201d<\/p>\n
David cursed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Lacey asked me to check something.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt the room narrow.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cA letter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat letter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething she had written years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the note.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout the baby?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Jeremy\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My hands went cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou put this note in his box.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what did you put there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just said Lacey sent you searching.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe thought Jeremy had an old envelope from 2004.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat envelope?\u201d<\/p>\n
David sounded exhausted now.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know the whole story.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen tell the part you do know.\u201d<\/p>\n
He breathed out.<\/p>\n
\u201cLacey said she gave Jeremy a note before she left town. Years later she started wondering whether he ever received it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy stared at the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe never gave me anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what she eventually believed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy search my cabinet?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she thought maybe you kept old things from your father\u2019s house. Boxes. Papers. Stuff from before you married Jill.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know. I looked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou broke into my cabinet because she asked you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou gave me the spare key.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo get tools.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy\u2019s anger sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat didn\u2019t mean read my private papers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
David paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cI shouldn\u2019t have.\u201d<\/p>\n
I held up the photocopy.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you see a letter addressed to me?\u201d<\/p>\n
David was silent.<\/p>\n
The missing page.<\/p>\n
Jeremy leaned closer to the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you open the envelope I wrote Jill?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room seemed to stop.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you remove page four?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy slammed his palm onto the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who did?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou opened a sealed envelope.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRead it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd expect me to believe the page disappeared by magic?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI read all five pages. I put them back.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll five?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo page four existed six months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did it say?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
David hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cMostly about Karen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMostly?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd about why Jeremy thought you would leave him.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Jeremy.<\/p>\n
He frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
David continued reluctantly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou wrote that Jill had once said if you ever cheated the marriage would be over.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered.<\/p>\n
Years ago.<\/p>\n
A movie.<\/p>\n
A conversation in bed.<\/p>\n
I had said betrayal was the one thing I did not think I could forgive.<\/p>\n
At the time, Jeremy had agreed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou remembered that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy looked ashamed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
David added, \u201cThere was also something about Lacey\u2019s pregnancy.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes moved to the photocopy.<\/p>\n
Jeremy went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou wrote that she told you before she left that there might have been a complication.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t remember that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember because it was the only part I didn\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
I leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat exactly did he write?\u201d<\/p>\n
David paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Lacey said there was something about the baby he needed to know, but she wouldn\u2019t tell him over the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy\u2019s breathing changed.<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did know about another secret.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember a call.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFinally.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Listen.\u201d<\/p>\n
He closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe called after we broke up. Said she needed to tell me something in person. I thought she was trying to get me to meet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you didn\u2019t go.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then she left.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know it was about the baby?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
David said quietly, \u201cYour letter said you suspected.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy looked sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was three years ago. I had been talking with Lacey again. She may have reminded me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMay?\u201d<\/p>\n
He shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour memory becomes foggy exactly where the truth becomes inconvenient.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s fair.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want fair. I want accurate.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
David spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s more.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I opened the cabinet, page four had a sticky note on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat sticky note?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYellow. Small.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did it say?\u201d<\/p>\n
David hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cAsk her before the chapel.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Jeremy.<\/p>\n
He looked back at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose handwriting?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cLacey\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Lacey had already been in the box.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI assumed so.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was never here alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould Karen have brought her?\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of my sister\u2019s visits.<\/p>\n
Four or five meetings with Lacey.<\/p>\n
Secrets layered inside secrets.<\/p>\n
\u201cCall Karen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy reached for his phone.<\/p>\n
I stopped him.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause if she knows we found the note, she\u2019ll prepare.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think your sister planted it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think somebody did.\u201d<\/p>\n
I picked up the photocopy.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd whoever did wanted us to find it now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy stared at the words.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is the \u2018truth about the baby\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what we ask Lacey tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf she\u2019s well enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence changed the air.<\/p>\n
Neither of us had said aloud what both knew.<\/p>\n
Tomorrow might be our last chance to ask anything.<\/p>\n
I gathered the documents.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy laughed once without humor.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think that\u2019s happening?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't care whether you actually sleep. I need you out of this room.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
At the hallway he stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cJill.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Lacey tells us something tomorrow that changes what happened back then\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt won't change what you did now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
I expected him to leave.<\/p>\n
Instead he said, \u201cI don\u2019t want you thinking I\u2019m searching for an excuse.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor once, I believe you.\u201d<\/p>\n
He went to the guest room.<\/p>\n
I remained at the table.<\/p>\n
The note pulled me backward through twenty-two years.<\/p>\n
Lacey pregnant.<\/p>\n
Jeremy cheating with me.<\/p>\n
A requested meeting he never attended.<\/p>\n
A miscarriage.<\/p>\n
A secret about the baby.<\/p>\n
What could be left?<\/p>\n
Wrong dates?<\/p>\n
A medical problem?<\/p>\n
A possibility that the pregnancy had lasted longer than Lacey told him?<\/p>\n
My imagination became dangerous.<\/p>\n
I forced myself to stop.<\/p>\n
At two in the morning I went to bed.<\/p>\n
I slept perhaps ninety minutes.<\/p>\n
At 5:38, my phone rang.<\/p>\n
Vanderbilt.<\/p>\n
I answered before the second ring.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is Jill.\u201d<\/p>\n
A nurse introduced herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cLacey asked that we call you.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart lurched.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe had a difficult night.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs she alive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer came quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if you intend to come today, I would come sooner rather than later.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat upright.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow soon?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as you reasonably can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy appeared in the doorway.<\/p>\n
He had heard my voice.<\/p>\n
I put the phone down.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHer nurse.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face went blank.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
We left within fifteen minutes.<\/p>\n
The sunrise turned the interstate pale gold.<\/p>\n
Jeremy drove.<\/p>\n
For most of the trip we did not speak.<\/p>\n
Halfway to Nashville, I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you think she wanted to tell you twenty-two years ago?\u201d<\/p>\n
His hands tightened around the wheel.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGuess.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither do I.\u201d<\/p>\n
He swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe the miscarriage had already happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wouldn't make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe the pregnancy wasn't viable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe she wanted to tell you she was leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe already had.\u201d<\/p>\n
I watched the road.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould the baby have survived?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy\u2019s head snapped toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep your eyes forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
He did.<\/p>\n
\u201cJill.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m asking because nobody tells the whole truth in this story.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told me she miscarried.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou believed her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ever see medical records?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid anyone else confirm it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
His breathing became uneven.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t do this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not doing anything. I\u2019m asking whether we know.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stared ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was the only honest answer.<\/p>\n
We reached Vanderbilt shortly after seven.<\/p>\n
The chapel trip had been delayed.<\/p>\n
Lacey was still in Room 714.<\/p>\n
When we entered, she looked worse.<\/p>\n
Much worse.<\/p>\n
Oxygen ran beneath her nose.<\/p>\n
Her eyes were open but heavy.<\/p>\n
She saw the photocopy in my hand before she saw my face.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou found it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew it was in the box.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lacey looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you put it there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who?\u201d<\/p>\n
She glanced toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cKaren.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLast week.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I asked her to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not just hand it to Jill?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lacey\u2019s mouth curved faintly.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was still a coward.\u201d<\/p>\n
I pulled a chair close.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is the truth about the baby?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her expression changed.<\/p>\n
The room became silent except for the oxygen.<\/p>\n
Jeremy moved to the other side of the bed.<\/p>\n
Lacey looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI lied to you after I left.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout the miscarriage?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He went still.<\/p>\n
I felt my stomach drop.<\/p>\n
Lacey\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did miscarry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy released a breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut not when I told you.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face tightened again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLater.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much later?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lacey began crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost three months.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy gripped the rail.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were pregnant that whole time?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was angry.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes closed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou let me believe the baby was gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would you do that?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I wanted you to hurt the way I hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words hung there.<\/p>\n
Jeremy stepped away from the bed.<\/p>\n
I watched twenty-two years of unresolved grief move through his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said there was something about the baby.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lacey nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked toward me.<\/p>\n
Then back at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe doctors found something before I miscarried.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA genetic abnormality.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne that made them recommend testing both parents.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt a chill.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI left.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what was the secret?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lacey struggled for breath.<\/p>\n
I almost told her to stop.<\/p>\n
Then she whispered, \u201cThe doctor said the abnormality might not have come from you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy\u2019s face went blank.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lacey closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had been with someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy took the photocopy from my hand carefully, as if touching it too quickly might change the words. He read the first line. Then the second. By the time he … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9712,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feel-one-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9721"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9721\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9764,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9721\/revisions\/9764"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}