He had abandoned me.
He had raised Eric without warmth.
He said he arranged our meeting because he wanted to know whether I could love him before I knew what he had done.
He had asked whether he was convincing.
His regret had become another demand.
Then I reached the final page.
He had asked whether he was convincing.
The answer made me sick.
He had not been pretending to be my father.
I called Eric the next morning.
He had been pretending not to be.
Nathan wrote that he hoped Eric and I might give each other what he had denied us.
I called Eric the next morning.
“We are not required to become family because he wanted a clean ending.”
“I agree.”
We communicated through separate attorneys for the next month.
“And I am not forgiving you.”
