Chapter 12 - The Birthday We Could Never Get Back
The twins turned six three weeks later.
I had missed five birthdays.
I refused to make the sixth extravagant.
No ballroom.
No celebrities.
No photographers.
Just cake, balloons, a backyard, and people the boys trusted.
Oliver wanted dinosaurs.
Elliot wanted airplanes.
We compromised with dinosaurs flying airplanes, which Rosalind declared scientifically offensive.
Nathan arrived carrying two small gifts.
He stopped at the gate.
“I can leave them here.”
Rosalind looked at me.
The choice was mine.
Then Oliver saw him.
“Uncle Nathan!”
The boy ran over.
Nathan dropped to his knees.
I watched my brother begin crying.
Children sometimes offer grace before adults are ready.
I wasn't ready to forgive him.
But I allowed him through the gate.
Genevieve did not attend.
Instead, she sent two handwritten cards.
No expensive gifts.
No checks.
Just apologies.
Rosalind read them first.
Then she handed them to me.
“She finally sounds like a grandmother instead of a Hawthorne.”
I placed the cards aside.
“Maybe someday.”
That evening, after everyone left, Oliver handed me a piece of cake.
“You didn't get any.”
I took it.
“Thanks.”
He hesitated.
Then said:
“Can I call you Dad?”
Everything stopped.
I looked at Rosalind.
Her eyes were wet.
I crouched.
“You can call me whatever makes you comfortable.”
Oliver smiled.
“Dad.”
Elliot immediately shouted from across the yard:
“Dad! Oliver took my airplane!”
Rosalind burst out laughing.
I did too.
Five lost birthdays couldn't be recovered.
But one word had just given me a future.
Then Rebecca called.
The criminal investigation was moving forward.
Genevieve would likely face charges related to document fraud and obstruction.
My mother had finally reached the point where money couldn't protect her.
And she had made a decision nobody expected.
May you like
She would plead guilty.
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