on my side, but you turned your back on me.”
“Don’t do this—”
“Screw you.”
I stepped outside and slammed the door behind me. I only made it halfway down the block before I heard the bell over the shop door ring and someone step out.
“I have nothing else to say to you, Matt,” I refused to look at him.
“Julie.” The voice wasn’t Matt’s. I turned to see Rebecca standing outside the shop, her shoulders slumped and her head hanging low.
“Matt’s just confused, okay?” she said as if she had some kind of right to talk to me. “He doesn’t know whose side to take. Quite frankly, no one should be taking sides, but I’m done trying to convince them to give it up.”
“I have nothing to say to you,” I clenched my teeth. It took every ounce of restraint I had to keep from pouncing her right then and there, but I had officially decided that Luke wasn’t worth the fight. Ripping Rebecca’s hair out might sound great in theory, but who would benefit from that?
“Listen, I know this must be hard—”
“Don’t act like you understand how I feel.”
“I know you’re suffering,” she took a step forward, “but all he wants is to protect the people he loves.”
“And he supposedly loved me,” I said. “Then you stepped into his life, and all of a sudden I’m the one who’s toxic!”
“Luke’s my brother,” she turned around to make sure no one else had heard her revelation. She took another step closer and kept her voice low. “And Molly, my daughter, is his niece.”
“Bull—”
“It’s true,” she said. “I came here to find my family, Julie.”
“No one knows you, Rebecca,” I said. “Lonnie and Grace, Luke’s own father and step-mother, had no idea who you were until the day you stepped into that shop looking for a job. Now you’re telling me that those people are your family? I don’t buy it.”
She lowered her voice to lessen the risk of being overheard. “Lonnie’s my biological father. He was married to my mother for six months shortly before I was born. One day he met someone else, Luke’s mother, and he left my mom. He left without so much as a goodbye. When Mom found out that she was pregnant, she didn’t contact him. She didn’t want him to know, to come crawling back. She knew he’d want to help, step up and do the right thing. He’d hurt her, and she was stubborn; she wanted nothing else from him.” She took a deep breath. “Lonnie didn’t know me because he never knew I existed.”
I watched her eyes fill with tears as she dropped her head to the ground. Her chest rose with heavy breaths; she fought not to let a single tear slip down her cheek.
“You came to Oakland to find the man who abandoned your mother?”
“I know it sounds crazy,” she said. “Lonnie left my mom. And who’s to say that he wouldn’t have done it even if he had known about me? But my daughter is six now, and my mother is dead. Luke… Lonnie… they’re the only family I have left. If there’s any chance that I can make this work with them, I have to. Molly deserves a family.”
A tear finally cut loose as she stood there, wounded and hurt.
“I don’t think you’re crazy,” I dropped my shoulders. “You should want to know your father.”
She nodded as if she was glad she had my approval, although my opinion shouldn’t have mattered one way or another. I couldn’t help but wonder if Rebecca had spent her whole life seeking approval from the people around her: family, friends, and strangers alike. Abandonment always landed hand-in-hand with a lot of emotional scarring; that was a fact I’d learned firsthand.
“I lost both of my parents,” I told her, but I imagined she already knew. “If I had a chance to see them again—if only for a day—there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to make it happen. I know what it means to have that hole in your heart, that hole that only your parents can fill. I can’t relate to your situation as it is, but I can
“Don’t do this—”
“Screw you.”
I stepped outside and slammed the door behind me. I only made it halfway down the block before I heard the bell over the shop door ring and someone step out.
“I have nothing else to say to you, Matt,” I refused to look at him.
“Julie.” The voice wasn’t Matt’s. I turned to see Rebecca standing outside the shop, her shoulders slumped and her head hanging low.
“Matt’s just confused, okay?” she said as if she had some kind of right to talk to me. “He doesn’t know whose side to take. Quite frankly, no one should be taking sides, but I’m done trying to convince them to give it up.”
“I have nothing to say to you,” I clenched my teeth. It took every ounce of restraint I had to keep from pouncing her right then and there, but I had officially decided that Luke wasn’t worth the fight. Ripping Rebecca’s hair out might sound great in theory, but who would benefit from that?
“Listen, I know this must be hard—”
“Don’t act like you understand how I feel.”
“I know you’re suffering,” she took a step forward, “but all he wants is to protect the people he loves.”
“And he supposedly loved me,” I said. “Then you stepped into his life, and all of a sudden I’m the one who’s toxic!”
“Luke’s my brother,” she turned around to make sure no one else had heard her revelation. She took another step closer and kept her voice low. “And Molly, my daughter, is his niece.”
“Bull—”
“It’s true,” she said. “I came here to find my family, Julie.”
“No one knows you, Rebecca,” I said. “Lonnie and Grace, Luke’s own father and step-mother, had no idea who you were until the day you stepped into that shop looking for a job. Now you’re telling me that those people are your family? I don’t buy it.”
She lowered her voice to lessen the risk of being overheard. “Lonnie’s my biological father. He was married to my mother for six months shortly before I was born. One day he met someone else, Luke’s mother, and he left my mom. He left without so much as a goodbye. When Mom found out that she was pregnant, she didn’t contact him. She didn’t want him to know, to come crawling back. She knew he’d want to help, step up and do the right thing. He’d hurt her, and she was stubborn; she wanted nothing else from him.” She took a deep breath. “Lonnie didn’t know me because he never knew I existed.”
I watched her eyes fill with tears as she dropped her head to the ground. Her chest rose with heavy breaths; she fought not to let a single tear slip down her cheek.
“You came to Oakland to find the man who abandoned your mother?”
“I know it sounds crazy,” she said. “Lonnie left my mom. And who’s to say that he wouldn’t have done it even if he had known about me? But my daughter is six now, and my mother is dead. Luke… Lonnie… they’re the only family I have left. If there’s any chance that I can make this work with them, I have to. Molly deserves a family.”
A tear finally cut loose as she stood there, wounded and hurt.
“I don’t think you’re crazy,” I dropped my shoulders. “You should want to know your father.”
She nodded as if she was glad she had my approval, although my opinion shouldn’t have mattered one way or another. I couldn’t help but wonder if Rebecca had spent her whole life seeking approval from the people around her: family, friends, and strangers alike. Abandonment always landed hand-in-hand with a lot of emotional scarring; that was a fact I’d learned firsthand.
“I lost both of my parents,” I told her, but I imagined she already knew. “If I had a chance to see them again—if only for a day—there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to make it happen. I know what it means to have that hole in your heart, that hole that only your parents can fill. I can’t relate to your situation as it is, but I can
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