earlier.
“I knew you, Aaron. I knew that if I left those babies in your arms, you would never let them go.
And if you took them, I could leave knowing they were with someone I trusted without having to stay long enough to fix it myself.
I told myself I just needed time to get over my grief. Then months passed, I met someone, and starting over became easier than admitting what I had done to all of you.
I stopped reading.
For 20 years, I had believed that Mom had left because grief and three newborns had finally broken her.
Now I understood something uglier.
He hadn’t just distanced himself from the triplets.
She had chosen who would replace her.
And he had made sure that I never knew I had another option.
***
For a long time, nobody moved.
I stared at Mom’s sentence.
I knew you, Aaron.
