Trips
“Then you need to ask her what happened.”
That afternoon, we drove straight to his mother’s house.
She opened the door smiling.
Her smile vanished when she saw the folder in Michael’s hand.
“Mom,” he said, “who is Michael James Carter?”
She froze.
It was subtle.
But I saw it.
Michael saw it too.
Get Health Tips
“Who is he?” he repeated.
His mother stepped aside.“Come in.”
We sat around her kitchen table.
For almost a minute, nobody spoke.
Then she folded her hands together.
“There is something your father and I should have told you a long time ago.”
Michael’s jaw tightened.
“What?”
She looked directly at him.
“You had a cousin with the same first and last name.”
Michael frowned.
“I don’t remember any cousin named Michael.”
“You wouldn’t.”
Her voice became quieter.
“He lived with us for several years
before you were old