“Pensé que si te daba algo de tiempo podría hacerte entender lo que pasó, pero al cabo de tres meses te habías casado con otra persona. Entonces decidí que iba a respetar tu matrimonio, tu nueva vida.
Después de 60 años de matrimonio, descubrí que toda mi vida era una mentira – Historia del día
“I was going to raise our baby alone, and I did. What I didn’t count on Tony, was that I have now discovered I have cancer. Anthony is nearly six years old, and the sweetest boy. You’d be so proud of him Tony.
“What I wanted to ask you is: could you and your wife find it in your hearts to take Anthony and raise him as your own? As you know, I have no family, and my mother died last year, so Anthony will be sent to an orphanage when I die.
Tony’s son was orphaned at the age of six | Source: Unsplash
“I’m terminal now, Tony, and the doctors say I have at the most six months. I am including my phone number, so please call me, tell me what you’ve decided.”
I had tears running down my face when my nephew read out, “All my love, Laura.” I was trembling. I couldn’t believe that Elaine had kept this from me. I had a son, a helpless little boy who’d lost his mother to cancer and had been left alone in the world.
How could Elaine not have told me? I realized that Laura’s letter had come at around the time we had been discussing adoption, and I remembered how bitter she had sounded when she’d spoken about other women’s children.
I had missed out on the possibility of being a father, of raising my son, who’d probably been shuttled from foster family to foster family, thinking I’d abandoned him. Laura had died thinking I’d rejected her and her son…
Tony’s nephew contacted Laura’s old friends | Source: Unsplash
I was robbed of my son by Elaine’s jealousy, her insecurity. Or maybe she never wanted a child at all. I remembered how she’d avoided my brother’s kids, all kids, really. She’d always said it was because it reminded her of her failure, but was that it?
I think the Elaine I loved didn’t exist at all. She was a fantasy, and she allowed me my illusion. My son would be in his sixties now, a father, maybe even a grandfather and I’d missed it all.
My nephew was determined to help me find Anthony, and he started contacting Laura’s old friends, but most were deceased. Finally, he managed to find an Anthony Burton online, who seemed to be around the right age and he contacted him.
As it turned out, Anthony had believed that I’d abandoned him to his fate, but when we explained everything and sent him the letter, he agreed to meet me. He brought along his oldest son, a handsome young man named Frank.
Tony was reunited with his son | Source: Unsplash
Anthony looked so much like Laura, but he had my eyes and my smile. There was something, this connection, and I realized we’d both been hungry for this father-son bond.
Anthony and his family took me into their hearts, and I now have three grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren with a sixth on the way. My youngest granddaughter, Rachel, tells me it’s a boy and it’s going to be named Tony, after me. Finally, I had a family.
What can we learn from this story?
1. We can spend a lifetime with someone and not know who they really are.
2. It’s never too late. Sometimes life saves the best for last.
Comparte esta historia con tus amigos. Podría alegrarles el día e inspirarles.
