The Photo That Brought Us Back: An Adoption Story About Second Chances and Family

I turned back to the photo. The child’s smile reached up and steadied something in me. “He looks a little like me,” I said, surprised by the softness in my own voice.

“I know,” she answered, with a brave half laugh. “That is part of why it took me so long to tell you. Every time he smiled, I saw a piece of you too.”

Outside, the rain traced the window. Inside, we faced the only thing that could help us now, which was the truth spoken gently.

“Why did you not tell me sooner,” I asked.

“I thought silence would protect you,” she said. “I thought you had moved on, and I did not want to reopen wounds. I told myself I was freeing you from an imperfect partner. In the end, I learned that love is not a report you pass or fail. It is a practice.”

We stood there with the old rug under our feet and years between us. Then she asked if I wanted to meet Daniel. I nodded before I had decided, as if my heart already knew the answer.

The First Quiet Visit

Continue reading …

Continue READING