Three weeks later
Three weeks later, our kitchen table was barely recognizable.
Photographs and old papers were scattered everywhere. Lily’s baby monitor stood nearby, and among all these things was the contents of a shoebox that Sadie had brought down from the attic.
For the first time, Ethan’s family history was not only presented to us in hints and unspoken memories, but in the form of objects, pictures, and documents.
Nevertheless, Ethan found it difficult to embark on the search.
« I feel like I’m betraying Dad. »
I understood why this thought weighed so heavily on his mind.
Levi was, after all, the man who had raised him.
« You can’t replace him. »
I had to repeat these few words several times.
It wasn’t about replacing one father with another. It was about understanding a part of Ethan’s story that, until then, had consisted only of a name, an old photograph, and a secret birthmark.
Finally, Ethan decided that he didn’t want to proceed without speaking to Levi first.
The conversation with Levi
Ethan picked up his phone and called his father.
I stayed nearby, but gave him the space he needed for this conversation.
I couldn’t hear what Levi was saying on the other end of the line.
But I was able to observe Ethan.
At the beginning of the conversation, his shoulders were tense. His free hand rested firmly on the edge of the table, and his face showed the same uncertainty I had already seen in the hospital.
His attitude gradually changed.
The tension slowly disappeared from his shoulders.
Finally, he asked quietly:
« Are you sure, Dad? »
A long pause followed.
Then Ethan closed his eyes.
When the conversation finally ended, he sat still for a few seconds.
Then he looked at me.
« He said that being my father was the greatest honor of his life. And that finding out my biological origins wouldn’t change that. »
At that moment, a burden seemed to fall from Ethan’s shoulders, a burden he had probably carried with him for much longer than I had ever imagined.
Levi hadn’t made him feel like he had to make a decision.
The search for Sebastian did not mean that the shared past with Levi was suddenly less valuable.
It simply meant that Ethan was now ready to look at the part of his story that he had pushed aside since he was fifteen years old.
The search for Sebastian
In the following months, we repeatedly dealt with the old documents and the address from Sadie’s envelope.
The search was emotionally difficult for Ethan, precisely because he had been convinced for so long that this part of his heritage should have no significance for his life.
Now, Lily had ensured, with a tiny birthmark, that the past was suddenly right in front of him.
Many months later, the address finally led us to a house three states away.
Standing alone in front of the door felt strange.
We didn’t know exactly what to expect.
Then a woman named Marlene opened the door.
She looked at Ethan.
For a long moment she said nothing.
Her gaze lingered on his face, as if she recognized something familiar in it.
Finally she said quietly:
« Oh. You must be his. »
These few words were enough to make it clear that Sebastian had not been an insignificant name in this house.
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