Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 88290 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88290 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“Okay,” Sam said, and I just knew he was thinking about his own parents, who had made every decision together for over sixty-five years. “Well, that’s what I know about it all.”
Linda was suddenly crying, and I went immediately to the kitchen to grab her tissues.
“As far as Mom knew,” Robert said, taking the box from me but staring at Sam, “she was told that you brought her home. Mario wasn’t even mentioned, and you admitted to having sex with her.”
Sam shook his head. “Well, that’s a total lie, and I don’t know why your grandfather or uncle would even come up with that. But also, why on earth would it take you or your mother almost forty years to come question me about anything?”
He cleared his throat. “Mom married Tony Spivey before I was born, and they told me he was my father.”
“Okay,” Sam said. “And has your father recently passed?”
“Yes,” Robert said sadly.
“Got it, well, I’m sorry about your father, Robert, but again, I’m not related to you in any way. Neither is Mario, and we’re still friends. He lives in Washington, D.C., now. I have all the letters from everyone somewhere,” he said, turning to look at me.
“I’m sure we could find them,” I replied confidently. “It just might take a minute.”
“I would appreciate that,” Linda said. “Perhaps I could leave my number, and if you do find them, you could give me a call.”
“Of course,” Sam agreed. “And I’ll call Mario if you want and have him call you. Janine as well. They were both there, I wasn’t, so they’ll be able to tell you more.”
“Thank you,” Robert said with a sigh.
“Ohmygod,” Linda said, her voice breaking. “What you must think of me!”
“No,” Sam replied, his tone absolute. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m sorry your friends didn’t look out for you at the party, but I’ve always thought it was awesome that Janine made a point of getting involved, and that she and Mario were there to keep Dennis off you.”
“So am I,” she said, sniffling.
“Can I ask, why do you remember it all so well?” Robert asked him.
“The letters, of course,” Sam told him. “But the biggest thing was Mario had an epiphany that summer. He’d carried that torch for so long, and it was finally the end for him.”
“Probably because he saw how disgusting I was and––”
“Not at all,” Sam assured her. “It was simply that he realized he was leaving for Cambridge, off to college, and you were staying here. Then that fall, he met Izzy, who would later become his wife. They got married the year they both graduated from MIT.”
“Are they still married?”
“Yeah. And they had six kids, and the grandchildren are––” He blew out a breath. “––insane, but again, Mario is one of the reasons I remember, and I wish I had been there to see that beauty of a punch he hit Dennis with. I mean, according to Janine and several others, it was a work of art.”
Both Robert and Linda smiled at him.
He cleared his throat. “I don’t know if it was consensual with you and Steve. I hope so. Mario said you weren’t drunk when he first got there and you and Steve were holding hands and there was some kissing, but you’re the only one who knows.”
She nodded. “That whole evening is just a giant blank for me.”
“I’m sorry,” Sam told her. “But if I were you, the person I would talk to is Steve. I suspect that he is Robert’s father.”
“Thank you so much for taking the time to speak to us,” Robert said shakily.
“Absolutely. It was no problem at all.”
“I will definitely get in touch with Steve,” Linda told him.
“He still lives here, I think. He owns all those car dealerships, right?”
“I think so,” she said, smiling at him. “What did Mario end up doing?”
“He’s the director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA,” Sam answered. “And please don’t ask me what that is. I didn’t stay awake either time he explained it to me. Just look it up for yourself.”
She chuckled. “I will. And you, Sam?”
“I’m the chief deputy of the marshals service of the Northern District of Illinois.”
I couldn’t tell what I was seeing on her face, but it had to be weird to think back on Sam and Mario in high school and now.
“You’re a marshal?”
“I am,” he told her. “And Janine Summers just moved back here from San Francisco, and is the senior vice president and chief human resources officer at the Grayson Corporation, and sits on the board of trustees at the Field Museum.”
“That’s a huge title,” Linda said.
“And I only know it because she just called me to have dinner with her and her wife. But if you’d like, I can ask her to call you, since you’re leaving me your number for when I find the letters.”