"I don't know how much more this I can handle, but I suggest it all comes out in the open right now," Lauren says.
I can imagine her mother cringing, or maybe that's wishful thinking.
"When the first letters came back return to sender, you were so upset, and with the pregnancy hormones, you were inconsolable. It wasn't good for the baby, so we intercepted some of the letters toward the end. They were the ones that never came back return to sender because they never got sent. We didn’t want you to stress yourself or the baby out anymore."
Things are quiet for a moment, and then the soft sound of Lauren crying beside me breaks my heart. I reach over and pull her to my side, and she collapses into me.
"It’s one of our greatest regrets because we never wanted Graham to grow up without his father. Had we known you were pregnant, we would have done things differently."
Lauren is still crying into my chest, and I pray she doesn’t lose it or shut down.
"I think we should table this for now and let Lauren process everything. We have a few days before the first surgery," I say. Now is a good time to take a break and for Florence to return to her hotel room.
But Mrs. Ellis has always been stubborn. "So you can feed her lies to get her on your side?"
"Has anything he’s said so far been a lie, Mother?” Lauren finally speaks up.
"Well, no."
"Then I agree it's time for you to leave while the father of my son and I decide what to do. Thank you for helping to raise him in a situation that you and Dad created, but from now on, Gavin and I will determine what happens with Graham."
Her mother doesn't say anything else, silently gathering her stuff and leaving. When she's gone, I take Lauren to our room and lie down with her in my arms. She has a lot to soak in, and we have stuff to work out, but it doesn't have to be done right this minute., She’s under enough stress as it is. There’s always tomorrow.