“I’m okay.”
“Daddy and I can’t get over Mike being blamed for the accident. He was so diligent and focused on safety.”
“Yes, he was.” I swallow the surge of nausea that burns my throat at the thought of what else I need to tell her. “So, after you left yesterday, Steve came by. You remember him, right? Mike’s business partner?”
“Of course. He must be as upset as you are.”
“He is. But he told me something else I didn’t know, something that’s truly rocked my world.”
“What?”
“He said Mike had another child with a woman in Denver.”
“No.”
“He has proof.”
“How does he have proof?”
I tell her about the DNA test.
“He took Tyler’s DNA without your consent, and had it compared to this other child? That’s outrageous!”
“I agree, and I plan to tell him so, but he wanted to be sure before he told me about it.”
“Why did he have to tell you? What good could it possibly do now for you to hear that?”
“She’s threatening to sue the company and me for child support.”
“Come on! No way. What will you do?”
“Fight it, I suppose,” I say, even though the thought of that kind of thing is draining before it even begins. “My friend Joy, who specializes in family law, is doing some research to get a handle on what my liability might be.”
“How in the world can you be liable to a woman and child you didn’t even know existed before yesterday?”
“I’m not sure. The estate is closed, so the question is whether she can sue me personally.”
“Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Right when I think I’ve heard everything. How could he do such a thing?”
“That’s a very good question.”
“I’m so sorry, honey. Just when you were starting to get your sparkle back.”
I hate the tears I hear in her voice. We’ve shed enough tears over the last few years. “I’m determined not to let this be a setback, Mom. I’m crushed to learn this about the man I thought I knew, and I’m devastated about the NTSB report, but I can’t go back to where I was when I first lost him. I just can’t.”
Gage gives me two thumbs up when he hears me say that.
I send him a warm smile.
“I’m glad to hear you say that,” Mom says. “We never want to see you flattened like that again.”
“I’m not going back. I’ve learned that there’s only forward.”
“You make me proud every day, Iris, but I’m especially proud today.”
“Aw, thanks. You know that means everything to me.”
“I’ll pick up the kids and have them for another night. Take a minute to deal with all this and don’t worry about them. Take care of you.”