Page 91 of Dr. Weston

“I’m fairly certain it’s his. Unless there were two Daniel Danforths that died young.”

Quickly grabbing the water, I suck down almost half of the remaining contents. I have to be dehydrated. Overheated. Something. There has to be a logical explanation for this. None of this makes any sense.

“I wasn’t sure if you knew about us.”

My head snaps to him. The wordusfeeling like it’s set off an alarm.

“I can tell you’re upset. Are you sure about this?” Gavin asks, looking concerned. Why doesn’t he seem dismayed by my appearance? But then again, if he’s known about me all of this time, he’s had time to come to terms with it.

“I’m sorry, Gavin. None of this feels real right now. You seem sincere. But I can’t fathom how anything you’re saying could be true.”

Scratching the back of his head, he pushes forward. “You’re a pharmacist. Right? And he was a salesman, before he got sick. You live in Hanover and have been married for a long time. Well, were married for a long time.”

My mouth goes dry, despite the water.

“You never had kids. He traveled too much or something.” He stops and looks out the windshield. “His favorite food was meatloaf. Who likes meatloaf?”

My hand flies to my throat. How would he know that?

“I don’t want to upset you. You seem like a nice lady.”

The reality of this situation starts to smother me like a dark cloud. Tears tumble down my cheeks, and I have to look away. How is this possible? The man I knew and devoted the majority of my adult life to, both before and after his death, was a liar.

The glove compartment flies open, the sound making me jump.

“Here.” Several napkins with the MacDonald’s logo on them are thrust in my lap as my tears turn into full-blown sobs. “Shit. I should’ve never told you.”

“No. Someone should’ve told me years ago,” I wail. This poor kid. I need to get myself together and get in my car. None of this is on him. Yet, I’m afraid to walk away, even if this is more than I can handle right now. I need to know. “I’m sssorry.” I stammer.

“It’s okay,” he says. His voice sounding uneasy.

“I just need a minute.”Or a thousand.

Gavin sits quietly as I try to get my blubbering under control. I guess his patience reminds me of Dan, also. Yet I don’t want to consider any positive qualities that man possessed. I’m so fucking upset right now. Sure, I have no proof any of what he’s telling me is true. But deep down, what possible reason could he have to lie?

“Do you mind starting at the beginning, Gavin? When was the first time you remember meeting your father?”

He turns in his seat to face me, leaning against his door. “I don’t really know. I was pretty young. It’s always been my mom and me. We never sat down and had some long conversation about my dad. He didn’t visit all that often. When he did, it was short. We’d play catch or eat dinner. I think once we went to a movie. But I knew early on he had another family.”

I take another drink of water, wishing it was something much stronger. Sitting still, I try to keep my tears from resuming and hope he’ll continue.

“It wasn’t until I was like ten that I finally asked my mom why he didn’t come around anymore. I thought maybe he’d just gotten tired of us and decided to focus on his real family.”

I chastise myself as the tears start to trickle down my cheeks again. But these aren’t only for me. This poor kid. If this scenario is real, even though Dan had been steadily lying to me, he’d made his son feel unworthy. My head drops back again, wondering who in the hell I was married to. How could anyone I loved as I had him behave in such a way?

“Mom told me he’d gotten sick. That was why he’d stopped visiting. I was almost eleven when she said he wouldn’t be coming back. And why.” Gavin peers out the windshield in the direction of Dan’s headstone. “It wasn’t until this year I pushed for answers. I graduated high school and thought I’d better start figuring out what to do with my life. My mother has never had a plan for herself. Or us. She’s always worked odd jobs. Some in not so great places. So I guess…” He scratches his head. “Oh, I don’t know. I’m not sure why I thought he could help me sort it all out.”

It dawns on me that Gavin must have his important conversations with Dan here also.

My head is spinning. I’m completely overwhelmed, but there’s so much more I want to know. Even if I’m afraid to hear the answers. “Had your mom and dad been married a long time ago?” It didn’t make sense that it could be a possibility. But there were more than enough two-timing men living double lives on Dateline that it had me considering it. Heck, after meeting Gavin, nothing seems all that farfetched anymore.

“No.”

“Do you live here? In Hanover?” Had his, what… mistress… and her son… had they lived here under my nose all along, and I had no clue?

“Yes. We’ve moved around a bit. But have always lived in Hanover.”

A sniffle escapes before I can contain it. How is this happening? Out of the blue, it hits me. I try to do the math. When Gavin was born, we would’ve still been in college. I would’ve been nineteen or twenty, and Dan almost a year older. “Do you know how they met?”

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