He showed Logan photographs.
He told him about Elizabeth.
He answered every question Logan asked.
At the end of the meeting, Thomas said something Logan later repeated to Robert.
“I spent twenty years telling myself that staying away was respectful. Sometimes respect is just fear wearing good clothes.”
I felt the words settle heavily inside me.
Maybe families repeated patterns not because they were inevitable, but because people inherited explanations before they learned to question them.
“Did Logan stay in touch with him?”
“For a while.”
“Then Thomas died?”
“Heart attack.”
I instinctively looked at Ethan.
Robert anticipated the question.
“There was nothing hereditary identified. Logan has been evaluated. Ethan’s pediatrician can review the family history when appropriate.”
I nodded.
“So when you saw Ethan…”
“I saw Margaret.”
“His adoptive mother.”
“His aunt biologically. His mother in every other sense.”
Robert smiled.
“She and Liz looked very much alike. And Logan inherited those eyes from their side of the family.”
