The hospital called and said a little boy had listed me as his emergency contact. I laughed nervously and said, “That’s impossible. I’m 32, single, and I don’t have a son.”

from her room. Rachel told everyone I had exaggerated. Mark called me jealous. Our friends chose comfort over truth. Rachel moved out two days later and never spoke to me again.

Now her son was looking at me like I was the last piece of a map.

I stepped closer. “Oliver, where is your mom?”

His face crumpled. “I don’t know.”

Maribel gently explained what continue reading …