Andrew spent years hiding the terrible steps he took to cover up a mistake he made as a teenager. When his adopted daughter stumbles upon his secret, Andrew realizes he can't hide the truth anymore and confesses the reason why his wife is infertile.
Andrew stood in the foyer of his late mother's family home, sorting through her old possessions. He secretly wished he could sell Mom's house as it was, leaving the buyers to deal with the old furniture, décor, and house plants.
"Dad? I found something weird in here!" Andrew's adopted daughter, Louise, cried down the hall.
Andrew dropped the bubble-wrapped box he was holding and hurried to his Mom's bedroom. "What's this?" he asked, fear kicking in as he saw Louise holding a blue folder.
"If those are medical records from Mom's gynecology practice, they must be burned, Louise. Hand it over," Andrew leaned forward...
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels
"Did you hear me?" Louise pointed to a note on the first page. "It's about Mom...it says Mom's infertile. But you've always told me you adopted me because you're infertile, Dad."
"Louise, just give me the folder...it must be a mistake. You can't upset your Mom over a mistake," Andrew insisted, but Louise knew that her Dad was hiding something.
"Are you hiding this from Mom?"
"Of course not!" Andrew chuckled. "Why would I hide something from her?"
"Then I'm showing this to her!" Louise clutched the folder tight.
The blood drained off Andrew's face, and he knew there was no way to deter Louise from showing the folder to Nina except to tell her the truth.
"You're right! I'm hiding something from your mother. But I hope you'll understand why after I explain everything."
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels
40 years ago...
The party was in full swing when 16-year-old Andrew and his friends arrived. Once Andrew saw Nina dancing, he couldn't take his eyes off her. Everything about her had been perfect!
"Will you dance with me?" Andrew approached Nina.
Nina smiled brightly, and after dancing to some slow background music, they sat on the sofa and talked for hours, drinking a lot of beer in between.
And the next thing Andrew and Nina knew was that they were drunk out of their minds and heading down the hallway to a random bedroom where they made love.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels
Regrets crashed down on Andrew like a tidal wave when he woke up the next day. He rushed to his Mom as he knew only she could help him.
"Mom, I...uh, need your help," Andrew hesitantly approached his mother. "I went to a party last night, and I...."
Andrew's Mom listened intently, never expecting what he was about to confess.
"I met this beautiful girl...and we...we, you know. We did it! But I didn't use contraceptives. And now, what if she gets pregnant, Mom?" Andrew spilled out, shocking his mother.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash
"You WHAT? How could you be so stupid?" Mom barked. "Underage sex comes with risks...you don't know where that girl has been before, Andrew."
Andrew nodded. "Nina is a nice girl, Mom. She isn't like that."