Wish I Were Here

Chapter 22

Y our father told you everything, I suppose.”

I have to hand it to my mother, she recovers quickly. Melanie stood there for only about ten seconds with her mouth hanging open, staring at me before she pulled her shoulders back and regained her poise. I’m jealous of her ability to do that, honestly. I wish I’d inherited a bit more of that self-possession along with her blue eyes. Because right now, my insides are churning, and on the outside, I’m pretty sure I’m shaking.

“No,” I say. “Dad didn’t tell me anything .”

“Then how did you find me?”

I glance at Luca, who gives me a reassuring smile.

“A friend helped me figure it out. Does it matter how I found you?”

Melanie takes a deep breath and blows it out slowly. “I suppose at this point, it doesn’t.” Her gaze slides to Luca. “And you? Who are you?”

“The friend.”

Melanie purses her lips. “I’m going to go ahead and assume that you didn’t eat gas station sushi, and this food poisoning is all a ruse?”

“That’s correct,” I say.

“So you lied to get in here and talk to me.”

“Yes.” I shrug.

“And what is it that you—” She stops and clears her throat. “Why now?”

“I need my birth certificate.” I stare in her direction. “My real birth certificate. And I believe you have it.”

Melanie hesitates, and then she nods.

I lean back against Luca’s hospital bed for support, and he inches closer. “Did you really think I would never need the original? That the fake you and Dad gave me would fool me forever?”

Melanie sighs. “We were young when we had the copy made, and probably naive to think nobody would ever notice the forgery. But those were different times.” She leans forward. “How did you discover it?”

I search for signs of how she’s feeling about the fact that I’ve suddenly shown up in her life. Is she angry that I’m here? A little bit happy to finally meet me? Did she ever wonder about how I turned out? Her face doesn’t give anything away.

“I recently landed my dream job as a mathematics professor,” I explain. “But there were some… issues with my paperwork. Dad only had a copy, and when I tried to get the real thing, it turned out that not only do you have it, but the one I’ve been using is a fake.” I cross my arms over my chest. “Maybe we lied about a little food poisoning, but you and Dad lied about my entire identity.”

Melanie’s pale cheeks flush just the smallest hint of pink. “We didn’t mean for it to harm you or disrupt your life. Like I said, we were young, and I suppose we didn’t fully consider your future.” She leans back in her chair, looking at me from head to toe as if she’s really seeing me for the first time.

I straighten my posture, suddenly glad I chose this blue dress.

“You’re a math professor now?” Melanie asks after a beat.

“My specialty is computational science and numerical analysis. And I will be a professor if I can get this sorted out. It’s a tenure-track position, which is hard to come by these days.”

Her eyebrows rise. “Very impressive.”

“Thank you.” I stand a little bit taller. Maybe she expected me to become a clown, like Dad. Or maybe she didn’t give it much thought until this very moment. But now she knows, and she’s impressed with me. I don’t know why I care. I shouldn’t care.

“I regret that this birth certificate issue is causing you problems,” Melanie admits. “But I do need to get back to work.”

Her words cut through me. Is she going to blow me off, just like Dad did? Maybe my parents were young and ill-equipped to have a baby. Maybe they didn’t want a child. But they got one, and they owe it to me to help me find my identity. And I don’t mean only what it says on some paperwork. This is about so much more than my job now. It’s about who I am and where I come from. Melanie doesn’t just hold my birth certificate. She holds the answers I’ve spent my life looking for.

But before I can open my mouth to argue, she says the last thing I’m expecting her to say. “Come over to my apartment tomorrow night. I’ll give you your birth certificate and we can talk then.”

My mouth drops open, and for a moment, I’m speechless. My gaze swings to Luca and he gives me an encouraging smile.

“What time would you like us to arrive?” I ask.

“Oh.” Melanie’s gaze lingers on Luca’s tattoos before she turns back to me. “Your friend will be coming, too?”

Funny how I automatically assumed he would. He’s been with me for all of this, and I realize how much I want him there. How much I don’t want to go it alone anymore.

“Catherine and I are a team,” Luca says, and I give him a grateful smile.

Melanie stands up, snapping her laptop closed. She pulls a business card from her pocket and writes something on the back. In a smooth gesture, she holds it out to me. I take it, glancing down at the neat script where Melanie has written 7 p.m. and an address. She moves gracefully toward the door.

I clutch the card in my hand. “It was nice meeting you.”

She turns and gives me a hint of a smile. “It was…” She nods. “… nice meeting you, too.”

And then she’s gone.