“No. They’d only just met and with the rumors flying around, she didn’t want to.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I tried to find out more about him when I was a teenager, but he hadn’t even told his friends where he was going. I had no idea how to find him.”
“Does Papa have any family left in Ireland?”
“A great uncle and great aunt, a couple of second cousins. No one close.” He hesitated. “Can you tell me about him?”
Zita nodded. “Brendan married my mother within a week of meeting her. It was love at first sight, and they had three daughters. I’m the youngest.” She swallowed hard. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but when I was three, Papa was murdered.”
Sean’s eyes widened.
“He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. El Salvador was getting more dangerous and we were in the process of immigrating to the United States, but the approval didn’t come through in time to save Papa. We moved as soon as it did. We all live in Houston now.”
Sean’s shoulders slumped.
“I’m so sorry,” Zita said, but the words felt useless. Her brother hadn’t known his father and now he never would. “He’s buried in El Salvador.”
“I’ll never actually meet him.”
Tears welled in Zita’s eyes. “I barely remember him, but we have photographs and home movies... I can show you.”
“Could I see a photo now?” He hesitated. “You know, just to make sure we’re talking about the same person?”
“Of course.” Zita should have thought of that. She was a stranger contacting him out of the blue. She reached over and grabbed a family photo from her bedside table. “Can you see this?” She held it up.
“Yeah. So which one is you?”
“I’m the baby. The others are Bridget and Carly.” She pointed them out. “They’re going to freak out when I tell them about you.”
He smiled. “I’m pretty amazed myself. I could have three sisters.”
“And I could have a brother.” Zita blinked away tears.
Sean hesitated. “Do you think we should confirm it? Like do DNA testing or something? I don’t know how hard that is.”
He was right. She had to be sensible, confirm they were related before they went any further. “That’s a good idea. I’ll make some calls this afternoon.”
After exchanging email addresses they hung up.
Zita sat there for a moment, not quite able to believe it.
She had a brother.
***
By Friday, Zita had found a company who could test their DNA and interpret the results. She’d arranged for them both to be sent kits, but had only confided in David about Sean. She didn’t want to tell her family until she had proof. She pushed thoughts of Sean out of her head as she waited for David to pick her up for their weekend away.
Despite cajoling and pleading, Zita hadn’t been able to convince David to tell her where they were going. She didn’t know if she was packing the right clothes, so she’d ended up over-packing. She had enough clothes to last two weeks.
“David’s here,” Carmen called.
Zita grabbed her suitcase and lugged it downstairs. At David’s raised eyebrows, she said, “I wasn’t sure what to bring.”
He grinned and kissed her, and she stopped worrying.
“You take care of my baby,” Carmen said to him.
“I will,” David promised and handed her a piece of paper. “Details of where we’ll be in case you need to contact us.”
Zita reached for the paper in her mother’s hand, but Carmen held it behind her back. “No. Don’t ruin the surprise.”
