Page 16 of George’s Big Day

“I can’t imagine abandoning my babies, and I definitely wouldn’t leave them with Brad, and he’s a great dad! You know that.”

I did. Her husband was guilty of a lapse in judgment last Christmas, but it had been done with the very best intentions and a pure heart. There was no doubt that Brad Carr worshipped his wife and adored his two sons.

“She left us with a monster,” she said, her voice falling off. After a moment, she cleared her throat. “And she never looked back. We never heard a peep from her. Not an email, not a damn Christmas card, nothing. I know other kids had it worse, but⁠—”

“We all deal with our own trauma, Thom. Don’t belittle what you and your brother went through. Abandonment is no small thing.”

“Thank you, George.”

We both took a moment.

“Okay, so…what’s her deal?”

“I have absolutely no clue,” she disclosed. “None. I hired a private detective five years ago, didn’t tell Kurt, and all I asked for was the basics.”

“Like was your mother dead or alive.”

“That’s right.”

“And?”

“She remarried, has a son and two daughters, and lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, with her husband, who is a real estate developer.”

“I have a question. Your grandparents left money for you and Kurt. They didn’t leave any for her?”

“They did. She had a trust fund, same as us, that she blew through before she met and married my father.”

“What did your father do for work?” Kurt never wanted to talk about either of his parents, so these were answers I wanted.

“He was a cardiothoracic surgeon, and once he was divorced and we were out of his life, he moved to Boston and was hired at some hospital there. I don’t remember which, didn’t really care. He sent us a letter once he was settled, and I got it because I was the one still in town, finishing up my last two years of high school. Kurt was in college, still paying for our apartment, and we were both working. Mr. Butler—that’s what we had to call him, or sir—sir was good too—didn’t offer to have me go live with him. Of course I was fine with that. Who escapes hell and begs to go back?”

“What did he do in Boston? Same thing?”

“No. First, he was the chief of staff at whatever hospital, and later the chief executive officer, which, I understand, had to be voted on by their board of commissioners.”

“How do you know all that?”

“Kurt told me. The hospital must’ve contacted him in their vetting process.”

“And what did Kurt say?”

“He said he couldn’t speak about the man as he hadn’t spoken to him in over ten years at that point.”

“They hired him, so I guess they didn’t care.”

“I guess not.”

“So your father is a doctor, and he treated you both like trash and then allowed you to go ahead and walk on out of his life?”

“Oh, he moved away before Kurt was even declared an emancipated minor.”

“How?”

“Think about your time in foster care. How many kids there are, how many fall through the cracks. No one checked up on us. From the outside, we looked good. Kurt took such great care of me, no one ever suspected a thing.”

“It’s hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact that…he left you.”

“And never looked back. Just like her,” she said flatly. “But you have to give him his due. He was horrible, but he fed and clothed us.”