Julia thought that by marrying Mike, her late husband’s brother, she was giving her son a father figure. However, it took ten years, her son’s disappearance and a glasses case to discover the truth.
As the Scripture says, “Seek and you will find.” I learned the meaning of this phrase the hard way. I always thought the darkness after losing my husband was the worst thing that could come, but… Let’s start my story from the beginning.
The first time my happy little life was shaken up was when my husband of 13 years, Tom, was diagnosed with cancer. Despite our best efforts, the prognosis remained grim, and he left us within two months. The pain was soul-crushing.
Crying woman hugging a man | Photo: Getty Images
Our son Robert remained my only ray of sunshine until his uncle, Mike, Tom’s brother, came into the picture. I suspected he had feelings for me since high school, but I had chosen Tom and never looked back. Now, our grief brought us together again.
I didn’t love him, no. But I thought Rob would benefit from a father figure, and frankly, our household could use a strong helping hand. So I decided to marry him.
Couple getting married in church | Photo: Getty Images
At first, things seemed to be going well for us. I still missed Tom, but I drowned my grief in work and found myself distancing myself from my son. Fortunately, I thought, Mike had my back and was giving Rob the upbringing he deserved. After all, every day I came home to countless stories of them hiking, going to theme parks, or just playing catch. Rob even went so far as to call Mike his dad. For two years, I blindly believed that we could overcome the void Tom left in our hearts and become a happy family. Boy was I wrong.
Playful father and son playing while exercising on beach against sky | Photo: Getty Images
Everything fell apart once again when Rob left. That day, the house was unusually quiet when I returned from work. Mike sat me down and, with tears in his eyes, explained that he had found Rob’s note on the refrigerator:
Dear Mom and Dad,
I have decided to leave because I thought it would be better for everyone if I weren’t around to bring up more bad memories and sorrow. Please understand that this is not because of anything you have done, but rather a decision I felt I had to make for the sake of peace at home. I promise to take care of myself and I hope that one day you can forgive me. Please remember that I love you both and that this is the hardest decision I have ever had to make.
Take care,
Rob
A young woman receives bad news in a letter | Photo: Getty Images
The next ten years blurred into an endless search. The police didn’t bother looking for a teenage runaway. When he turned 18, they called us and said, “Let’s just let him go. He doesn’t want to be found anyway.” But I never stopped looking. I searched crowds around our town, held vigils, and even kept a candle lit on our windowsill. I knew this irritated Mike, who was desperately trying to get me to move on after all these years. And on the tenth anniversary of Rob’s disappearance, I finally relented.
After exploring several options for a fresh start, we purchased a stunning colonial two states away from our old home and left the latter to my sister, Schuyler. I couldn’t fathom someone outside our family owning the house. Having moved so far away, we became increasingly disconnected from my side of the family. Imagine my surprise when, one day, someone very familiar broke into my house.
Colonial house on a spring day | Photo: Getty Images
That afternoon, I was packing my husband’s suitcase for a business trip. Suddenly, the door swung open. When I looked up, the neatly ironed shirts I was holding fell out of my hands. The person standing in the doorway was my sister. But before I could greet her, she lunged at the suitcase, shouting, “Open his glasses case! He’s the one who hid Rob from you!”
I watched in shock as she frantically searched through my husband’s belongings, her hands ending up clutching the familiar glasses case. However, I was in for a surprise when she opened it. It revealed… a phone. “Look,” Schuyler said before opening the call log and handing the phone to me.
Older man on the phone | Photo: Getty Images
I looked down in confusion, my heart skipping a beat. The log was filled with dozens of calls to Robert. Every month, my husband would pick up the burner phone and call my son to…
“He told her you’d be better off without him,” Schuyler explained to me.
Sad and bored boy on the couch at home feeling frustrated | Photo: Getty Images
It turns out I’d been living a lie all these years. On every field trip, every theme park trip, Mike would show Rob how much I was missing from his life. When I’d distanced myself enough, he began the second part of his plan: persuading Robert to leave us for the sake of our family. “Look how hard Mom has to work to feed you,” he said. “Wouldn’t it be nice if she spent that money on herself? Wouldn’t you like to relieve her of the burden that is you?” He suggested Rob stay with his aunt, and my poor boy agreed, figuring I had no place for him in my life.
Family at home | Photo: Getty Images
How did it all come to light, you ask? Well, my sweet boy decided to get married this year and sent us wedding invitations, which my sister received. Of course, she called him to congratulate him, and that’s when Rob brought up the breakup between us. I’m sure anyone but my sister would believe him. However, she knew all about my struggle over the past ten years, so when Rob confessed to her about the burner phone, she quickly put two and two together. Getting on the plane took no time at all, and there she was, uncovering a decade of terrible family secrets.
Side view of a beautiful young woman in a mailbox | Photo: Getty Images
I cried throughout the call with my son. His raspy teenage voice had turned deep and warm, but I recognized the intonations he’d learned from me. His fiancée was named Amanda, and she soon joined us via FaceTime. That’s how Mike found me: crying on the phone with my long-lost son.
Portrait of a handsome groom with his mother | Photo: Getty Images
Her explanations fell on deaf ears. I filed for divorce that same week, and a month later I flew to my home state to attend Rob’s wedding. This year I sold the colonial house I loved so much and moved closer to my son and his young family. I am now a grandmother to two sweet babies, and when they grow up I will teach them, “Seek and ye shall find.”
If you liked this story, you might like this one about a mother who faced horrible comments about her son from her colleagues, until they discovered she wasn’t the child’s mother.
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