“No, it’s not. They’re just going to read the letters.”

“I have to be there. I won’t let you say no. I will break into your house while your paw paw is saying grace if I have to.”

David rolled his eyes. “Fine. But it’s not going to be emotional.”

On the afternoon of the dinner, David printed the letters and sealed them in envelopes, making sure each was labeled correctly. Nate followed him to the dining room, where his family waited. David sat and cleared his throat, his cheeks flushing red. Strange. His hands shook, just like they had at the speech tournament.

“Before Mom and Dad and I go to Indiana, I wanted to share a few things. When the idea of going to visit my birth mom first came up, I thought it would make things uncomfortable. But a part of me wanted to fill in this missing piece of the puzzle.”

“Do you feel that something has been missing from your life?” G said.

“I guess I shouldn’t say ‘missing a piece of the puzzle.’”

“Who’s missing a piece of the pizza?” Paw Paw said.

“Puzzle, dear,” G said to Paw Paw.

“No, it’s not that something’s missing. It’s more about asking the question of what my life would have been like. And just simply thanking Melissa for the choice she made.”

“Honey, we want you to go on this journey,” his mother said. “I mean, puzzles are a big part of life. And if you want to fill in a piece that you don’t have, we’re all for it.”

“I think that this trip might be a discovery of how big that piece is,” his father said. “And not just for you, but for all of us.”

“I guess I just wanted to share something with the most significant people in my life.” David grabbed the envelopes and gave them to the four around the table. Nate focused on David’s mother and father, then on his grandparents.

David watched as one by one they opened the letters and began to read, glancing up at him, then back at the words.

To his grandparents he had written, You are the most generous, beautiful, and amazing people I know; I am truly lucky to have both of you in my life in such important roles.

His mother broke the silence and began to read hers aloud.

“‘I’m not sure how either of you feels when you think about Melissa and Brian and how I’m not your birth son, and that bothers me sometimes. I hope the fact that they’re my birth parents never deters you from realizing that the both of you are my true parents, and I hope that I never do anything to make it seem like I don’t know that.’”