Chapters (82)
- Cover
- Dedication
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
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He took a swig of water from the bottle he kept in his car and, picking up his phone, pressed the number for his mother, Helen. She lived a two-hour drive away and he saw her a few times a year. She’d be at work now, caring for an elderly lady with dementia, but hopefully when she saw his number she’d take his call or call him back straight away if she was busy.
She answered on the third ring. ‘Is everything all right?’ she asked with a mother’s anxiety for her child, regardless of their age.
‘No, Mum, it’s not,’ Ian said bluntly. ‘I’m parked outside the Moller Clinic. Does that name mean anything to you?’
He heard his mother’s silence and could visualize her face. He hated doing this to her. He loved her but now felt cheated and betrayed. How could she have lived with this secret all these years and not told him?’
‘Why are you there?’ she finally asked, her voice slight.
‘Because I have just discovered that the man I used to call Dad isn’t my real father. And I’m the result of donor sperm – a complete stranger you never even met. I can’t believe you did this to me, Mum, and didn’t tell me.’
‘Ian, it wasn’t like that,’ Helen said sombrely. ‘We wanted children and tried for years. But then we had tests and discovered your father had such a low sperm count it would be impossible for me to conceive naturally. We thought long and hard about what we should do before we sought the help of the Moller Clinic. Of course your dad was your father – he loved you. But we felt it was better you didn’t know.’
‘But why not tell me now, Mum?’ Ian asked, screwing shut his eyes. ‘You knew I was researching my genetic history so Emma and I could hopefully have a normal baby. Surely that was the time to tell me?’
‘I thought about it, but I knew it would come as a huge shock to you after all these years. I wanted you to remember your father as he was – your dad, the man who brought you up. He loved you and was so proud of you, son. You know that, don’t you?’
‘Yes,’ Ian admitted. ‘He was a good man. I can’t fault him. But this has come as a huge shock, Mum, and straight after finding out Emma was conceived by donor sperm too.’
‘Was she? Really?’ Helen asked, surprised. ‘I had no idea.’
‘Neither did I until yesterday, although she’s known most of her life.’
‘Why didn’t she tell you?’
‘Same reasons you and Dad didn’t.’
‘I can understand that. Which clinic did her parents use, do you know?’ Helen asked.