She nodded, and I briefly saw tears in her eyes before she looked away. “Yeah. It’s hitting me kind of hard. But the milestone birthdays always do. And the holidays.”

“I bet.”

“It’s kind of crazy that I was only eighteen when I had him.”

“You were very young.”

“I was. And in no way ready to parent a child.” She tugged at the hem of her hoodie. “But I’ve been thinking lately about . . . reaching out. Maybe meeting him.”

I was shocked. “Really?”

She took a deep breath. “Yes. I think I’m about ready. And the couple who adopted him always said that if and when I decided I’d like to meet him, they’d be okay with it as long as he was.”

“Wow.” I tried to wrap my brain around meeting a child I’d given birth to for the first time in eighteen years but couldn’t. “That’s . . . that’s a lot to think about.”

“I know, but in all honesty, I think I need some closure—some certainty that I did the right thing.”

I put a hand on her arm. “You did the right thing, April.”

Her lips tipped up, but it wasn’t exactly a happy smile. “In my head, I know you’re right, but my heart often wonders. I’ve struggled with it.”

“Have you ever talked about this with anyone?”

“Not until now. I never even told anyone else I was pregnant. Tyler knew, Mom knew, Grandma Russell knew—because I went and stayed with her the last three months—and you knew. That’s it. I think Mom probably told Dad, even though I begged her not to, but he’s never mentioned it to me.”

“Me neither.” I paused. “Have you considered getting a therapist?”

“I’m thinking about it.”

“Will you contact Tyler and tell him what you’re doing?”

April shook her head vehemently. “No. I haven’t spoken to him in years, and he was one hundred percent in favor of the adoption. He never even signed the birth certificate. I mean, he wasn’t a jerk about it,” she said quickly. “He was apologetic, and he offered to pay for anything I needed, but he didn’t want his name involved.”

I nodded. The father of April’s son had been a legend in our small town, a left-handed pitching phenom drafted to the major leagues right after graduation. “So you didn’t stay in touch? You guys were such good friends.”

“We were, but . . . I don’t know.” April’s shoulders rose. “The random one-night stand made things kind of awkward between us before we knew it resulted in a baby. Afterward, it was just plain weird. Neither of us knew what to say to the other.”

“Right.”