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Suddenly, Tanya looks up and her eyes land on me. Those same emerald green eyes that I’ve loved for so long. My breath gets caught in my chest as her eyes meet mine for the first time in nine years. My heart is racing, and my chest is clenched tight in a vice. The smile she had on her face slowly fades as she catches me staring at her, and I can tell I’m making her uncomfortable, but I can’t take my eyes off of her. I’m afraid that if I so much as blink, she will disappear.
She stares at me for a moment, and I can only imagine what my face looks like. I wait for the recognition to show on her face and for whatever is to come next, but instead her eyes stay tight and guarded, and she gives me a polite smile and walks away. Like she doesn’t even know who I am, like she’s looking at a stranger.
What’s going on?
I can’t move my body. I want to follow after her and demand she talk to me. Tell me where she’s been all these years and why she’s acting like she doesn’t know me, but I can’t move.
“Do you know Tanya and Sophia?”
The woman from the welcome table, Kayla, is suddenly next to me, and it makes me jump. I turn my head in her direction and look at her for a split second before turning to look back at Tanya’s retreating form.
“Is Sophia her daughter?”
Kayla smiles fondly after the two.
“Yeah, sweetest little girl. It’s just the two of them. Sophia just turned eight, and they’ve been living here since just before Sophia was born; they’ve become such a huge part of our community.”
I block out whatever else Kayla is saying and do the math in my head again.
That little girl is mine. Is that why she disappeared? Because she was having my child?
My heart rate increases along with my breathing, and Kayla places a hand on my arm, a concerned look on her face.
“Are you alright, sir?”
I know I need to calm down. I need to get information on Tanya, and I can’t do that if I scare off the people close to her.
I clear my throat. “Yes, sorry. I just thought she was someone else. You said her name is Tanya?”
Still looking worried about me, Kayla slowly nods her head.
“Yes, she’s my best friend. She has the most unique story.”
I try to make my face as open and friendly as possible so she will feel comfortable telling me more.
“Really? Do you mind me asking what it is?”
Tell me why Tanya ran away from me, pregnant with our child.
I can feel anger start to burn in my chest at the thought that she didn’t want to have the child with me.
“Oh, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind. It’s not like it wasn’t all the town talked about when it happened. Nine years ago, she was found in a single car accident. It was terrible. I was one of the nurses that took care of her. We have no idea what caused her to crash; she had no identification on her, nothing that could tell us who she was; when she woke up from her coma, we found that she had no idea who she was. She has amnesia from the accident, and she’s never recovered her memories.”
The anger I was starting to feel vanishes in an instant. That’s why she looked at me like she didn’t know me, she doesn’t. I am a stranger to her, and she has no idea I’m the father of her child.
“Was she pregnant with Sophia when the accident happened?”
If she was, it will confirm that Sophia is mine.
“Yeah, she was about three months along, I believe. I honestly think that little girl saved her, you know? She is the only thing that connects Tanya to her past.”
She was pregnant when she disappeared.
“Thank you for telling me her story. It is a very unique one. If you will excuse me, I’m going to write some things down for auction before the bidding starts.”
Kayla smiles at me, and I turn and walk to a door at the side of the room that is labeled EXIT. I need a moment to collect myself. I open the door, and the cool air rushes over my heated body. In the span of two minutes, I found out that Tanya is alive, she’s been living with our daughter an hour away, and she has no idea who I am.
I have no idea what I’m supposed to do. Do I just let her keep on living as she has been for nine years, or do I let her know who I am? Who she is?
