The Summer I Left novel · Chapter 22 of 24

Chapter 22: Never Borrowed

I read it on the stairs between the third and fourth floors, where nobody would find me.

The envelope had been opened and closed so many times that the flap no longer stuck.

Inside were four pages of lined paper, written on both sides in blue ink.

The first page was the facts.

She had put the date of the night and the name of the hospital.

She had put the number printed on the baby bracelet.

At the bottom she had signed her full name.

I turned to the second page.

*Dear Mr. and Mrs. Bradfield,*

*I don't expect you to believe me yet. You will have a way to check, and I hope you use it.*

*What I'm asking comes in two parts.*

*The first part is for the boy you have.*

*Please keep him.*

I stopped reading.

I made myself breathe, and went on.

*He did nothing. He was a baby with a hole in his heart, and he doesn't owe anyone for it.*

*Whatever you decide about me, or about my husband, don't make him pay.*

*Love him. He is yours in every way that counts.*

*I have written him letters for three years, and I will never send them. If you ever tell him about me, tell him I hummed.*

*Mrs. Bradfield, he will be easy to love. Sing to him.*

My eyes had gone blurry, and I wiped them with my sleeve.

The third page was in a harder hand.

*The second part is for the boy I have.*

*His name is Nate. He is seven. He is quiet and clever and he counts everything, the stairs, the fence slats, the steps to the bus.*

*He hates loud noises and cannot stand being touched without warning.*

Keep reading free with an account. Start The Summer I Left from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.