Part 1
"If your mother wants it too..."
All eyes turned to me.
For a moment I felt like time had stopped.
I looked at Rose.
Then Claire.
And finally Richard.
Twenty years.
For twenty whole years I believed that the tattoo on my husband's chest was the symbol of a woman he loved more than me.
Now I was learning that it was the symbol of a sacrifice.
But the truth did not extinguish the lie.
"I don't know yet," I replied calmly.
Rose's smile immediately faded.
"I understand."
He slowly got up from the table.
"I didn't come to take anyone's place."
Her voice trembled.
"I just wanted her to know that there was once someone who loved her before she even learned to breathe on her own."
Claire grabbed her hand.
"Don't leave yet..."
Rose smiled excitedly.
"If I stay longer, I might do you more harm."
He turned to leave.
Then I heard Richard.
"Rose… wait."
She stopped without turning around.
"I never apologized to you."
Silence.
"For what?"
Her voice was almost a whisper.
Richard lowered his head.
"Why did I let you carry this burden alone?"
Rose smiled bitterly.
"It was my choice."
"No."
His eyes filled with tears.
"It was my choice to lie to my wife."
He turned towards me.
"Evelyn..."
I didn't let him continue.
"Don't apologize yet."
My voice was steady.
"First I want to understand something."
I showed the tattoo.
"Why didn't you ever remove it?"
Richard unconsciously touched his chest.
"Because every time I looked at it... I remembered that some stranger loved our daughter before us."
Claire bit her lip.
"And why didn't you ever tell me?"
Richard closed his eyes.
"Because I was afraid you would feel like your real mother was someone else."
Claire smiled through her tears.
"Dad..."
She looked him straight in the eye.
"My mother is one."
He turned towards me.
He took my hand.
"It's her."
Then he turned to Rose.
"But you..."
Her voice broke.
"You are a person I will love forever."
Rose couldn't stand it.
The tears began to flow without stopping.
For the first time in twenty years...
she was crying without trying to hide it.
And then, inside that small restaurant, something happened that none of us expected...
Continued in Part 2…
