When We Were Young

XXIX: almost lover

Across the table from him, Tatum nods lightly, not meeting his eyes. She does however take his suggestion of airing out all their potential dirty laundry. "How certain are you that I'm your daughter?"

"Your birthday is in April of 2001?" he asks and Tatum confirms. "Then, Lily-- your mother and I would have been together the month of conception and I am fairly certain that she wasn't seeing anyone else at the time."

"She didn't tell you about me?" Tatum inquires sadly.

"No, I had no clue. I heard about Lily's passing in the news, but I couldn't bring myself to look into the story until a few months ago. I read a news article and I'm sure you can imagine my surprise when I found out that Lily had a daughter that matched the time we were together. Initially, I didn't want to disturb you because I figured you had your own life now, but when I told Lolo and Luca, they insisted that they would look for you. I realized that I owe this to them and to you."

Lola scoffs at this. "You wouldn't have remembered if Lily had told you."

Luca glares at his sister. "Lola!"

Mr. Sulliven shoots them a firm look, telling them to cut it out. "No, Lola's right. Tatum deserves to know. At the time that your mom and I were together, I was an alcoholic and she was a drug addict. We were not the most functional couple-- not even close. But, we loved each other. We also fed each other's addictions. I fed her addiction more than she fed mine. When we met, she was trying to help me overcome my alcoholism. I... I dragged her down with me."

I glance at Tate. Outwardly, she only seems a bit shaken, but I know better than that. Her hands are being stretched left and right in her lap, where no one could see. I inch my hand on top of her restless ones and squeeze them tightly, relaxing her the slightest bit.

When no one comments, he continues. "One day, she just left. She cut off all communication with me. That was eight months before you were born."

"Tell them about how you cheated on mom." Lola crosses her arms over her chest bitterly, challenging her father.

Luca sighs with pent up frustration. "Lola, he doesn't have to talk about the most private matters of his life and of our lives to her. You should let him wait until he's ready."

Once again, Mr. Sulliven takes the side of his daughter. "No, no. As I said, I want everything laid out plainly on the table. I want my daughter to know the kind of person I was and the kind of person I am. I was married to Lola and Luca's mom at the same time that I was with your mom. This was the darkest period of my life, but that is no excuse for infidelity. The twins were only one years old and I would take care of them during the day, as I often worked from home, but at night, I would leave them to see your mom. Their mom, at the time, was working overseas, so it made it easy for me to hide my addiction and my cheating. I loved my kids and my wife, but I was unwell. I needed help."

"We know, dad. It's okay." Luca gives his father a soft look, Lola not giving him the same compassion.

Looking back with gratitude shining in his eyes, Mr. Sulliven affirms to us, "Once your mother left me, my wife soon decided to quit her job in order to be able to spend time with her family. She knew about my addiction, but not about my infidelity. She helped me go to rehab and I'm 21 years sober now."

Tate processes this blast of new information beside me. I can't even imagine how overwhelmed she must feel. Not only was this man telling her that he was nearly certain that he was her father, he had this enormous and dark backstory with her complicated mother. On top of that he and Lily did this horrible thing, but the situation was not black and white, and it's what brought Tatum into the world.