Return of the Abandoned
This immediately made my parents assume he was Sophie’s child.
Mom patted Miles’s hand. "If Sophie knew her son turned out this outstanding, she’d be so happy!"
"Mom, why mention Sophie on such a happy day? Did she come back?"
Mom’s eyes flickered. "No! No, she didn’t come back!"
"Sigh, she hasn’t returned all these years to even see you and Dad. Something must’ve happened. I heard people who vanish like that usually never get found."
I had heard plenty of relatives gossip about Sophie over the years. With my nudges and the stories spread among the neighbors, everyone knew Sophie had given birth and run away, never returning for the holidays or anything.