The morning after Lily’s birth, Ethan walked into my hospital room carrying an enormous bouquet of white roses.
He looked exhausted.
His hair was messy.
His shirt was wrinkled from spending the night in the waiting room.
But he was smiling.
“This is the happiest day of my life,” he whispered as he kissed my forehead.
Then he turned toward the bassinet.
Lily was sleeping peacefully, one tiny fist curled beside her face.
Ethan leaned over her.
And suddenly, his smile disappeared.
He froze.
His eyes moved toward the skin just behind her ear.
The bouquet slipped from his hand.
White roses scattered across the hospital floor.
“Ethan?”
He didn’t answer.
My heart started pounding.
“What’s wrong?”
He carefully lifted Lily from the bassinet and stared at her as though he had seen something impossible.
Then he looked at me.
“Why didn’t you tell me before?”
My stomach dropped.
“Tell you what?”
For one horrible second, I thought he was questioning whether Lily was his.
I had no idea what else could possibly explain the expression on his face.
“She’s your daughter, Ethan,” I said. “What are you talking about?”
His eyes widened.
“No. Eloise, no. That isn’t what I mean.”
He sat down quickly, still holding Lily.
“That came out completely wrong.”
“Then explain it.”
He pushed a strand of dark hair away from Lily’s ear.
That was when I finally saw what had startled him.
A tiny pale birthmark.
Triangular.
Barely larger than my fingernail.
“That?” I asked. “It’s just a birthmark.”
Ethan stared at it.
“I had one exactly like that.”
I blinked.
“What?”
“Same place. Same shape.”
His voice had gone quiet.
“My mother has a picture.”
I looked at him, confused.
“So why are you acting like this?”
He closed his eyes for a moment.
“Because there’s something I should have told you years ago.”
A chill went through me.
“How many years ago?”
He looked ashamed.
“Our entire marriage.”
Before he could say anything else, the door opened.
My mother-in-law, Sadie, stepped inside carrying a pale pink gift bag.
She was smiling until she saw Ethan’s face.
Then her expression changed.
“What happened?”
Her eyes moved toward Lily.
Ethan looked at her.
“Mom.”
Sadie approached slowly.
Then she saw the mark.
Her hand flew to her mouth.
“Oh my God.”
I looked from one of them to the other.
“Would somebody please tell me what is going on?”
Ethan whispered:
“She has it.”
Sadie’s eyes filled with tears.
“That mark runs in the family.”
I almost laughed from sheer confusion.
“Obviously. Ethan just said he had one.”
Sadie shook her head.
“No, sweetheart.”
She hesitated.
“Not Levi’s family.”
The room went still.
