We didn’t organize anything fancy.
Just homemade lasagna, chocolate cake, and 18 candles that nearly set off the smoke detector.
Leo wore a paper crown Johnson had bought.
“Now that I’m an adult,” he announced, “I should get two slices of cake.”
“Adults pay rent,” I said.
He thought about that.
“One slice is fine.”
After he blew out the candles, Leo reached into his pocket and removed a small yellowed envelope.
He slid it across the table toward me.
I laughed.
“Buddy, it’s your birthday. I’m supposed to give you things.”
“I know, Dad.”
Then he glanced at Johnson.
“She gave it to me yesterday. She told me not to read it. She said today was finally the right day for us to read it.”
I looked at her.
She was not smiling.
Her hands were shaking so badly that tea spilled into her saucer.
The date written across the envelope caught my attention.
My Wife Left After Learning Our Newborn Son Had Down Syndrome – I Hated Her for 18 Years Until Last Night
