“About two and a half years.”
“Did he tell you about me?”
“He said you’d stopped speaking after an argument.”
I looked at the letter.
“Did he know I’d reported him missing?”
Maya hesitated.
“Yes. I didn’t learn that until much later.”
“How much later?”
“Last year.”
I took a breath.
“We’ll talk about that. First, I want to hear his voice.”
Maya handed me her phone.
Julian answered on the third ring.
“Maya?”
“Julian, it’s Mom.”
Silence.
Then I heard his voice.
“Mom?”
“Are you safe?”
“Yes.”
“Then come this afternoon. I need to hear what happened from you. I won’t send you away.”
His voice cracked.
“I’ll be there.”
Afterward, I asked Maya about the twins.
“They’ve eaten,” she said. “Chloe might need changing soon.”
“Tell me what to do.”
Maya showed me how to hold them. Emma had Julian’s nose, and Chloe kept turning toward her sister’s voice.
