"I know you can't understand, but for at least the first five or six years, I did still believe in the danger. Brady would occasionally catch up to me, relay information that I now know was false. He would question me about Sarah, ask me if I'd heard from her. He kept saying he wanted her to come in, to stop hiding, to be able to live her own life. They were more lies, but I believed him. And then there came a time when I just didn't think I had the right to go back and interrupt your life. Your mother had remarried. You seemed to be doing well."#p#分页标题#e#
"And how would you know that?"
"I told you, I watched you sometimes, at school or at one of your games."
It gave Alex the chills to think his father had been that close to him, and he'd never known.
The front door suddenly opened. "Alex, is that you?" his mother asked. "Who are you talking to?"
Fortunately, his father had his back to the front door. Charles was staring straight at Alex, and there was suddenly fear in his eyes. Alex didn't know what to do, how to make this easier for everyone involved. As soon as his father turned around, she'd get the shock of her life.
"Mom," he said tentatively, "I want you to take a deep breath and try to stay calm."
Her eyes narrowed. "What's going on?"
"It's Dad," Alex said. He nodded to Charles. "Turn around."
His father turned so slowly, Alex felt like he was watching a movie. His mother's eyes grew wider and wider until she let out a small cry, putting a hand to her heart.
"No," she said, shaking her head, backing toward the front door.
Alex jogged around his father and up the steps to his mother, putting his arm around her trembling shoulders.
"Who is he?" she whispered.
"It's Dad," Alex said. "He's alive. He's been alive all these years."
His father put up a hand in entreaty. "Kate," he murmured. "I'm sorry."
She put up her own hand as he took a step forward. "This isn't possible. I must be dreaming. This is a nightmare and you're both in it."
"It's real, Mom." Alex's hand tightened on her shoulder. "You always thought his death was suspicious. That's because it never happened."
"I don't understand."
"He's-"
"Let me explain," Charles said firmly. "I need to do this, not you, Alex. Can I come in, Kate? Can I tell you what happened and why?"
Kate turned to look at Alex, her eyes seeking confirmation. "Is it really him?"
"Yes."
For a moment, she looked lost, panicked, completely unlike the mother he'd known. But ever so slowly, she regained her composure. Her back stiffened. Her head went up. Her jaw tightened.
"Then I guess you should come in," she said, a steel edge to her voice now. She led them into the house and took a seat on the white couch in the living room.
Alex and his father took chairs opposite her. Silence surrounded them like a thick, thorny, uncomfortable coat. The only thing breaking the quiet was the ticking of the grandfather clock in the entryway, the same clock Charles had bought for Kate on their fifth wedding anniversary. Alex doubted either of them heard the clock. They were too caught up in staring at each other, although neither gave anything away. He waited for the explosion. He knew one was coming. Maybe his father was right. Maybe he didn't need to be here for this. It wasn't his lie.
But it was his family. And this was the last loose end. He needed to tie it off so he could leave and never look back.
"Well, you said you were going to explain," Kate said briskly. "Do it."
Charles leaned forward, his gaze focused and determined. "I believed that the Russians were after me because of a photograph I took in Moscow. I received death threats toward you and Alex. The government, a man named Brady whom I had worked with for many years, told me that I needed to disappear. I was their only link to the-"#p#分页标题#e#
"Orphan girl at the gates," she said. "I get it."
"Exactly. So Brady helped me fake my death. He said you and Alex would be safer if I was gone. The trail would end with my death. In the Soviet union , I had seen firsthand how brutally people could be killed. I had those images in my mind when I made my decision. It was not an easy one to make." He 378 shot Alex a quick look, probably sensing his disgust, Alex thought. "But I knew it was far more difficult for the two of you to live with that decision than it was for me to make it."
His mother stared at his father for what seemed like hours. Finally she said, "So that's it? You disappeared, and we went on, and you never looked back."