We thought Alyson would tell us something meaningful in her letter, but it turned out different. When she was 18, she told us a story that touched us deeply, then angered us and finally gave us a sense of appreciation.
It’s not only about the things she lost in life. It focuses on disloyalty, the will to keep going and a sudden, shocking truth.
Most of all, the book concerns a family that was divided by a father’s long-lasting affair.
Rather than stay with his wife as she faced fatal brain can.cer, he just left her.
Alyson said, “I never expected that one day I would share what I’ve written.” Yet opening up might help someone relate to what I am going through. It could be me trying to keep my mom’s voice alive ever since she passed away.
In their youth, Alyson and Emma believed Rick, their father, was kind and nice to everyone around him. The gatherings were brighter and more interesting because of him.
Behind the scenes, he led another kind of existence. The family held together mostly because of Donna, who was warm, gentle and patient all the time.
The doctors then discovered that the patient had Stage 4 brain can.cer.With a calm courage, she accepted it when it was revealed to her. Mom and I spoke to Dad about it together. His reaction? ‘Wow. That’s… heavy.”
He had gone away by the following morning. There was no parting and no talking. Only a strip of text on your hand:
Linda is letting me stay with her. The girls have reached an age where they can contribute to the household.
Linda, the woman he had an affair with for almost 20 years.
After that time, their mother’s health declined and it was only Alyson and Emma who could help her. Carrying sadness within them, they managed her medicines, provided her meals and kept her calm over her roughest nights.
Not once did she question why it was her fate. Alyson said. The person explained that love is something those around you just won’t leave.
He never got a chance to meet his father. It’s not for merely visiting. There was no call involved. Even as Donna died peacefully and both of her daughters stood by her.
After two weeks, I got a call on the phone. Rick cheerfully told everyone that he planned to marry Linda.
“We’d love you to come with us,” he said as if everything was fine.
Alyson agreed to be there, though she wasn’t planning to have fun.
The location was beautifully decorated. The place was filled with white tablecloths, plenty of lights and laughter. The two wore black when they appeared. Heads turned.
Once the main speeches concluded, Alyson got up and Emma was next to her. The microphone was put in her hands and she began to speak then:
“What a lovely evening we have tonight.” A special connection, grown out of our father’s love for a mother he was still married to.”
The audience gasped sharply at what was happening.
It was his wife who cooked for him. Stayed faithful. And once she learned she had terminal cancer, he decided to leave her. Right into the arms of the other woman.
According to Emma, he left behind the person who gave him everything. He passed away. We have gathered now, but it is not to celebrate, but to help everyone see how betrayal really appears.
Alyson lifted her glass for the last time.
“Our mother was given so much less than she deserved. We are talking about the man who showed us the meaning of disloyalty. I also feel for the woman who saw a fake love as the true thing.
Afterward, they walked out of the building.
Was revenge the reason they acted that way? She asked this question in her letter. “Maybe. However, it truly did exist. There are moments when the truth makes the most noise in any discussion.
At the end, she encouraged those facing the same struggles.
“If you are facing what we went through, you are not the only one.” You can be calm when you are upset. All you need to do is speak about it. For yourself. For the people you lost on your way. For the things they were never able to communicate.
— I am Alyson M. and I am 18 years old.
Daughter. Witness. And she also remembered her mother’s influence.