Free Heatstroke (extended version) by Taylor V. Donovan Page B

talking about," Grandma Elizabeth said, her wrinkled face hard as rock, and her eyes impenetrable.
     
"Michael, sweetie…" His mother caressed his arm in an effort to calm him down. "What are you
     
talking about?"
     
"We know what happened to my father," Dad said. "He suffered a heart attack. He—"
     
"That's a lie!" Michael cut him off, not once looking away from his grandmother. "George
     
Spencer didn't die when you were a toddler. He didn't even exist! Spencer is Grandma's maiden
     
name. Mary Elizabeth Spencer. Did you know that's her full name?" He knew he was getting louder
     
by the second, but he didn't care. "She changed it when she left her husband. She changed her name,
     
and made up a fake husband and a story to tell you and the rest of the world, and never let your real
     
father or your aunt see you again."
     
"Aunt…?" Dad repeated, dumbfounded. "Real father… We have more family?"
     
"Helen is your aunt," Michael explained. "She's married to Robert Wallace, and they have five
     
children whom, in turn, have thirteen kids between them, so yeah, we have more family. I didn't get
     
to look into Grandma's side yet, but I won't be surprised if we have plenty of relatives living in New
     
Jersey. That's where's she's from. Not Seattle."
     
"Oh, boy," Mom whispered right before getting up from her chair, and running to Dad's side.
     
She took his hand in hers, then grabbed Michael's arm with her other hand. That gesture of
     
support coming from his mother almost made him weep. It was good to know both he and his
     
father could count on her.
     
"Shut your mouth right now," Grandma ordered.
     
"No," Dad said. "I want to hear this…" He looked at Michael with pleading eyes. "I need to hear
     
this."
     
Michael nodded, and added in a softer tone, "You were born Richard Lewis Bancroft the Third."
     
"Bancroft," Mom echoed. "Like the actor?" "Just like the actor, which explains why I look exactly like him, and Grandma here almost
     
swallowed her dentures when I mentioned other people had noticed the resemblance as well."
     
Michael didn't care that he was being disrespectful, and the fact that his mother didn't call him
     
out on it proved she thought Grandma Elizabeth deserved his fury and scorn. Regardless of the
     
reasons she might have had, it was despicable what she'd done.
     
Michael watched his father rub his face with trembling hands and take a deep, shaky breath. He
     
was pale, and although he was obviously trying to remain calm, his blue eyes were full of barely
     
contained tears. And for the first time Michael realized those blue eyes were identical to his.
     
Richard Spencer looked a little like his father, too.
     
"Why?" Dad finally asked to no one in specific. " Why ?"
     
Michael could only imagine how he must be feeling at the moment. He'd had time to prepare for
     
this, but it was all new to his dad. He waited for a few seconds, but wasn't surprised when his
     
grandma didn't answer. She just kept looking in the kitchen's direction; her face hard and her eyes
     
dry. Not a single sign of regret for what she had done to her own son.
     
"As far as I can tell, because he was gay," Michael said. "He was in love with a guy before he
     
married Grandma. I don't have all the facts yet, but it looks like he changed his mind about living a
     
lie. He talked to Grandma about it. And I know he tried to talk to Manny. That's the name of the
     
guy he was in love with… but then he disappeared. Nobody's seen Richard since 1968."
     
"Sweetie," Mom said tenderly, "are you absolutely sure about this?"
     
"He kept journals, Mom. I'm positive Richard Bancroft was my grandfather," he said directly to
     
his dad. "I spoke with Aunt Helen earlier today. She lives with her husband in Florida. They retired
     
there a few years ago." He took his research folder, and handed it over to his father. "This is
     
everything I was able to find on Richard on the Internet, but I