Free Sins of the Father by Angela Benson Page A

Michael to have had no relationship with Abraham, while Abraham has lavished everything
     on Isaac. Maybe I’d feel the same if he had another daughter. I don’t know.”
    “All I can say, Deborah, is I hope you make better choices in your life than I have,
     that you keep your head when you fall in love. Don’t always trust your heart. It can
     fool you sometimes.”
    “Tell me, Mama. I want to know about you and Abraham. What happened?”
    Leah gave a wry smile. “I fell in love with a man who wasn’t ready to be in love.”
    “What does that mean?”
    “I think Abraham loved me, in his way, but he loved other things more.”
    “Saralyn?”
    “And what she represented. Abraham was always a big dreamer. I saw myself working
     side by side with him making those dreams come true. But Saralyn represented the dream.
     She and her familywere much farther along the road to Abraham’s dream destination than either his family
     or mine.”
    “So you don’t think he married her for love?”
    “I didn’t say that. Of course he loved her, loves her still. But back then I think
     Abraham loved himself more than he loved anything or anyone else. How else could he
     make the decisions he did where you and your brother were concerned? He’s a better
     man today than he was then, I think. He’s learned something from life’s lessons.”
    “I don’t know how to ask this…” Deborah murmured.
    “Just ask, sweetie. We’ve started this. We may as well finish it.”
    Deborah took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “Okay, you had two babies with
     Abraham. Michael and Isaac are about the same age and I’m two years younger. What
     happened?”
    Leah winced as if in pain. “It’s something straight out of the tabloids. Abraham was
     dating both Saralyn and me at the same time, though neither of us knew, and he got
     both of us pregnant. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t find out I was pregnant until
     after Abraham told me he was going to marry Saralyn because she was pregnant. When
     I found out about my condition, I had too much pride to tell him. Saralyn had beat
     me to the pregnancy line by about four months.” She shrugged. “What could he do anyway?”
    “So what did you do?”
    “I spent a year with some relatives in Ohio. I had planned to live there, but my mother
     got sick and I had to come back home. Abraham found out about the baby and we started
     up again.”
    “Even though you knew he was married?”
    She nodded. “I told you the story doesn’t make me sound like a good person. I knew
     he was married, but my heart was still his. It remained his until the day I found
     out I was pregnant with you. Something happened to me that day, Deborah. It was as
     though a lightbulb went off and I clearly saw who I was and what I was doing. I didn’t
     like what I saw at all.”
    “So you ended it?”
    Leah gave a wry smile. “Relationships don’t end in such a clear-cut manner, sweetie.
     I said the words but the relationship had been over since the day Abraham decided
     to marry Saralyn. I just refused to accept it.”
    “So what happened when you told him about me—being pregnant with me, I mean?”
    “He was dumbfounded. Before you even ask, no, he didn’t ask me to terminate. He was
     shell-shocked because Saralyn was pregnant again, too.” Leah lowered her eyes. “I
     wouldn’t believe this if I hadn’t lived it, but sadly it’s true. Again, Abraham had
     two women pregnant, the same two women.”
    “Man,” Deborah said, “I had no idea.”
    “It’s not something we talk about. Saralyn found out about my pregnancy and had a
     miscarriage. Though neither of us spoke of it, I think both Abraham and I felt responsible.
     Saralyn demanded that he cut all ties with us. I didn’t blame her. Abraham agreed,
     but told her he had to support us financially as best he could. Saralyn didn’t like
     it but she went along with it.”
    Deborah thought about the harsh words Saralyn had spoken