Confession Time--Secret Revealed

Ed and Jessica did their best to be a testimony to Becky and her family.  They visited often in Becky’s home and her family reciprocated.  The friendship caused some tense moments between Ed and Byron, but Ed was determined to show the love of Christ.  

Each time they visited, Ed and Jessica noticed that Becky became more comfortable with them.  Before long she was treating them just like family.  This was a little more familiarity than Ed and Jessica wanted.  They wanted to be a support system, but not a family member.  They began to call less often and after a few months called infrequently.

One day Becky called and informed them that she was getting married.  They had not met the man which puzzled them.  If they were so important to her, shouldn’t she have mentioned she was in a serious relationship before now.  They reluctantly agreed to attend the wedding.

 

The wedding was at Becky’s parent’s house and Ed and Jessica arrived early to visit.  They were standing with Becky when she suddenly turned to other people in the room and announced “This is Wayne’s aunt and uncle.”  The looks they received were scathing.  After the announcement, no one at the wedding spoke to either Ed or Jessica, which made for a very uncomfortable evening.

Several months later, Ed saw Becky’s mother in town.  She informed him that Becky and her husband had moved to another state.  Of course they had taken Wayne with them.  She missed them terribly, but Becky seemed to be happy.  

Byron got married and had two children.  His wife was aware of Wayne’s existence and promised to stand behind any decision Byron made concerning him.

Years went by with no word from Becky or anyone in her family.  Then one day the phone rang.  Ed answered and heard “Uncle Ed, this is Wayne.”   It was the first time he had ever spoken to Ed.  When the family had moved out of state he was still an infant.

“Wayne, I thought you were living in another state.”

“I was, but my mom sent me back to live with my grandparents.”

 

“What grade are you in now?”

“I’m in 7^th grade.  I’m playing football now.  Do you think you could come watch one of my games?”

“Sure, I can do that.  When do you play?”

Ed’s appearance at the football game seemed to please Wayne.  He didn’t play much, but continually turned around to see if Ed was still in the stands.  Ed waved each time to acknowledge that he was there.

Wayne didn’t contact Ed again for several months.  He did, however, begin to call Byron’s house.  He always called when Byron was out of town.  One day Byron’s wife called Jessica and the fear in her voice was obvious.

“Jessica, Wayne keeps calling me.  I told him that Byron is out of town and won’t be back until next week, but he keeps calling.  He calls about every ten minutes.  Just a minute, I have another call coming in.”  She looked at caller ID.  “Oh no, that’s Wayne again.  I’m really getting scared.  He doesn’t sound very stable.  What if he comes over before Byron comes home?”

“What does he want?”  Jessica asked.

“He just asks questions about our family.  He said, “Do I have any brothers and sisters?”  I said, “Byron and I have children.”  I don’t know what else to say.  I don’t want to encourage him if Byron doesn’t want to associate with him.  What do you think?”

“It is not your decision to make.  You must abide by whatever Byron wants.  He will make the decision about what to do.  Stop answering the phone when you see Wayne’s number.”

Ed and Jessica learned that Wayne did contact Byron occasionally.  Byron was polite, but didn’t encourage a more involved relationship.   Byron never talked to Ed about Wayne.  Ed and Jessica kept up with Wayne’s growth through a friend at church who was also Wayne’s assistant principal. 

Again years went by with no word from Wayne.  When the call came, he said, “Uncle Ed, this is Wayne.”  

“Hi Wayne.  How are you doing?”

“Well I’m divorced and have three children.  I’m driving a truck for a living, but it’s barely enough to pay child support.”

They continued the conversation and Ed encourage him to call back anytime.  Wayne did call a few other times and during some of the conversations revealed that he did talk to Byron occasionally.  Ed encouraged him to keep trying.

Several months later, without warning, Byron told Ed that Wayne had called and asked him to take a paternity test.  Byron had agreed to take the test the following week.  Ed expressed his pride in Byron’s decision and refrained from mentioning that it was thirty-two years late.

Two weeks later Byron received a phone call from Wayne.  The results were in.  

After thirty-two years of being told by his mother that Byron was his father, Wayne now held the proof in his hand.  She had never wavered from her claim that there was no question about the paternity.  She had never been with another man other than Byron.  Wayne had requested the test so that finally Byron couldn’t deny him as an offspring.  Now he stood with an envelope in his hand.  Inside was an answer he had wanted since he was old enough to know who his father was.  He would finally be connected with a man who had denied him his entire life.

Wayne opened the envelope carefully and pulled the result out slowly.  Why am I nervous?  He quickly scanned the results and waited for his brain to absorb the truth.

Then he called his mother.

After he had calmed down, he called Byron.

 “Byron, I have the results of the tests.”

“Okay, what do they say?”

“They say that you are not my father.  Can you tell me who is?”

“I can think of one other person who it might be, but I’m not sure.”  Byron gave him a name.  “Listen, I don’t have any hard feelings toward you.  Come by the house and visit anytime.  You are welcome in my home.  Did you tell your mother the results?”

“Oh yes, I already called her.”  He didn’t reveal any of the conversation and Byron didn’t ask.

Rebecca stood in her living room.  Now my son knows that I did sleep with other guys.  It wasn’t a one- time thing like I told everyone.  Soon my parents and friends will know.  There is no way to get around this.  The truth will finally be known.  Will my son ever forgive me?  Will my parents?  Will God?  “Lord, help me weather this storm.  Give me answers when I need them.  Mostly give me the courage to answer the questions truthfully. Amen.”