Gemotions

The letter sat on Eleanor’s kitchen counter, a pristine white rectangle amidst the usual clutter of bills and takeout menus. She’d been avoiding it for a week, ever since it had arrived with the cryptic return address: "Law Offices of Miller & Crane." Each morning, she’d carefully walk around it, pretending it didn’t exist. This morning, however, as the coffee brewed, Eleanor felt a familiar tightening in her jaw. She picked up the letter, tore it open, and began reading. The words blurred, but she was not going to give in.

She slammed the letter shut and threw it across the kitchen. A half-sibling? Impossible. Her father, a man of rigid routine and even more rigid principles, would have never… but there it was in black and white. The law firm wanted her to contact them. She needed more evidence before she would even consider it. Eleanor snatched her car keys and headed out the door.