David Hayward was a doctor at Pine Valley Hospital in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania. He had recently gotten another one of those disquieting reminders from an old flame.
When David had been an intern in St. Petersburg, Florida many years previously, he had a colleague named Cameron Lewis.
The young interns and their wives had socialized, of course. David was single back then he was again now, but that was because of his recent third divorce.
Cameron Lewis was a demanding and domineering sort, and as often happens with such fellows, his wife was a passive and retiring sort who gave into him rather than argue with him.
She was not a very lively woman, but very pretty. Soon David fancied himself in love with her.
He and Donna Lewis had their affair in his office and in hotel room until it finally died a natural death arising out of her fear of getting caught and her unwillingness to give up her marriage, something David had wanted her to do at the time, not seeing any real advantage in it to her.
But she didn't. She was too afraid. One thing was, she was sure her husband would take her toddler son, Peter, from her.
David had gone out to California, and become associate director of cardiology at Stanford at the age of 32. Then he went to Pine Valley Hospital in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania to give a lecture on cardiac care. He had gone there because one of the doctors was a former girlfriend form Stanford, who had left there after she had broken off with him, citing his overly numerous affairs as the reason she no longer wanted to be with him.
He had been lucky to learn that the position of head of cardiology was open at Pine Valley Hospital. He recommended himself. Dr. Joe Martin, the chief of staff there, had looked into David's impressive credentials and hired him.
While at Stanford, David had received the first of the letters.
In it, Donna explained that the timing of her second's son's birth bothered her, that her husband suspected nothing, thank God, but now her son was about 3, and she felt convinced only by looking at him that he was David's. She did not expect or even want David to do anything about this, but wanted him to be forewarned in the unlikely event something happened and family medical history became necessary to know. She was afraid Cameron would kick her out if he figured it out, and deprive her of Peter, and she was worried what might happen to Alexander in such an event, or what would happen to Alexander if anything happened to her and Cameron figured it out. She asked David to take an interest in the boy if anything ever happened to her.
Once, about 7 years later, David had visited the St. Petersburg area again, and looked up the Lewises. Cameron was home, and Donna was not. David asked how Peter was and if they had any more children. Luckily for David, Cameron had then gone and called the boys to be introduced to him.
David thought Cameron might know or be suspicious, because he proudly introduced the 12-year-old Peter, going on about his accomplishments, and offhandedly introduced the 10-year-old Alexander. Cameron went on about Peter's tennis playing, and looked a little put out when David asked Alexander to show him the tennis courts.
David had stayed a little while, and asked both the boys questions, trying to make it look natural by asking as many of Peter. He didn't remember Peter's answers. He learned that Alexander liked to wind-surf and swim and play baseball. Alexander didn't like school much, which David put down to boyish attitudes. He had never been that crazy about school either, though he had done well.
From there he had gone to his mother's to look at some of the old pictures. Seeing his old boyhood photos, he had the uncomfortable thought that he agreed with Donna.
He called the Lewis house about a month after that, and got Donna. He asked Donna if she was home alone. Donna was paranoid enough to want to go out before she talked to him.
She had gone somewhere and called him from a pay phone. He explained that he thought they should keep in touch, just in case anything happened to Alexander. The boy was healthy, but you never knew, David said, asked her if she would send him a picture or maybe even a blood sample.
Donna had been too terrified to do the latter, as she could hardly get Alexander's blood without his knowing it, and he might end up telling Cameron about it innocently, and Cameron would know something was wrong if his own son had a blood test he was not aware of. He might not have much time for his sons, but he did keep track of their health. But she did sent a school picture to David.
This last disquieting missile had been to the effect that Donna had her first grandchild and that it was not the older son who had given her this grandchild, but Alexander, her younger (his, their) son.
David had no other children and was somehow touched that he had a granddaughter. That Alexander was biologically his son was something he had become relatively certain of over the years.
In her letter, Donna had said that she had left Cameron. David thought this was rather good news, as they might be able to talk more freely, and maybe even establish the truth for sure, so that nobody's medical history was mistaken.
Donna had given him her cell phone number, so he could call her if he wanted to. David called her and learned Donna was nervous about telling Alexander, but vowed she would get up the nerve to do it. She had some help, in that apparently Alexander had a girlfriend now, and this girl had an idea Cameron was not Alexander's father from the mere observance of Cameron's treatment of Alexander. She talked about it like it was a joke, and wishful thinking maybe, as her own father was similar and maybe she had fantasies of finding she had a real father who was someone else.
David had noticed Cameron was rather pointedly prouder of and more affectionate to the older son on the day he had visited, but had put it down to it being only one day and therefore not representative of the whole of their time together, and the natural bond that might be stronger with an eldest son to a man like Cameron.
But the second-hand opinion of this unknown girl gave David a great deal of unease. In talking to Donna, it began to sound like that day was not only typical, but mild. David began to wonder if he should have stepped in.
But then, how could he have? He realized it had always made sense, on the surface, to leave things as they were. Even if Cameron knew, he was in a better position to be Alexander's father. David had been in California, a continent away. It could always be difficult for a child who lived in a house with a stepfather, where the stepfather was the father of the child's younger brothers and sisters. It would be much harder, David had thought, where you were the younger, where it was not so much part of the natural course of things in a society with a high divorce rate.
He had done the best he could, he thought. He wondered what he should do now.