It took five days for the paternity test to come back. Mr. and Mrs. Frey drove to Maggie’s apartment with the letter. Of course, they had opened the envelope, so they already knew.
Maggie was more comfortable with the Freys after their meeting at the Melrose Diner. They visited Seth every night. Now, as the Freys sat on the edge of the mattress, Maggie could sense that they were waiting to tell her something.
“So, we got the test results back today,” Mr. Frey said in an even voice.
Seth locked eyes with Maggie. “And?” Seth pressed.
“It confirms that you are our son,” Mrs. Frey said, trying her best not to scare any of them.
Seth pushed the covers back as best he could and with a little help from Mr. Frey, he swung his legs over the side of the mattress to rest his feet on the floor.
“So you’re really my mom and dad?” Seth asked.
Maggie and Juju watched them, too stunned to utter a word.
“Yes, Stefano, we are,” Mrs. Frey said.
Seth nodded. “OK, but don’t call me Stefano. My name’s Seth.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry,” Mrs. Frey said. “We’ve looked for you from the moment they took you from us. Your father and I love you very much. We want to take you home with us. We want to take care of you.” She looked at Maggie and Juju with gratitude. “Your friends can come and visit all the time.”
Seth put his hands out, and Maggie helped him to stand. Adrenaline was racing through his body. He had to tell them what he wanted. He already knew that he was dying, and he couldn’t imagine his life without Maggie, Juju or Joey. He steadied himself as he turned to face his parents.
“Thank you, but I want to stay with Aggie. It’s not like I know you or anything. I mean, I know you’re my parents, but I could never leave Aggie and Juju,” Seth said sadly.
Mrs. Frey focused on Maggie. “It’s not as if he has a choice. He’s a child, a minor.”
Maggie gestured for Juju to come over and hold onto Seth. Then she got down on her knees in front of the couple. “Please don’t make Seth do something he doesn’t want to do. I know you love him. He knows you love him, but the only family we’ve ever known is each other.”
Maggie could hear Seth’s lungs wheezing as he began to cry harder, and she jumped up and rushed back to him, urging, “OK, breathe slowly. In, two, three, four; out, two, three, four.” She gently nuzzled his back.
“Aggie, please don’t let them take me away,” he cried. “I don’t wanna leave you guys. I don’t care how nice their house is. I just want to stay here with you and Juju.”
Mr. and Mrs. Frey watched as Maggie comforted their child. Seth was completely at home in the loving arms of this stranger in the cramped, decrepit room they called home. Mr. Frey rubbed his wife’s hand softly. Both of them knew it would be cruel to make him leave now.
Mrs. Frey rose and put her arms around her son, the son she’d loved, missed, and mourned.
“We would never drag you away from your family,” Mrs. Frey said, choking back tears. “All we want now is for you to know who we are and that we love you.”
Seth grabbed onto his mother and hugged her tightly as Mr. Frey stood and joined his family in the first family hug they’d shared in nine years. Mrs. Frey’s emotions were raw, and as she looked from her husband to her long-lost son, she realized that her prayers had just been answered. For years, she’d begged God to be able to hold her boy and tell him how very much she loved him just one last time.
“I love you, Seth,” his mother whispered.
“I love you too, son,” Mr. Frey followed.
“I don’t know if I love you. I don’t really know you, but I think you’re nice people. Especially since you’re letting me stay with Aggie and Juju.” Seth turned toward the two girls. They, too, were crying.
Maggie wiped her eyes. “Well, I think you two should stay in town. That way we can all be with Seth. You’re welcome to come here and spend time.”
Maggie looked at the two people who had brought Seth into her life. “I have both of you to thank for bringing this wonderful person into my life. I might have died long ago if it hadn’t been for Seth. He gave me purpose and a reason to want to stay alive. Maybe by having him, you’ve given life to both of us.”
Mr. and Mrs. Frey knew why their son loved this young, vibrant girl with all of his heart. She was caring and sensitive. She was tender and loving. She was Seth’s mother. As hard as it was to accept, especially for Mrs. Frey, the couple knew that Maggie had raised their son and deserved to be called his mother.
“Thank you, Maggie,” Mrs. Frey responded.
“Her name is Aggie,” Seth joked.
“Yes, you’re right. Thank you, Aggie. Mr. Frey and I would love to stay in town. We want to spend as much time with Seth as we possibly can. You’ve done a magnificent job with our boy, and we will always be grateful for the sacrifices you made to keep him with you,” Mrs. Frey said.
Juju butted in. She couldn’t take one more moment of all the emotions flying around the room. “Good! It’s all settled then. Seth is staying put, and you two,” she pointed at Mr. and Mrs. Frey, “can be a part of our family.”
“OK, but let’s start by everyone using first names. Now, let’s see…we have the man of the hour, Seth, and Aggie and…what’s your real name?” Mrs. Frey asked.
“Juju,” she responded.
“OK and we have Juju. My husband’s name is Ron, and mine is Juliet,” Mrs. Frey said.
“I’ll call you Juliet and Ron too, right?” Seth asked, feeling overwhelmed that they’d expect him to call them Mom and Dad.
Juliet stood tall, even though she wanted to drop to the floor in a heap and weep. “That’s right, Seth. You can call us Juliet and Ron, too.”
The boy smiled. “Good. Now that it’s all settled, can someone—and when I say someone, I mean Juju—make me mac and cheese? I’m hungry,” Seth said.
“Oh, now I’m the maid? You feel better for three seconds and you’re trying to boss me around?” Juju joked, tickling Seth.
Seth started laughing and tried to get away from Juju. Then his laughter turned into an uncontrollable cough.
“OK, you two. Knock it off. Seth, you get back to bed. Juju! To the kitchen and cook,” Maggie chimed in.
Juliet joined Juju in the kitchen that was eight feet from the mattress where Seth was settling in.
“Can I help?” Juliet offered.
Juju smiled. “Ya already have by not taking Seth away. I know it ain’t exactly what ya wanted, but ya just made the two peeps I love most very happy.”
Juliet had waited so long to see her son again. She’d imagined finding him and keeping him close to her so no one could harm him again. She had pictures in her mind of spending countless months getting to know him and helping him recover from his ordeal. As she reflected on what she’d imagined and the truth of what she was now living, a spark ignited. It wasn’t how she’d played the movie in her head a million times, but it was something, and it was more real than she’d ever imagined. Her child was loved, and that fact was all that really mattered now.