Blast From the Past

Yesterday, I received a message on Facebook from a guy I knew years ago. I think we went out on maybe two dates at most, and up until I saw his name, I had completely forgotten he existed. Yes, it was that great. Anyway, he asked me to tell Dustin he said hello. I asked him twice how he knew Dustin, and both times the question had been avoided, so I avoided telling Dustin! How was I supposed to tell my husband a guy he supposedly knows said hello, if I have no idea that they know each other. Something just didn't feel right, so I went with my gut instincts and kept it to myself.

Today, I get a chat message, it simply said, "mornin'". I said hi back, and the first thing he asks is if I told Dustin he said hello. I told him no, because I wanted to know how he knew him before I opened a giant can of worms and created trouble for myself. Dustin is unaware I ever dated this guy, if you'd even call it that, and I didn't want to talk about it if unnecessary. The answer I got was astounding. He told me they know the same people, so I assumed it was Riley's mom he knew. I was close, but no cigar. The correct answer is Laura. He knows, and is in fact related to, Laura, Dustin's ex-wife. The mother of the daughter he has not seen in nearly ten years. My jaw about hit the floor.

He claims he was hesitant to tell me how he knew Dustin, afriad I might now know about his ex wife or his daughter. Sorry, pal, but that $300+ child support payment coming out of his checks every month was a pretty big dead giveaway! That's actually one of the very first things Dustin told me about himself, even before our first kiss, was that he had been married before and it ended terribly. His daughter, Olivia, had been born with a rare type of cancer and was very sick. Up until now, we had no idea where she was, and if she was alive and well. Well, some of my questions have been aswered, and some apparently will never be. I am feeling on top of the world right now, and at the bottom of the barrel at the same time.

I now know Olivia is alive, well, and very loved. I also know she looks exactly like my 2 daughters, the sisters she'll never know or meet. Unfortunately, no one is able to provide me with a photo, but I must believe without seeing. I'm no doubting Thomas, Dustin has some pretty strong genes. I just can't believe, after almost 10 years, this has popped up and fallen into my lap. I am a basket of emotions, part of me wants to cry out and seriously cuss someone out over this, but I know I have no right. I can only do so much, sending Christmas cards with photos and our current information is all I'm limited to right now, and that's what I've been doing for years. I have been praying for answers to all my burning questions for years. Maybe the unanswered questions are really the answeres I've been seeking all along.

♫♪♫ Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers ♫♪♫