July Seventh! This Can’t Be Real! Just a Coincidence. And the Name Andrew.

**The Seventh of July!**

It couldnt be. Just a coincidence. But the nameAndrew. The patronymic and surname were different. Then again, adoptive parents could change those. Even the first name. She stared at the mans portrait, as if hoping to find something familiar.

The woman in the HR department of the town council finished processing the new employees paperwork. Then she made a call:

*”Irene Andrews, could you come to my office? Your new colleague is here.”*

Soon enough, the office manager arrived and immediately addressed the older woman standing there:

*”Youre the new cleaner?”*

*”Yes.”*

*”Im the facilities supervisor. My name is Irene Andrews.”* She introduced herself briskly, then asked, *”And you are?”*

*”Faith,”* the woman replied, noticing the expectant pause in her supervisors eyes. *”Faith Alexandra.”*

*”Come, Ill show you your workspace.”* They stepped out, still talking. *”Youll be responsible for the entire third floor…”*

***

Faith was overjoyed to have landed this job. Smiling, she surveyed her new domain.

*”Only two years until retirement. But I could even stay on after. Eight hundred pounds a month, plus bonuses. At least now, Derek and I can manage decently. The kids are grown and gone. OhI dont even know the mayors name! What if someone asks? Lunch soon. Theres a wall of mayors portraits downstairs. Why didnt I look before?”*

***

On her way back from the canteen, she passed the display and read the name beneath the current mayors photograph: *Andrew Robinson born 1983.*

*”Oh, hes still young. Not even forty,”* Faith thought, before it struck her. *”Andrew? 1983?”*

She turned back, scanning the birthdate.

*”The seventh of July! Impossible. Just a coincidence. But the nameAndrew. The surname and middle name are different. Adoptive parents couldve changed them. Even the first name…”*

She stared at the portrait for a long time, searching for somethinganythingrecognizable.

***

The new job kept her busy, pushing strange thoughts to the back of her mind.

That evening, she talked with Derek for hours. Then he went to his room to watch football, and Faith retreated to hers.

Their three-bedroom flat felt spacious now that the kids were gone. Sometimes Derek still slept beside her, but less and less often.

Now, lying alone, her thoughts drifted to the pastto youth, to secrets shed never shared with her husband.

Before Derek, there had been another man. And before marriage, a child. A son. His name was Andrew. Shed been nineteen thenno money, no job, just a cramped dormitory from her college days, never meant for raising a child. Shed lasted six months before giving him up.

Three years later, she married Derek. Theyd never pried into each others pasts. Soon, their own children arrivedtwo daughters.

Now grown. One had studied in Manchester, married there, with grandchildren already in school. The other had settled in London.

Faith herself had never landed a proper career. The last twenty years, shed worked as a facilities supervisor at a factoryuntil it shut down. Then her friends daughter offered her this cleaning job at the town hall.

And now Mayor Andrew Robinson, born 1983.

*”No, my life hasnt been bad. But Ive always wondered about himmy son. Even dreamed of him a few times. I just need to know if its him. If hes all right.”*

***

Days passed.

Faith cleaned her assigned floor, lost in thought, when voices snapped her back. There he wasAndrew Robinson, walking briskly, mid-conversation with a staff member. He nodded at her as he passed, close enough to touch.

For a moment, she saw *him*the boy shed loved forty years ago. Handsome, carefree. Back then, shed wished he were more serious, more purposeful. Shed never imagined him this way. But seeing Andrew Robinson now, she realized*this* was how shed wanted him to be.

But that boy had vanished the moment she told him about the pregnancy. *”Ill find work,”* hed said, then disappeared.

*”Could Andrew Robinson be my son?”*

*”If I hadnt given him up, would he be this successful? But my daughters are doing well. The eldest is married, owns a house, drives a nice car. The younger ones fine too. But my son gone.”*

*”Would I still have married Derek? Noeverything would be different. For me, for him, for Andrew. Unless its not him. Coincidences happen, dont they?”*

*”Does it even matter? He has parentsgood ones, surely. Theyve never told him the truth. Different surname, different middle name. He mustve had a happy childhood. Not every boy becomes mayor.”*

***

After lunch, her young coworker Emma approached.

*”Hey, Auntie Faith!”*

*”Hello!”*

*”Were celebrating Lucys birthday Friday. She cleans the sixth floor. Turning forty-five. You in?”*

*”Of course!”* Faith smiled.

*”Then its twenty quid. And bring somethingsalad, whatever.”*

*”Right.”* Faith fished out the money.

*”We do this for everyones milestones.”*

*”Emma, just call me Faith. Were colleagues.”*

*”Sure, Faith!”*

***

Friday night, they gathered on the seventh floor in an empty office. A table was laid out.

Like any office partyspeeches, sips of wine after each toast.

Then the door opened.

Andrew Robinson walked in.

*”Lucy Olegovna, happy birthday,”* he said warmly, handing her a small gift.

*”Thank you!”* Lucys eyes shone with tears.

*”Andrew, sit with us!”* Irene urged.

*”Just for a bit.”* He took the seat beside Faith.

She piled his plate with salad, slices of ham. Wine was poured. He raised his glass, said a few words.

Faith watched him, trembling inside. *”Its him. My son.”*

***

He stayed twenty minutes, then left.

*”What a man,”* said Kate, the longest-serving clerk, who knew everything about everyone. *”The old mayor wouldnt have dreamed of sitting with us.”*

*”How long has Andrew been here?”* Faith asked.

*”A year. Remember the election?”*

Truthfully, Faith didnt. Derek had always handled voting.

*”You know his parents are loaded, right?”* Kate went on. *”And not his real parents?”*

*”What?”* Lucy gasped.

*”Came out during the campaign. Rumor is, he didnt even know. The old mayors deputy dug it up, tried to keep her boss in power. Didnt work.”*

*”So he still doesnt know who his real parents are?”* Faith asked quietly.

*”Doesnt seem to. Loves the ones who raised him. Hes decent, our mayor.”*

Faith gazed at the door hed left through. Her heart achedjoy that her son had done well, sorrow that she could never hold him.

*”My fault,”* she thought, smiling sadly. *”I wont trouble you, son. Ill just stay close.”*