She leaned against the counter as I read the man’s response, her face a stony mask.
“Well?” I asked.
She didn’t reply, at first. “Sorry I tossed you into this, Jack. I should’ve asked you first.”
“We’re in agreement,” I said, “but it’s too late for that. Thoughts?”
“I mean, not telling her is an option.”
“Uh, no, it’s not. I swore to her I wouldn’t manage or withhold stuff from her, or lie to her, in nearly any situation. And this isn’t a case of if her cute ass looks fat, or what I got her for her birthday. This ishuge. This is life changing.”
She pulled out a chair and sat. “I mean, I can’t exactly fudge an official DNA test. She’ll know something’s up. And he doesn’t sound like he’s going to be a dick about it.”
I made an executive decision. “Well, we need to tell her. And you’re sitting right there with me when I do.”
She sat back. “Me?”
“Uh,yeah, you. She can’t hate both of us.”
“I think you underestimate her,” she snarked.
“I mean teaming up about this. You got us into it—you’re going to help me follow through.”
She sighed. “That’s fair.”
“If she says no, then that’s it,” I added. “And hopefully, she doesn’t hold a grudge against us for it. Anything else you want to tell me now?”
She shook her head. “No. Sorry.”
“We tell her either when she gets home, depending on how she’s doing, or we tell her tomorrow night after work. And if you claim you’ve got a work emergency, I want to see GPS evidence, ‘Officer’.”
She stuck her tongue out at me but grumbled her assent. That’s when my phone buzzed with a text.
“You’re on the clock,” I said to Lilah as I replied to Em’s text. “She’s on her way home now.”
“Terrific.” She stood and started getting leftovers ready for both her and Emmy. “Hope you don’t end up in the guest room.”
“Ooohhh ho ho, no I absolutely willnot,” I said. “You’llbe the one in the guest room because that mattress fuckingsucks.”
“Motherfucker,” she said.
Emmy
Exhausted, I drove home. At least it was a best worst-case emergency surgery. A little girl with hydrocephalus secondary to her spina bifida had a shunt failure, but it was only in the top portion, meaning it wasn’t a difficult surgery. As long as she didn’t contract an infection, she’d likely go home later tomorrow.
When I walked in the door, I smelled food and my stomach rumbled, reminding me I hadn’t eaten since that morning.
Whoops.
Sir and Lilah were both in the kitchen and I pulled up short.
“Uh, whuuuuut’s going on?”
They shared a guilty glance. “First of all, how are you?” Sir asked, walking over to kiss me.
I planted my hand in his chest, stopping him. “You guys are freaking me out. I don’t know what happened, but you’d better tell me right now.”
Another shared guilty glance, and Lilah started.
