The color leaves Quinn’s face. She blinks fast. “No, honey. That was a tragedy. A tragedy is when something terrible happens.”
“I really miss Mommy.” Lily’s blue eyes fill with tears. “An’ I hoped I had a real daddy.”
“I know, Lily.” Quinn uses her thumb to wipe away a tear on Lily’s cheek. “But Zack is a really nice donor.”
“It’s not the same.” Big tears drop from both of her eyes.
“No, honey.” Quinn looks at me over the top of Lily’s head. This look begs,Please don’t confuse the issue for her. “It’s not.”
“But I’m still gonna be a big sister?” Lily says hopefully.
“Yes, you are—if the baby continues to grow.”
“Yay!” She smiles, her face still wet with tears.
Sarah has been lurking at the edges of the waiting area. “Hey, Lily,” she calls. “Will you help me look in my purse? I think I have a package of Bubble Yum, but I can’t seem to find it.”
Lily bounds across the room.
Quinn looks at me. It’s a leveling gaze; she’s just told me the lay of the land.
—
WE SIT INsilence for a moment, watching Lily paw through Sarah’s large bag. “This news comes as quite a shock,” I say.
“I didn’t intend for you to find out like that.”
“Did you intend for me to find out at all?”
She looks away. “Like Brooke, I thought I was getting an anonymous donor.”
Of course she did. That’s what I agreed to on the contract. I blow out a sigh. “You and I need to talk.”
“Yeah. But not here, and not now.”
I run my hand down my face and nod. I’m emotionally fried. I need to get my thoughts together, and I still have to deal with Jessica. “Tomorrow afternoon, maybe?”
She nods. “I’ll make arrangements for someone to watch Lily.”
I’d never really thought before about how a parent or guardian has to make arrangements in order to do anything without the child. I mean, I’d known a child ties you down, but I hadn’t really thought about what that meant on a day-to-day basis. I’d thought in terms of babies, and they seem pretty portable. Quinn’s world must have been turned upside down by getting guardianship of Lily. “Where and when do you want to meet?”
“How about five thirty at my shop? I don’t usually work on Saturdays, but I need to go in for a few hours.”
“Great. I’ll see you then.”
She stands. “Tell your wife it was nice to meet her.”
Jessica. The thought of her makes a knot of dread spin in my chest.
I head over to Lily, who has successfully extracted a pack of sugarless gum from Sarah’s purse and is now chomping on a big pink wad. I squat down to her level. “See you later, princess.”
“Okay.” She flings herself into my arms. “I love you, Daddy.”
“Back at you, Lily.” I kiss the top of her head. She smells like baby shampoo and bubblegum. I breathe it in and smile. The scent and the smile stay with me as I push through the exit into the heat of the parking garage, but I lose them both when I open my car door and inhale a trace of Jessica’s perfume from the night before.
—
JESSICA’S CAR ISin her parking spot in the garage, but our condo is empty when I walk through the door. I’m relieved to have some time to myself. I pull an Abita out of the fridge and head out to the terrace. It’s only May, but in New Orleans, that can mean eighty-plus degrees. The worst of the day’s heat is over, though. The terrace is in the shade, and a breeze from the river is cooling things off.
