I pop the top on my beer and gaze out at the rooftops. Man, I wish I could talk to my dad! Why can’t we have visiting hours with folks in heaven, like they have in the ICU?
I decide to call my sister. I’ve been in touch with her since I discovered Lily, and I texted her photos after our day at the zoo.
“How’s that adorable little girl?” she asks after we exchange initial greetings.
“She’s amazing. Can you talk?”
“Sure, if you don’t mind the clatter of pots and pans. I’m fixing dinner.”
I tell her the day’s events.
“A baby?” Her voice is incredulous. “You’re going to have another donor child?”
“Looks like it.”
“Oh my gosh! And Lily knows you’re her father?”
I can’t help but humble-brag a little. “She calls me Daddy.”
“Oh, Zack! How’s this going to work?”
“I don’t know. I’m meeting with Quinn tomorrow to talk about things.” I sigh. “I don’t want to show up and then disappear, like some kind of deadbeat dad. Yet I’m technically just a sperm donor.”
“But you want to be more than that, right?”
“Absolutely.”
“I can’t even imagine meeting one of my kids for the first time at the age of three.” I hear pots clang on her end of the phone. “From the way you talked about Lily before, I could tell that she really affected you.”
“Yeah. And now to learn that there’s another baby on the way...”
“It’s mind-boggling!”
“Exactly.”
“How did Jessica take it?”
“Not well.” I describe what happened.
“Poor thing!” I hear more dishes rattling around. “After all her efforts to get pregnant!”
I hear the key in the door. My stomach feels like I ate a bunch of rocks. “She’s home,” I say. “I’d better go.”
“All right, Zack-man.” I smile at the childhood nickname. “Good luck with everything.”
“Thanks. Talk to you later.” I hang up, take a long pull of beer, and then walk back into the living room.
Jessica is wearing workout clothes. “I thought hitting the machines might help with the stress.”
“Good idea.” I’m relieved to see that she’s calmer than she was at the hospital.
She perches on a barstool at the kitchen island and tilts her water bottle to her mouth. I sit down beside her.
“What happened after I left?” she asks.
“Lily came back with ice cream, and we had ice cream and cake.”
She gives me an exasperated look. “Seriously.”
