“Yes. I had an ultrasound, and the doctor gave me a DVD of it. Zack watched it.”
“Really?” I can feel her gaze on me. “He didn’t tell me.”
I glance over at her. Her eyes are sad and full of reproach. Aw, jeez—I just can’t win. I didn’t tell her because I knew it would hurt her, but not telling her is just as bad.
Quinn leans toward the front seat. “Listen, Jessica—I can only imagine how hard this situation is on you. I mean, it’s been hard on all of us—I wanted to have an anonymous donor, obviously, and so did Brooke, so having Zack show up was, well, extremely jarring, but...”
“I don’t think you can compare your situation to mine,” Jessica says, a little sharply.
“No, of course not. And that’s where I was headed. I know this must be extremely difficult for you, and I just want to say that I appreciate the way you’ve been so gracious and generous with Zack’s time. It means the world to Lily.”
“Lily is a wonderful child.”
“Yes, she is.”
The sound of her name or maybe the turning of the car makes Lily stir. “Are we home yet?”
“Nearly,” I say. “I just pulled onto your street.”
“Will you stay the night again, Daddy?”
“‘Again’?” Jessica fixes me with a laser-like stare.
“That only happened because you were sick,” I tell Lily.
“Well, can we have a sleepover?”
“No, honey,” I say. “I need to sleep at my place.”
“With me,” Jessica adds. Unnecessarily, I think.
“Well, maybe you can get in bed with Mommy Quinn and me again, and read me a bedtime story. You’ve done that lots of times.”
In the rearview mirror, I see Quinn’s face flame. I avoid looking at Jess, even though I can feel her glare burning a hole through me. “Not tonight.”
“Why not?”
“Well, Jessica’s in town, so I’ll spend the evening with her.”
“But I’m your little girl!”
“Yes, and I enjoyed spending the day with you.” I pull into Quinn’s driveway.
“We’re home! Do you think Ruffles will be glad to see us?” Quinn asks Lily.
“Yes!” Mercifully, Lily goes along with the change of subject. “She’ll be so glad she’ll do her wiggle dance.”
“Is that like the penguin walk?” I ask.
Her dimple flashes. “No, silly!”
I laugh and climb out of the car to hug Lily good-bye. Jessica gets out, too.
“Would you like to come in?” Quinn asks.
“No, thanks. We’d better be going,” Jessica says.
The two women exchange a stiff hug. Jessica leans down and kisses Lily, and Quinn gives me an awkward embrace.
