“She’s good. Really good. She went through her surgery and then… she’s fine.” I stall, taking a sip of mydrink.
Britt gives me the kind of look someone who’s being evasive should receive. “Feel free to tell me more than that. I’m her godmother. I sent her an obscenely huge cookiebouquet.”
My eyes narrow. “Thanks for that. She can’t do anything physical to release pent-up energy, and she’s nearly bouncing off the walls from sugar overload. Between you and my dad, who can’t seem to tell her no, I think she mightcombust.”
“You. Are. Welcome.” Britt tosses back the remainder of her drink. “I’m really sorry I couldn’t be there for you. I was in San Diegoand—”
“Don’t be sorry. If you were in town I would’ve expected you, but you weren’t. I had my dad. And…” I take a deep, noisy breath. Britt is going to lose her shit in about two seconds. “I had Claire’sfather.”
“What!” Britt smacks her hand on the table. I don’t need to look around to confirm that people are staring. I can feel their interestedgazes.
“You had Claire’s father?” Her voice is opposite now. A shockedwhisper.
“He was the surgeon who repaired her fracture.” I fall quiet, giving the words time to sinkin.
“Wha…What?” She shakes herhead.
Saying it out loud makes it sound even crazier. “Apparently he specializes in pediatric orthopedic surgery. I didn’t know it was a thing, but it is. Not all surgeons will work on children. But he does. So…yeah.”
“So he showed up and you guys were like,hey I know you? Does he know about Claire?” Her voice turns lower, like it’s a secret from the people aroundus.
“We recognized each other right away. He looks just like he did that night.”Maybe even better.“And, yes, he knows Claire is his. He figured it out on his own.” I recount the story of Isaac showing up at my house Saturday night, and his visit yesterday, all to the gasps and head-shakes of my bestfriend.
“Ho-ly shit.” Britt tips her head to the ceiling and takes a deepbreath.
“Iknow.”
She levels her gaze back onto me. “What are you going todo?”
“I don’t know. Go along with it. I’m sure he wants custody. Shared, probably. He’s super into the idea of being a dad. He wants her.” It was clearly visible on his face the day before. The way his eyes softened when he looked at her, the words he spoke to me when he left.She’s the best person I’ve ever met.“Part of me feels bad, you know, because he missed out on the last four years. But I tried. I tried to find him. I just…it’s not like there was much to goon.”
“And how do you feel about allthis?”
“Scared. Nervous.” I stir the straw in my drink. “She’s my everything. And I’ve never had to shareher.”
“Do you want to know what Ithink?”
“Sure.”
Britt pushes aside her empty drink and levels her serious gaze on me. “You’re an incredible mom. Even better than my own. And she’s amazing. I know you’re going to figure thisout.”
I give her a lopsided grin. “That’s sweet but do you have anything more impactful? Like a how-tobook?”
“I don’t think there are instruction manuals on how to manage your baby daddy who didn’t know he wasone.”
I groan. “Don’t say baby daddy. It sounds vulgar. And Isaac is the opposite of the image those wordsconjure.”
“Really?” Britt wiggles her eyebrows. “Dotell.”
Images of Isaac in scrubs comes first, closely followed by the white T-shirt he wore yesterday. “If it’s possible, he looks better. Aging five years agreed withhim.”
“It’s hard to imagine Isaac lookingbetter. He was delicious back then. Are you three going to become a happy little family?” She claps her hands togetherexcitedly.
I shake my head. “He’s getting married next year. June.” The thought makes me sad, even though I have no right tobe.
“That’s a long time from now.” She counts quickly on her fingers. “Fourteen months, to be exact. What did his fiancée have to say when she learned about you andClaire?”
“He didn’t say. I don’t know if he’s told her yet. It’s kind of a lot to tell aperson.”
