“What is all this?” he asked.
“Anna and Aurora. The twins.”
“I’m talking about the junk food they’re shoveling down at this hour.”
“I have work to do this morning. I needed something to keep them occupied.”
“And your brilliant idea was to clog their arteries with processed sugar and fat? For a doctor, I expected a little more from your fatherly instincts, Logan.”
Father.
Damn. Why did that word still sound so foreign?
Michael had always been the irresponsible one. I was the responsible son. What parallel universe had we stumbled into where he was the conscientious father, and I was… well, a man who still couldn’t process the word “dad”?
“I haven’t had a second to breathe, Michael. I’m leaving tomorrow. I’ll get everything sorted when I get back.”
“You’re traveling? You’re not taking them?”
“It’s my first site visit to New York Center Hospital. A formal introduction to the board. It’s no place for children. They’ll be staying with Mom.”
“…And is Mom, by any chance, aware of this new childcare arrangement?”
“Not yet. I’ll talk to her today.”
“You haven’t even called her to tell her you’re a father, and now you’re going to announce it the same day you need a babysitter? She’ll be thrilled.”
“I haven’t had time! Damn it, Michael, why does no one understand how important this is to me?”
“Let’s not do this now. I came here because you won’t answer your phone. I want to know whatpossessed you to tell everyone Evelyn is their mother and that you’re a couple.”
“It was a misunderstanding with no easy fix, so I confirmed it. She agreed to help, and I’m paying her well.”
“Did she agree, or did she have no other choice?”
“You’re really the last person who should be judging me for that, aren’t you?”
“I think I’m theperfectperson. Not to judge, but to warn you this is a house of cards. These girls have a real mother, and the truth will come out.”
“By then, I’ll be the CEO of NYCH. Once I’m in the seat and doing my job, it won’t be in the hospital’s interest to fire me.”
“If you say so.” He fell silent for a moment, watching the girls. A smile touched his lips. “They’re beautiful. And they really are identical. Can you tell them apart yet?”
“Anna wears blue. Aurora wears pink.”
“So if they switch colors, you’re lost?”
I wouldn’t be. I knew the differences. “Anna’s the one who’s always scowling. And Aurora doesn’t speak.”
“That’s just them getting used to you.”
“No. It’s because she’s deaf.”
“Profoundly deaf, or does she have some hearing?”
Since when did Michael know there were degrees of hearing loss? I loved my brother, but his areas of expertise had never been… academic. But I had to admit, fatherhood had changed him.
“Almost total,” I replied, recalling the audiogram.
