“Yes, they exist. They’re here with me now. Their mother was my college friend, but I don’t know where she is.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know?”
“She left them at my doorstep and disappeared. I have no contact information. I’ve looked for her online,but she’s wiped her social media. All she left was a letter and a power of attorney making me their guardian.”
“And you believe they’re really yours?”
“The timeline fits. Eleanor and I were friends in college, and we were… each other's regular hookup. But we weren't in a relationship. She would have told me if she was seeing someone else; we were open about that. Back then, a mutual friend told me Eleanor was pregnant. When I confronted her, she said it was just a suspicion, and she’d get a test. A few days later, she told me it was negative. Less than a month after that, she dropped out and said she was moving back to Texas to be with her family.”
“…And you didn’t suspect her sudden departure back then?”
“Medicine wasn’t her passion. She had other dreams and said she was going to pursue them. I believed her. Now the girls are here, and… let’s just say we’re not exactly hitting it off. One of them seems to hate me, and the other hasn’t said a word since she got here.”
“What did you expect, Logan? For them to run up and hug you? They’re five years old. They’re probably terrified, missing their mother, and they don’t even know you. You need to give it time.”
“You felt like Alice’s father from the moment you saw her.”
“It was different. I got the news first and had a few days to process. I saw pictures of Alice and was already attached to the idea of being her dad before I ever held her. And she was just a baby. Your girls are five. They need to adjust toyou.”
I didn’t want to think about the long-term adjustment or how the three of us would manage. I’ve always been shortsighted, focusing on the present and solving one problem at a time.
And my most immediate problem was the conference.
“Janet is hiring someone to pretend to be their mother,” I said.
Michael was silent for a beat. “What? What do you mean?”
“I’m a finalist for the director position at New York Center Hospital.”
“Wait… you want to move to New York? We barely see you as it is.”
“Did you miss the part about it being the director position? CEO of the largest hospital in the country, Michael. It has one of the top neurology departments in the world.”
“Okay… I get it,” he said, though his tone suggested he didn’t. “So where does the fake mother come in?”
“The director must have an impeccable reputation. If the board thinks I abandoned a pregnant woman to avoid acknowledging my children, they’ll never hire me.”
“But you didn’t abandon her. You didn’t even know!”
“I can’t prove that. The letter isn’t enough, and I have no idea where Ellie is. So, we’re hiring a woman to pose as their mother. She’ll say she chose not to tell me about the pregnancy but has now returned, and I immediately stepped up to be their father.”
“And when the real mother shows up?”
“That’s a problem for future Logan. I’ll deal with it after I’ve been hired. This is an opportunity I can’t pass up.”
“Logan…” Michael’s voice was heavy with disbelief. “Why do I get the feeling you’re more worried about a job than the fact that you’re a father and the mother of your children is missing?”
I knew he wouldn’t understand. Still, I tried to explain. “I’m worried about all of it. But I’ll be in a much better position to handle the girlsafterI secure the job I’ve been working toward since college.”
“Fine. Well, while you’re juggling all this… maybe deal with Mom, too. She’s worried sick.”
“Okay, I’ll call her.”
“And if you get a second, call Sebastian. I know you’re in crisis mode, but he’d appreciate it if you took five minutes to wish him luck.”
“Luck with what?”
“…His wife was admitted for her pre-op today, Logan. Did you forget Bonnie’s heart surgery is on Monday?”
