So I took it a step further.
When Sebastian crashed at my place for a weekend before he met Tilly, I tossed the toothbrush he used into a plastic baggie and dropped that off at a DNA lab in Manhattan along with another swab from inside my cheek.
A trained professional took that sample.
Our DNA didn’t match.
Another visit to my mother followed along with another denial.
She pulled out a photo album filled with pictures of her pregnant with me.
She showed me the dated ultrasound image.
I accepted it all until I went to the doctor for a routine check-up and mentioned the shortness of breath I experienced when I worked out.
He ran tests, and then more tests.
The diagnosis was devastating.
I had a heart condition that was likely inherited.
The fact was that both my parents never had an issue. I asked.
It wasn’t until I got my dad alone and shitfaced drunk that the truth spilled out of him.
The baby they were expecting died during childbirth.
My brothers and sister were waiting at home for their new baby brother to arrive, so when the teenager in the bed next to my mom mentioned that she was going to put her newborn son up for adoption, my parents stepped up.
It was all handled quietly with a lawyer that my dad had gone to high school with, and a check meant to help the teenage mother start over.
She and her boyfriend did just that after they kissed me goodbye and placed me in the Wolfs’ arms.
They went to college, got married, and eventually had another son.
I look over at where Athena is asleep in the chair in my hospital room. She thought her parents fucked up. She has no idea.
“Lilac,” I call out to her, knowing that it’s cruel to wake her.
She stirs.
The hospital gown and mask are gone.
I’ve been cleared to touch the people I love. I’ll be out of the ICU by tomorrow and home by the end of the week.
“Come here.” I lean forward, but the tubes keep me in place. “I want you beside me.”
She stretches. The T-shirt she’s wearing rides up, revealing the barest hint of her smooth stomach underneath.
I can’t fucking wait until I’m given the green light to make love to her.
I’ll keep her in my bed for days when that happens.
“I can’t believe I fell asleep.” She pushes to stand. “When did you wake up?”
I have no clue. I don’t know what time it is or what day. All I know is that she hasn’t left my side.
She told me a day or two ago that her assistant has taken the reins at Wild Lilac. Leanna is her name, and she’s brought in two retired florists to help fill orders. She wanted Athena to stay here, so she’s doing what she can to make sure she has a business to go back to.
