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“I have to be at the hospital in an hour,” I said.
“Oh.” She frowned. “That’s right. I’m sorry. I made you come home last night, and now you’re on today instead of being off.”
“It’s fine. I just hate to leave you alone today.”
“I’ll be fine. I need to pick up Brendan from his sleepover soon, anyway.”
I would’ve rather have eased into things, but I didn’t have the luxury of time today. “I made a few calls this morning.”
“Oh?”
“DDC is a chain of labs that does in-home DNA testing. You pick up the kit, swab the cheeks of the people who you want to test, and drop the kit back to the lab. There’s one in Providence, Cranston, and Warwick. You can get the results back in three days, right online. I didn’t think you’d want to use the lab at work for privacy.”
“Oh, yeah. You’re right. I hadn’t given any thought to the logistics.”
“You can swab both children without the parents’ DNA. The place I found does more than the average sixteen-marker, standard DNA test. So, it’s reliable without a parent to test against.”
“Wow. Okay. I’ll need to swab Brendan then, too. Of course, that makes sense. I just hadn’t thought that far ahead.”
“I was thinking maybe you could bring him to the ER when I’m working, and I could take his vitals and swab his mouth. Tell him it’s a physical.”
“Yes, that would work,” she said. “He’s comfortable at the ER since I work there. He’s also been a patient when he hurt his arm playing soccer, so it won’t seem too strange.”
“Okay, that’s good.”
Bridget had only taken two bites of her food. I sipped my coffee and watched as she pushed food around her plate. “You know I don’t like a bony arse, so you better eat a little more than that.”
She forced a smile. “I don’t have an appetite.”
“Two more pieces of bacon. Get some protein in your body, at least.”
She pouted, but picked up the bacon.
Looking at the time on my phone, I knew I was going to have to jump in the shower soon. I cleared my throat, hating to even mention the name. “I also texted Gina this morning. I’m going to pop over to the DDC office in Providence at lunch today and pick up the kit. She’s agreed to meet me this afternoon during my dinner break, and I’ll do a quick swab on her daughter.”
Bridget nodded but then went quiet for a while. I thought perhaps she’d changed her mind or that I’d overstepped. “Last night you said you wanted to get the testing done as soon as possible. Do you still want to do that? It’s not a rush. Maybe you should take some time before moving forward. It’s a lot to take in at once.”
“No. I need to know as soon as possible.”
I nodded but knew something was still bothering her. She looked like she was mulling over saying something on her mind. “Did I upset you by texting her and putting the wheels in motion?”
“No. Not at all. I appreciate you handling everything. I wasn’t looking forward to dealing with all of it. But…”
“What’s the matter?”
“What time are you meeting her?”
“Five o’clock this afternoon. Why?”
“I’d like to do it myself. I’d like to meet Gina to collect the sample and meet her daughter.”
I thought that was a terrible idea. “I’m not sure that’s so wise, Bridget.”
“Maybe. But I need to do it, Simon. I need to talk to her.”
“Bridget—”
“I’m serious, Simon. I need to do this. I’m never going to have closure from Ben because he’s not here anymore.”
As much as I hated the thought, I could understand her needing some answers directly from the source. “Fine. I’ll go with you.”
“No. I need to do this alone—woman to woman.”
“I’d really like to come along. I want to be there just in case you need me.”
Bridget reached across the table and covered my hand with hers. “You are here if I need you. You were here last night, you made all of these arrangements this morning, and you’re going to be there for me even if you’re not physically with me. But this is something I need to do by myself, Simon.”
I looked back and forth in her eyes and saw sheer determination staring back at me. I fucking hated the thought of her going alone—but I thought about what I’d needed to do with Blake. Some ghosts we just need to exorcise ourselves. Against my better judgment, I finally nodded. “I’ll let Gina know you’ll be the one coming.”
Bridget shook her head. “No. Don’t. I don’t want her to be prepared for me. No different than I was to find out about her. I want honest answers, not something manufactured. It’s better that she be surprised.”I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking.
