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That would be offensive. It would be hurtful. What kind of man were you to call a woman a liar at best and question how many men she was sleeping with at the same time?
As much as I never would have wanted to think this way, I really wanted to believe she was lying. It would be easier to think that she was deceptive and manipulative in that way than it would be to think she was the kind of woman who would keep me from my child.
Even as I thought about all this, though, pieces of the puzzle were falling into place. One of the biggest was Kelly’s mysterious phone calls before lunch every day. Now I knew what she was doing. There wasn’t some guy she was getting in touch with during the day. She was calling home to check on her daughter. My daughter. Our daughter. Fuck. That was seriously going to take some getting used to.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to throw something. I wanted to go back to Kelly’s house and scoop up that baby and take home the little girl denied to me for over two years. But before I did anything, I had to be sure. Pulling into the driveway too fast and at too extreme an angle scared the dogs lounging around the yard. They scattered and it took everything in me not to just let the bike drop to the ground so I could get inside as fast as possible. I drew in a breath, reminded myself I couldn’t just throw everything to hell just because my life felt like it was falling apart around me, and that I needed to keep in mind everything else that existed in my world beyond what was exploding right now.
Stopping my bike more carefully than the emotions inside me wanted me to, I climbed off and headed for the door as I yanked off my helmet. Dad was coming out of the den to the side of the front hallway when I burst into the house.
“Darren, what’s wrong?” he asked.
“Where’s Mom?”
I didn’t wait to hear his answer but went deeper into the house to the room I expected her to be in and where I eventually found her.
“Hi, honey,” she said, glancing at me from a pot bubbling on the stove. The look on my face seemed to settle in when she looked back, and she turned to look at me again. “Darren, are you okay?”
“Do you know where my baby pictures are?” I asked.
“Baby pictures?” she asked.
“Yes. I need to see pictures of me when I was about two. Do you know where those are?”
“Of course I know where they are. But why do you suddenly need to see baby pictures of yourself?”
She sounded confused, but she wiped off her hands on a dish towel and led me out of the kitchen and to her sitting room. She knelt down in front of a hope chest in front of the window and opened it.
“Do you have my medical records anywhere?” I asked.
Mom reached into the chest and grabbed out a file but turned to look at me over her shoulder again.
“What is going on, Darren? Why are you suddenly so interested in seeing pictures of yourself or getting your medical records of all things?”
“Because, apparently, I have a child.”
The lid of the chest fell out of her hand and slammed closed. Mom stood up looking shaken and turned to me.
“You what?” she asked.
Dad rushed into the room.
“What was that? Is everything okay?” he asked.
“What did you just tell me?” Mom asked.
“I have a child,” I repeated. “With Kelly.”
“Kelly the mechanic?” Mom asked incredulously.
“Yes,” I said.
“What the fuck?” Dad blurted out, then covered his mouth, looking remorseful. “I’m sorry.”
“No, Dad,” I reassured him, shaking my head. “I’m pretty sure if there was ever a what-the-fuck moment, this would be it. You’re good.”
“I don’t think I understand what’s going on,” Mom told me. “She’s only worked at the complex for a few weeks.”
“She and I actually met three years ago. I know she told Dad and Quentin that during her first interview. You didn’t mention it to Mom?”
“I didn’t think I needed to. It didn’t seem to be an issue. You both said you had encountered each other before, but it wasn’t a big deal,” Dad said.
“Well obviously it was more than just an encounter,” I said.
“Obviously,” Mom snapped. “You’re telling me this child is, what, over two years old?”
“Yes. Kelly and I met at the bar on my birthday three years ago. She left the next morning. I had no idea she was coming back here, and she didn’t know I had anything to do with the company when she applied for the job. I had no idea about anything until tonight. She asked me to come over to her house to talk. That’s when she told me she has a daughter and that daughter is mine.”
