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And my mom isn’t here to crush the hope in Sydney’s voice, so I have to.
“No.”
Sydney looks away, hiding her disappointment. “What did she want? Money?”
“No. It was…she said we were better off without her. That Dad was a better parent because she left.” I shake my head. “No regrets. No apologies. There wasn’t really anything to tell, but I probably should have said something to you. I never thought I’d see her again.”
“But you’d still do that for her? Donate?”
“I was considering it. There was no harm in getting tested. Now I don’t have to feel guilty about it.”
“What if I’m a match?” she asks.
“You’repregnant, Sydney.”
Her laugh is bitter. “I know. How ironic is that? We ruined her life, according to her. I messed up mine. And I could maybe save her life, except I can’t because I repeated her mistakes.”
“Don’t think that way. It is what it is.”
Sydney plays with her napkin. “I want to see her,” she announces suddenly.
“What?”
“Mom. I want to see her. Do you know where she lives?”
I stare at her, stunned. I had no clue where this conversation might go, but this is the last thing I expected. “Um, sort of.”
She nods. “Set it up. I’ll come back to Pembrooke next weekend. You don’t have to show up, but I’d like you to be there too.”
“Of course I’ll go with you. But, Syd… I’m not sure if this is a good idea. Honestly, I’m not sureshe’ll show up. She’s never…she still wants nothing to do with us. Her…the guy she was with is the one who told me about the cancer. She just walked away.”
The determination remains on Sydney’s face, no sign of second-guessing. I have no clue what that means. If it’s a healthy or terrible reaction.
“There’s only one way to find out.” Sydney glances at her phone. “I’ve really got to go. I’ll see you next weekend. Thanks for the bagel.”
Then she slides out of the booth and leaves me sitting here.
My phone vibrates with a text from Cassia.
CASSIA: How did it go?
I have no clue how to answer her.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-ONE
CASSIA
“Wow. This is…wow.”
I hide a smile behind my water bottle as Jackie stares at the group of shirtless guys washing cars.
Pembrooke High’s basketball team turned out in full force. JV and Varsity are in complete attendance.
I’m not surprised Holden’s influence surpassed our graduation. Iamsurprised by how many of Pembrooke’s residents have shown up to support the fundraiser—including my own family.
My mom came by with the twins and Sally about an hour ago. Seeing my siblings excited and smiling was a highlight of the morning. It’s hard sometimes, having such a huge age gap with some of my siblings.
Sydney bemoaned being so close in age to Holden plenty of times, wishing for some more separation. And in some ways, it’s fun, getting to relive my childhood through the eyes of my younger brothers and sisters.
