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I exited the elevator on the twelfth floor, my heart pounding with a mixture of anxiety and determination. Bob was already waiting for me, wringing his hands nervously.
“She’s in the conference room,” he said in a hushed tone, motioning me to follow.
I gave a curt nod, steeling myself for the confrontation ahead. “Thanks for calling me, Bob. I’ve got this.” I strode past him towards the closed conference room doors. Taking a deep breath, I gripped the handle and pulled it open.
The moment I stepped into the room, Laura Parker pushed to her feet. The first impression that hit me was that she was so much like Scarlett, it was uncanny. Right down to the blue eyes that, at this moment, were eyeing me warily.
“Mrs. Parker?” I ventured, keeping my voice carefully neutral. “I’m Rhett Rivers.”
“Hello. It’s nice to meet you.”
Uh, okay, not exactly what I was expecting. The way that Bob had behaved, I’d expected some sort of showdown. Or at the very least, some sort of anger, rage, fury. I mean, I hadn’t looked into the legalities of the bribe at the time, but I was pretty sure it was some sort of felony. How would it be if this woman landed me in the slammer, for Christ’s sake? I could have laughed at the craziness. Right now, though, I had to see what she wanted. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well. You…you want to discuss how I got your contact details?”
“Well, um, I guess you somehow got someone at the agency to tell you? It was a closed adoption, so it’s not information that is readily available. I know because I tried. I just, I hope no one was hurt or…or anything.”
“I did what I felt was necessary under difficult circumstances, Mrs. Parker. My intentions were not malicious. It was just that we didn’t know what was wrong with the babies?—”
“Babies?”
I frowned. She didn’t know about the babies? That was the whole reason for the letter. “I’m sorry, I’m confused. You don’t know that Scarlett is pregnant?”
“Her name is Scarlett? Oh, that’s so pretty.”
Had I just been tipped into fucking topsy-turvy land or what? “How about you have a seat? I’ll order us some coffee, and we can start from the beginning.”
“That’s a good idea. Thank you.” She sat down, folding her arms across her chest, while I went to the intercom and ordered coffee and a plate of cookies.
When I turned back to join her at the table, she was watching me anxiously and biting her lip. Biting her lip. Just like Scarlett did. It was such a small thing, but it made me lower my guard a little bit and give her a reassuring smile. Maybe this whole thing would go better if we were a bit more comfortable with each other. Time for some polite chit chat to set her at ease until our coffees came and we could really get down to business without being interrupted. “So, you’re a high school teacher.”
“I am.”
“What’s that like? If my memories of my teenage years are anything to go by, I can’t imagine you have an easy time of it.”
A small, cautious smile curved her lips. “It has its moments, but overall, it’s very rewarding and meaningful work. I’ve been doing it for long enough now that a lot of my students are fully grown adults, with careers and families of their own. The biggest buzz for me is when they come back to New Bern and see me and tell me how much they still love such-and-such a book we worked on when they were in the ninth grade. Or they still remember the excursion we took to Raleigh to see a modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. It means a lot to me and…Fu—fudge, sorry, jeez.” She was flustered all of a sudden. “Sorry, I always start rambling when I’m nervous.”
“You have nothing to be nervous about. In fact, if anyone should be nervous, it’s me. As I said, I did what I thought was necessary, and even though no one was hurt, that doesn’t negate the impact on you. So I would like to apologize?—”
“I’m sorry. I think you’ve misunderstood me. I’m glad. I mean, really, really glad you did that.” She uncrossed her arms and rested her hands in her lap, biting her lip again.
The rush of relief that hit me almost made me dizzy. Before I could respond, though, there was a soft knocking at the door and a young man entered with a tray of coffees and cookies. The room fell into an awkward silence as we waited for him to lay everything out on the table and pour the coffee. Once he’d finally left, I continued. “I’m really relieved to hear you say that you’re glad I broke the law and breached your privacy, let me say. That does, however, beg the question. Why have you come here today?”
“I just…I just want to know about my daughter. Is she…is she okay? Or she’s sick? That’s why you needed the medical history, right?”
“Scarlett isn’t sick, but the twins are.”
“Twins!”
“Okay, you really know nothing?”
Laura shook her head. “The only information I have is from your lawyer and the doctor. I only know that the daughter I gave up over thirty years ago needs her family medical history. And now she has some sort of condition that requires biological blood or plasma donation, or something like that.”
Fuck me, I’d really handled this badly. All I’d said to Bob was to reach out to this woman at this address and let her know her biological daughter needs her family history. Of course, he hadn’t disclosed any of Scarlett’s information, because why would he? Obviously, the doctor hadn’t either, because here we were. Just another thing for me to be sorry for, I guess. “Well, I’m very sorry. I imagine this must be very confusing and overwhelming for you.”
I filled her in on the whole messy situation while she sipped her coffee and listened attentively. Once I was done, she said, “So, you’re the babies’ father.” Her wide smile let me know she thought that was miraculous.
Awkward as fuck. “Yeah. I am.”
Her smile faded, and she placed her coffee cup carefully on the saucer. “Thank you for telling me all of that. I’ve already been to the hospital to give a blood sample for testing, so I hope that helps.”