Part 13 (2/2)
”Well, what's it going to be? Sc.r.a.p your partic.i.p.ation in the La.s.siter case now or hear me out?”
”I'll give you directions. What time do you plan on being here?”
”Eight o'clock? Will that work for you?”
”As in morning?”
”I'm very motivated to at least have my say. You can always back out after.”
”If I don't answer the door, try the barn.”
Veronica arrived at 7:55, dressed smartly in black slacks and a camel jacket, every hair in place. Rae saw her walking up to the front door as she scurried in the back.
Rae had just time enough to remove her barn boots when the doorbell rang. A quick glance in the mirror told her she looked like she'd just rolled out of bed-except she was wearing jeans and an oversized s.h.i.+rt.
She braced as if for a blow as she threw open the front door. Up close, Rae could see the ravages of emotion in Veronica's face beneath the near-perfect makeup. Tiny smudges of mascara showed at the corners of Veronica's eyes. And there were lines in her forehead that her foundation couldn't hide.
”Let's go to the kitchen. I put on a fresh pot of coffee a while ago.” Rae glanced back as she led the way. Veronica followed cautiously, head held high, her dark eyes taking in details of the house. She reminded Rae of a wary horse crossing water.
”Do you have any herbal tea?” asked Veronica.
”Of course. I might have known.” Rae s.n.a.t.c.hed a box of Earl Grey from the pantry and plopped it unceremoniously in front of Veronica. ”It's not herbal, but it's all I have. I'll boil some water.” She reached into the cupboard for a mug.
”Why not just put a cup of water in the microwave?”
”This is not going to work.” Rae slammed the mug down on the countertop, hoping to break it. The mug stubbornly resisted. Rae turned on the tap and began to fill the mug.
”Okay, okay. Let's get it out in the open first. He was my sperm donor.”
”What?” The mug dropped a second time, the impact flinging water in all direction.
”I said he--”
”I heard what you said. No. There's no way. Anthony would never do that. He'd never make a decision like that without asking me.”
”I see. You'd rather picture him hopping in the sack with me. You'd accept that but not what really happened.”
Veronica retrieved the dropped mug that was miraculously still intact, filled it with water and popped it in the microwave.
Rae stood shaking her head. This hadn't even been in the realm of possibilities she'd processed.
”You think he would have asked your permission?”
”Not permission. Discussion. There would have been some discussion.”
”And what would your reaction have been?” Veronica removed her mug from the microwave and put a tea bag in to steep.
Rae seethed. ”You know d.a.m.n well what my reaction would've been.” She paused for breath. ”And so did Anthony.”
”I guess not.”
Rae looked hard into Veronica's eyes but couldn't read what she saw there.
”We talked about getting your input. Anthony was sure that you'd want to...be involved in the baby's life.” Veronica took a sip of tea and waited for Rae's reaction.
”He thought I was that controlling?”
”He called it loving. I'm the one who saw it as controlling. It was going to be my baby. No way did I want you, a woman I barely knew, partic.i.p.ating in my child's life.”
”You told him that and he still”
”No, no. I didn't word it that way.”
”Just tell me why you'd want to take my husband's sperm and make yourself a baby.”
”Because he was the finest man I knew. And I didn't think I had that much time left.”
Rae sank into a kitchen chair and stared at Veronica for a full minute. Finally: ”He was the finest man I knew, too. We have one point of agreement. But the time left part...I don't get it.”
”My clock,” Veronica whispered.
More silence, then: ”You're how old?”
”I'm fifty-three, Rae.”
”G.o.d, you're older than me. I figured you for younger.” The words tumbled out, leaving Rae wondering why this revelation gave her some relief. ”You're even older than Anthony...was.”
”So?”
”So, I guess your clock was ticking all right.”
”I looked for Mr. Right, kissed a bunch of frogs, but all I got were guys like Reggie Navarro and his ilk.”
”Who's Reggie Navarro?” Rae grimaced, then tried to wash away the imagined taste of frog kisses with a gulp of black coffee.
”You don't want to know.”
Rae sighed. ”Why didn't you just get an anonymous donor? You can look at their backgrounds...so I understand.”
”I really wouldn't know what I was getting. With Anthony, I knew. It took a lot of persuading, let me tell you.”
Rae put up a hand in protest. ”I don't want the details. I'm handling as much as I can. Small bites, please.”
”I wasn't even sure you'd see the resemblance. n.o.body else has. We often run into people I used to work with at Metro.”
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