My Sunshine (14 page)

Daniel
and Rebecca looked at each other and smiled.

“What makes you think we want to get married?” he asked.

“Oh, come on. I’m not an idiot. I know you’ve been waiting around for me to get well enough to take care of myself.

I’m well enough guys, and it’s time for me to go.”

Daniel frowned and Chloe thought she could see tears in his eyes. “But why do you have to be going so far away?” He looked down at his plate.

Rebecca
cleared her throat. “So what’s his house like?”

Chloe
shook her head. “It’s nice, but it isn’t what you would expect. I mean, you’d expect that he would live in some mansion, but he doesn’t. None of them do, really. But the house has three bedrooms, a big kitchen, living room, den, three and a half baths, big yard, swimming pool.”

“Sounds nice,”
Rebecca said. “We’ll have to come visit y’all this winter when it’s freezing here.”

“Thank you,”
Chloe said. “Thank you for being so

supportive.”

“You said it yourself, Chloe,” Daniel said. “You’ve

accomplished more these past three years than anyone e
ver thought you would. I’m really proud of you.”

Chloe smiled at Justin who was the next customer in line.

“Can I help you?”

He handed her his paycheck. “I want to keep out fifty bucks,” he said. He pulled an envelope from his back pocket.

“I brought yours.”

“Thanks,” she said, taking the envelope from him. She processed his transaction and handed him the cash.

“When do you take your lunch?”

She looked at her watch. “In ten minutes. Why?”

“I’m going to take you out to lunch. I want to hear about
your weekend.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

Ten minutes later,
Chloe was already standing outside when Justin pulled up. She climbed in his car. “I’ve got an hour.”

“Pacey’s okay?” Justin asked.

Pacey’s Grill was probably the most popular establishment in Canton. Even with the openings of several fast food restaurants in recent years, the Grill was still packed everyday at lunchtime. It was a family owned business that had been serving Canton for over fifty years.

“That’s fine,”
Chloe said, lighting a cigarette.

“So?” Justin said, “How was your weekend.”

“It was good -- very, very good.”

“Christy can’t wait to hear about it. She’ll probably call you
tonight. We were watching the other night when they were singing the National Anthem and she was like, ‘I can’t believe

Chloe
is seeing that guy’.”

Chloe
smiled. She had never had anyone remotely jealous of her.

Justin pulled into a spot in front of Pacey’s Grill, which was
just down the block from the bank. They got out of the car and stood outside while Chloe finished her cigarette. He opened the door for her.

“Hello Justin,” a waitress said cheerfully as they entered.

“Chloe,” she added blankly. Everyone in Canton knew each other and Chloe was used to not being greeted as warmly as whomever she was with.

They seated themselves at a booth in the corner. The
waitress followed them, already carrying two tall glasses of tea.

“What’ll be today? Your usuals?”

“Yeah,” Justin and Chloe answered in unison.

“So,” Justin asked. “Is it love?”

Chloe smiled. “I wouldn’t go that far. I like him a lot, and I’m pretty sure he likes me, but I wouldn’t say love.”

Justin shook his head. “I don’t even know what to say,
Chloe. I am so happy for you. I’ve known you for what -- three years? I’ve never seen you have any kind off a social life.

I guess when you decide to get one, you go whole hog.”

Chloe laughed. “I didn’t exactly decide, Justin. It just happened. I’ve never had anything good happen to me. This is like a dream. Sometimes I worry that I’m delusional and this isn’t real.”

“You’re not delusional, and it’s for real.” The waitress

approached the table with Justin’s fried chicken sandwich and Chloe’s barbecue platter. “So when are you seeing him again?”

“I don’t know. Definitely in November. I’m going down
for Dennis’s wedding, and I’m staying there. I’m moving in with him.”

Justin raised his eyebrows. “What?”

“He asked me if I wanted to come and live there. I’d have my own room, you know.”

“Of course, you would. Are you sure about this?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be? How many

people get this opportunity? Plus, I could use a change of
environment. And no one here is going to miss me.”

Justin frowned. “That’s not true. You’re my best friend.

I’m going to miss you. But hey, I can always come visit, right?”

Chloe
nodded. “Yeah.” She pushed the food around on her plate for a few moments before speaking again. “What did you think when I told you that I was sick?”

“You haven’t told him?”

Chloe shook her head.

Justin sighed. “At first, I guess I was a little wierded out by
it. I didn’t know what it meant, other than that you were somehow crazy. But then I realized that you were just as normal as me and if you hadn’t have told me, I would probably still never know.”

“So what should I do about
John?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s different. You’re going to
be living with him. You’re sleeping with him. He might deserve to know up front.”

“It’ll scare him off,”
Chloe said.

“Maybe. I don’t know,
Chloe. I do know that you’ve

been well for a long time, so maybe you’ll never have to tell
him.”

Chloe
frowned. “That’s a nice thought, but I don’t think it’s going to work out that way. I’ve been having some symptoms since September.” She frowned. “As a matter of fact, that voice started back the same weekend I met him for the very first time. I guess it’s the excitement or stress or something.”

Justin looked her dead in the eyes. “Go to the doctor,
Chloe. Have you told Daniel?”

“I can’t tell
Daniel. If I do, he won’t let me go. I’ll go to the doctor and get my meds straight. I promise. Please don’t tell Daniel.”

Justin shook his head and bit his lip and looked like he
wanted to disagree. Finally, he nodded slightly. “Okay.”

                       
Chapter Seven

  
Christin
e
looked up from her book when one of the four phones on the patio table began to ring. She didn’t recognize the ring tone as being her cell phone or Tyler’s or the cordless phone from inside the house. She picked up John’s cell phone. “John's phone, Christine speaking.”

“Oh,
Christine.” Bright said. “Is John around?”

“Yeah, hold on.” She put her hand over the mouthpiece.

“John!” John looked up from the basketball court. She waved the phone at him. He trotted across the yard and took the phone from her.

“Hello?” He wiped his brow with the hem of his shirt and
took a swig from the bottle of water he had left on the table. He hoped it was Chloe saying that she was coming back to Florida early. He would have left that second to go get her.

“Hey
John.” It wasn’t Chloe.

“Hey, dude. What’s up? I thought you guys were in Utah.”

“Yeah, we are.” John strained to hear Bright's lowered voice. “Listen, John. I wanted to call you before Jane does.

She’s not happy.”

“What’s wrong?”

“We just got back from seeing the babies.”

“Yeah?” John felt the uneasiness eating at his stomach lining.

“The boy’s got red hair.”

“So?” He was feeling nauseated.

“So, you’ve seen
Jane’s family. Not a red-head in the bunch.”

John
glanced at Christine and Tyler, who had joined them at the table. Christine was reading again, and Tyler was flipping through a magazine. They didn’t appear to be listening to his conversation. Still, though, he got up from the table and went inside the house. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“I don’t think there’s anything to say, really. It is what it is,
and it’s your business how you deal with it. I just wanted to call you before Jane rips you a new one.”

“Well, thanks for the information.” He clicked off the
phone. “Shit!” He slammed his hands down on the counter.

“Something wrong, man?”
Tyler asked, coming in the kitchen through the back door. He opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water.

John
looked at Tylerand shook his head
.
Nice, virgin Tyler. What would he know about this
?
But Tylerwas hi
s
buddy, his friend, his brother. He sighed and shook his head.

“That was Mike. He was warning me that
Jane’s on the warpath.”

“Why? What did you do?”

John looked at his hands and shook his head. He lifted his head and met Tyler’s eyes. “I might be the father of Mary’s babies.”

Tyler
’s eyes grew wide. “How? I mean, why does she think they might be yours?”

“Mike says one of them has red hair.”

“Didn’t you use condoms?” Tyler asked. “I thought you always did.”

“I did.”

“So what are you going to do?”

John
shrugged. “I don’t know, but until I figure something out, I’d like to keep this just between us.” His phone started ringing again. “God, I don’t want to talk to her.”

“It’s
Jane, man,” Tyler said. “She’s not going to go away.”

John
clicked on the phone. “Hello, Jane.” He didn’t even try to sound cheerful.

“
John, I know Mike just called. I’m not mad.”

John
half-laughed. “Yeah, right.”

“I just think that we should figure this out.”

“Why? And why is this any of your business anyway?”

“
John, please don’t try to start an argument. There is no doubt in my mind that your DNA is in this mix. This baby, Tommy, looks just like you.”

“What does
Mary say? Does she want to know for sure?”

“It’s in everyone’s best interest,
John.”

“Yeah? Does Matt think so?”
Jane was silent. “He

doesn’t suspect, does he,
Jane?”

“Not that I know of.
Mary doesn’t want to tell him until she knows for sure.”

John
sighed. “This is not good for me.”

“Would you not worry about your image for one second?”

Jane sounded annoyed. “No one will ever know.”

“I’m not worried about my image.” He shook his head.

“What do we need to do?”

“I’m having Alan overnight me a kit. I’ll swab the babies
and Mary, and I’ll swab you when I get back. Alan will have the test run anonymously.”

“There’s no way you could have left Dr.
Paul out of this?”

“You can trust him more than anyone,
John. You know that.”

“How long is this going to take?”

“We’re coming home Sunday. You should know the

results by Tuesday afternoon.”

“Then what? What if I am? What if I am the father of those twins?”

“I guess that’s between you and
Mary,” Jane said.

“Okay guys,” Brian, the record producer said. “That’s

good. Take five.”

The five guys slipped off their headphones and filed out of the sound booth. Jane came into the room. “John.” She was holding an envelope. She held the door open and he followed her into the hallway.

“Is that the results?”

She nodded.

“Have you seen them?”

Again, she nodded. “I've already called Mary.”

He took a deep breath and took the envelope from her.

“Well, here goes nothing.” He opened the envelope and took out two folded sheets of paper. He unfolded the first paper and scanned past the numbers to the conclusion
.
The alleged father,

John
Doe, is excluded as the biological father of the child, Anna Morris, because they share no genetic markers.

He let out his breath, and unfolded the second paper,
expecting the results to be the same
.
The alleged father, Joh
n
Doe, cannot be excluded as the biological father of the child
,
Thomas Morris, because they share genetic markers. Th
e
probability of paternity is 99.8%.

He let the information sink in. He looked up at
Jane. “Is this saying that I’m Thomas' father and not Anna’s?”

Jane
nodded. “Yeah.”

John
leaned against the wall. “How?”

Jane
shrugged. “It’s just a matter of timing. Mary must have had sex with Matt as soon as she got back home.”

“What did
Mary say?”

“Not much.”

“Does she want me to call her? Where do we go from here?”

“I don’t know.” She looked at her watch. “I’ve got to get
back to work. I haven’t told Mike, just you and Mary.”

“Thanks,
Jane.” He watched her leave then he folded the papers and stuffed them in his back pocket.

Tyler
stuck his head into the hallway. “Ready? We’re waiting on you.”

“
Jane was just here.”

Tyler
looked around and came out into the hallway. “Did she want Mike?”

“She dropped off the paternity test results.”

Tyler raised his eyebrows. “And?”

“I’m a daddy,”
John said. His jaw started to tremble and he bit his lip trying not to cry.

“Oh,”
Tyler said. He went to his friend and put his arms around him while he cried.

John
shook his head and pulled away. “Just one of them, though – the boy, not the girl.”

“Just one?”

“Yeah, if you can believe that.” He walked back to the studio. “Come on, we’ve got a record to make.”

“
John,” Brian said, handing a sheet of music. “We’re going to d
o
Save M
e
now. Just a rough cut. I know you and Mike have been playing around with it some, but I want to him to take the first verse and you the second. It’s more suited for your voice and I think you can really bring it home.”

John
nodded and followed the other guys into the booth. He worked hard to concentrate on the music and not on the envelope in his pocket. When it was his turn to sing, Chloe’s face flashed in his mind as he sang the words.

“I’m sorry, Brian, guys,” he said when they finished singing.

“I’ve got to go.”

How am I going to tell Chloe this? I have been so good, and tried so hard to be faithful to her. I don’t want to ruin this.

Why did that test have to come back positive? Why? What is
she going to think of me?

Once home, he holed himself up in his room, lying on his
bed and crying. Chloe called twice, and both times he let the phone ring, knowing that he would be unable to keep his composure when he talked to her.

“
John, are you here?” Tyler’s voice called down the stairs.

“No.”
John yelled back.

Tyler
came into John’s room. “Are you okay, man?”

John
shook his head. “No, I’m not okay. How can I be okay? What am I supposed to do about this?

“There’s nothing to do. It’s done. Now, you just have to
deal with it.”

John
frowned. “You're no help.”

Tyler
sighed. “What do you want me to say? The tests don’t lie.”

“Don’t you understand? It’s not the tests that I’m worried
about. I get that. I am that baby's father. How am I going to tell Chloe?”

“Your having gotten some girl pregnant is not an
impossibility. She knows that right?”

“Well, she knows that I’ve been with lots of girls. But

Mary is married. I slept with a married woman and got her pregnant. She might just decide that she’s done with me.”

“And she might not. You can’t hide it from her.”

“Did you need anything?”

“Yeah, me and
Christine are going to throw a couple of steaks on the grill. Do you want one?”

John
shook his head. “No thanks.” Tyler left and John closed the bedroom door. “Please baby, don’t hate me.” He picked up his phone and dialed Chloe’s number.

“Hey,” she answered, sounding happy to hear from him

“Hey. How are you?”

“I’m fine. You don’t sound so good. What’s wrong?”

“Are you busy?”

“Nope. I’m just walking in the door from work. What’s

wrong?”

John
took a deep breath. “I need to tell you something really important, so I need you to be able to listen to me.”

“Okay, you’re scaring me, though.”

“I have something to tell you. Are you ready? Can you listen to me?”

“Yeah,
John go ahead.”

“Back in January, on the night before
Jane and Mike’s wedding, I went out with Mary, Jane’s sister.”

“The one that just had the twins?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought she was married.”

“She is. I just took her out for a cup of coffee, at least that’s what it started out as. We ended up having sex.”

“Oh.” She paused. “Oh,
John. Are you getting ready to tell me those twins are yours?”

“We used protection, I swear. She swore to me that it wasn’t
mine, but the boy has red hair, and he looks just like me. I saw a picture of him. We did a paternity test. He’s mine. The little girl's not.”