CHAPTER 4: MY SON
I picked Lucas up from Beth’s house at seven the next morning.
He ran down the porch steps before I parked completely.
I got out.
He hit me around the waist.
I hugged him hard enough that he laughed.
“Dad.”
“Sorry.”
“Can't breathe.”
I loosened my arms.
He looked at me.
“You came.”
“Of course.”
“Mom mad?”
“That’s adult stuff.”
He sighed.
“I hate adult stuff.”
“So do I.”
That got a smile.
On the drive home, he was quiet.
Then:
“Is Marcus my dad?”
I kept my eyes on the road.
“He's your biological father.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means part of where your body comes from is him.”
He thought.
“Eyes?”
“Maybe.”
“Hair?”
“Could be.”
“Am I still a Calloway?”
My throat tightened.
“Yes.”
“Forever?”
“Yes.”
He looked out the window.
“What if Marcus wants me to be a Denton?”
“We'll deal with that if it happens.”
“Would you be mad?”
“No.”
“Sad?”
I wanted to lie.
Then remembered what lies had done.
“Probably.”
Lucas nodded.
“But you’d still be my dad.”
“Yes.”
He leaned back.
“Okay.”
That simple answer mattered more to him than everything the adults were destroying.
When we reached home, Allison was at the kitchen table.
She looked like she had not slept.
Lucas stopped.
I saw it.
His first hesitation toward his mother.
Allison saw it too.
She knelt.
“Lucas.”
He stayed beside me.
Her eyes filled.
“I need to apologize.”
He looked up at me.
I nodded.
She continued.
“I should not have asked you to keep secrets from Dad.”
Lucas said nothing.
“I made you responsible for things adults should have handled.”
His lips trembled.
“Are you getting divorced?”
Allison looked at me.
I answered.
“We don't know yet.”
“Because Marcus is my real dad?”
“No.”
I crouched.
“This is not because of you.”
He looked between us.
“Then why?”
Allison wiped her face.
“Because Mom lied about important things.”
Lucas frowned.
“Are you in trouble?”
She swallowed.
“I made bad choices.”
That was better than saying trouble.
Then Lucas asked:
“Can I have two dads?”
Allison began crying.
I answered carefully.
“You can have people who love you in different ways.”
“But you stay Dad?”
“Yes.”
“Marcus too?”
I took a breath.
“He can be Marcus until you decide what feels right.”
Lucas nodded.
That was the first decision any adult had allowed him to make.
CHAPTER 5: THE LAW DOESN’T READ DNA THE WAY CHILDREN DO
The attorney’s name was Monica Reyes.
She specialized in custody and parentage disputes.
She listened for nearly an hour.
Then said:
“This is emotionally extraordinary.”
I nodded.
“Legally, parts are less extraordinary than they feel.”
Allison sat beside me.
Separate chair.
Separate world.