I’d willingly walked into dangerous situations. Never in my recent life had I recalled being as petrified as I was staring into my daughter’s eyes.
“Ruby?” Araneae said as she settled across the table. “Why don’t we wait until your mom arrives?”
Ruby looked from Araneae to me. “I’ve been thinking about it all night. That test is not a secret. The doctor said it was to check for illness, but I watch TV. You knew Mom. You have eyes the color of mine. You show up like some shining knight on a white horse—or a fancy car. I don’t care if you are or not. It really doesn’t matter. But I’d like to know.”
I nodded.
“Fine,” she said definitively. “By your not answering, I have the answer I need. Where have you been?”
Araneae reached across the table. “You know, Ruby, sometimes there aren’t simple answers. Sometimes what one person knows, the other doesn’t. This is a lot to think about. Patrick’s going to get your mom and then the three of you can talk.”
Ruby stood, pushing the chair where she’d been sitting back. “I hope when Mom gets here, we can go home.” She looked to Araneae. “No offense. Your place is nice and all. I just miss the way it’s supposed to be.”
Taking a deep breath, I stood. “We’ll talk again once Maddie is here.”
Ruby’s blue gaze narrowed as she turned back to me. “What did you call her?”
“Maddie, short for Madeline.”
“She doesn’t go by that name.”
“Not anymore,” I replied. “At one time she did.”
“How did you lose touch?” When I didn’t respond, Ruby continued. “Yesterday you said you and Mom lost touch. Did you leave her? Did you find out she was pregnant and take the next bus out of town?”
My head shook as her natural assumptions tore away pieces of my heart. “No.”
The room filled with awkward silence as Ruby scanned from person to person.
It was finally Sparrow who spoke. “She left him.”
Ruby turned toward his deep voice.
“Your mother left Patrick,” Sparrow repeated.
“For Andros?”
Sparrow shrugged. “We don’t know, Ruby. Give Patrick a break and wait for your mom. He’s dealing with a lot right now.”
“He is?” she asked. “Yeah, it must be a real bummer to learn you have a daughter.”
I did what I’d wanted to do since I first laid eyes on Ruby: I reached out and seized her hands. Peering down at our union, I was struck by how similar her hands were to her mother’s. They were petite with slender fingers, yet the hands in mine were not those of a child.
As Ruby stood stoically, not backing away, and her hands began to tremble, the rest of the room, my friends and chosen family, disappeared.
It was only Ruby and I.
“It is the greatest honor of my life to learn I have a daughter,” I said, still holding her now-shaking hands. “An honor to see you, to touch you, to know you’re real. I don’t know what happened before you were born other than that I didn’t leave Maddie. As far as what did happen, I don’t care. None of it matters now. Yes, you were right. The cheek swab was a paternity test, and this morning we learned the truth. I’m your father. I didn’t need the damn test. Once Maddie told me you existed, I believed. And then when I saw you yesterday, I knew without a doubt in my heart that you were part of me. The test wasn’t for me to believe. I’m sorry for the years I’ve missed—we’ve missed. But I refuse to concentrate on that. Finding you gives me—gives all of us—a future I never dreamt was possible.
“I’m thrilled to finally learn about you and have you in my life. I don’t blame you for being leery.” I looked around the room. “We’re a strange bunch of misfits. We’re also loyal to a fault. I pledged my love to your mom long before we married, but on that day, we made it official. After all this time, I still love her. I also love you with an overpowering feeling I can’t describe. I hope one day you can see to, at the very least, accept me.” I let go of her hands. “I would never force you.”
She took a deep breath. “You and Mom were married?”
“Technically, we still are.”
“This doesn’t make sense.”
“No, it doesn’t,” I agreed. “I wanted to wait until Maddie arrived, but…” A smile came to my lips. “…I should have known better. She told me that you’re smart