Page 74 of Between Now & Heartbreak

Turns out, there are some lies that it won’t let me tell myself.

Oh God.

23

KNIFE TO A GUNFIGHT

CARTER

“Thanks for coming to meet me.”I say as Dina slides into the booth across from me.

“No problem. I was in town. And honestly, it’s amazing to lay eyes on you.” She shakes her head in wonder, a huge smile on her face.

“Thanks, I guess.” I draw out the words and eye her warily. “Why are you looking at me like I’m a circus attraction?”

Her smile only grows wider.

“Because, everyone believes that Susan Kendicott killed the baby she’d given birth to. And after the I found out about the first child, I believed it, too. You’re like a unicorn. But real.”

I balk at that. “Well, I can assure that I’m not anything close to magical or rare.” Right now, I feel like shit warmed over.

She smiles and reaches into her bag and pulls out a brown lunch bag. She slides it across the table at me.

“I’d like to do an independent DNA test. Just to confirm your paternity. Susan’s attorney has a waiver from her so we can test as soon as we receive your sample.”

The request comes as a surprise and it makes me uneasy.

“I got results from that site. It’s supposed to be accurate.”

She purses her lips and eyes me intently.

“What?” I demand, a feeling of dread pooling in my gut.

“I talked to the other lawyer. She’s been in a maximum security prison for twenty years. It’s not possible that she would have been able to send her DNA to a website like that.”

I choke on my next breath.

“You mean, she’s not my mother?” I ask when I stop coughing. Saying the words out loud makes me instantly nauseous. If I have put myself through all of this…and she’s not even my mother.

“You’re her spitting image and your origin story fits perfectly, chronologically and factually.”

I sag in relief.

“The document you sent me said the match was a parentorfull sibling. I’m think maybe it’s your sibling’s profile. The first child.” She says meaningfully.

I shake my head. “But we’re not full siblings. She didn’t even know Kendicott when she had him.”

She smiles nervously and clears her throat. I don’t say anything to prod her this time. I have a feeling whatever is coming next isn’t something I’ll want to hear.

“Joel Kendicott wasn’t your father.” She says it such certainty that I almost nod.

“What are you talking about?”

“He couldn’t have been. He had testicular cancer when he was 17. The treatment left him sterile. Her lawyer implied that she had a lover. At the very least she had a tryst. But her lawyer also implied that both children were sired by the same man.”

I feel like I’ve been hit with a 2 by 4 and my head is starting to hurt. I’m not sure how to process any of this. This was Jo’s theory, too.

“So, who is he?”

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