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“What are your reasons now?” Nikki said, a brow rising over her one green eye. “Why would you consider contacting our sperm donor without—”
“Our father,” Cassandra corrected, her voice rising, too. “The man fathered us.”
Nikki’s slashing gesture dismissed the idea. “Not me. Not Juliet. And not you either, Froot Loop.”
The other woman’s eyes now glittered, too. “Don’t.”
“Fathering goes beyond petri dishes and turkey basters. Even you should know that.”
“And even you should know that every time you reach out a hand it won’t be slapped.”
Both fuming, they stared each other down and Juliet remembered she’d come to the shop for some calm. Before that, she recalled she’d been intrigued at being part of a trio. At the idea of sisters. But this was messier than she’d expected, not to mention—her train of thought derailed as the source of their argument finally sank in.
“Wait,” she said. “You contacted our sperm donor?”
Cassandra glanced over. “Not yet. I just floated the possibility to you both in e-mail. I guess you haven’t checked yours yet.”
“I thought the donor process was anonymous,” Juliet said.
“It was at the time,” Cassandra answered. “But there are ways—”
“Sneaky ways,” Nikki put in hotly. “The same sneaky ways you used to find me.”
“It’s not like I stole your identity,” Cassandra shot back. “Thanks to my ‘sneaky ways,’ I gave you something. I gave you us, your sisters.”
Nikki’s mouth set in a stubborn line. “Well, fine. But I don’t want or need anyone else. And we have no right to be poking into this man’s life after all these years.”
“Didn’t you finish reading the e-mail?” Cassandra’s gaze narrowed. “Oh, no, you didn’t. You read the first line and then came stomping over here, breathing fire like a dragon.”
Nikki didn’t soften. “So what? What did I miss?”
“Donor 1714 registered on the website set up to connect biological fathers to their offspring. Once I provide the data I have, the site administrators will release his e-mail to me.”
“Big whoop. You’ve known his name for months.”
“A name?” Juliet realized she’d not asked enough questions of Cassandra and Nikki—or they’d been wary enough of her to hold some pieces of information back. It stung a little to think they hadn’t trusted her with everything. “You know his name?”
“I do,” Cassandra answered. “But Nikki—”
“Thinks knowing his donor number is knowledge enough,” the younger woman finished.
Cassandra’s eyes rolled. “You’re such an ostrich sometimes.”
“And you’re such a meddler all of the time.”
“Don’t be childish,” Cassandra snapped.
“Don’t be judgmental.”
“Judgmental?” Cassandra lifted her hands, let them fall. “You’re a big snot, you know that?”
Nikki shrugged. “So says the Froot Loop.”
Cassandra heaved in a short breath and took a fast step forward.
Nikki held her ground. “What are you going to do, poke me with a knitting needle or just pound me with a granola bar?”
Cassandra let out a strangled sound and her jaw tightened. “Nik—”
“Enough!” Goaded by their ridiculous behavior, Juliet stepped between the two of them—and into the fray. “Both of you cut it out.”
The two women stared at her with round, startled eyes. Juliet crossed her arms and gave them a quelling look—something she didn’t, before, realize she possessed. “I, for one, am thanking God right now that I wasn’t around to referee your teenage spats over boyfriends and sweater-borrowing.”
“Yeah.” Nikki smirked and jerked her thumb at Cassandra. “Especially because the girls on that one would have overstretched any top we shared.”
“Hey—” And then Cassandra laughed, the temper in her eyes cooling. “Okay, we sounded fifteen.”
“Try thirteen,” Juliet corrected. “So now let’s all sit down and be civil like grown-ups.”
In minutes she got the story straight. Cassandra visited a website where sperm donors could register information such as the fertility clinic where they donated, donation dates, and their identifying number in the hopes of connecting with offspring who were curious to learn more about that unknown half of their biological equation.
Cassandra was all for making contact.
Nikki was satisfied with sisters.
