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I got up and began pacing. Self-loathing wouldn’t make anything better, and besides, it wasn’t my style anyway. What I needed to do was to figure out how to fix what I broke. I deeply hurt Lisa, and it wouldn’t be as easy as a simple apology. That was far too cheap, and it demeaned both of us.
But she didn’t look like the type to be moved by diamonds and expensive shit either.
“This would be easier if she were,” I muttered to myself.
Before I could fully ruminate, the phone started ringing. It was my private phone, and only two people had that number—my aunt and Lisa. I told myself it wasn’t disappointment clenching in my chest when I looked and found that the number was Ingrid’s.
“Hey, Ingrid,” I said, rubbing my eyes. “I have to warn you that I’m not in the best of moods right now, so it might be better if we talk later.”
“Oh no.” I should have known my aunt would never have been able to leave it at that. Concern practically dripped from her tone, and she wouldn’t rest until she found out everything. “What happened?”
It would be faster and easier to tell her the truth. “I argued with Lisa, and I think I might have fucked up.”
“Lisa is…the new girl you’re seeing?”
“Yeah.” I hadn’t exactly explained my relationship with Lisa to Ingrid, but I knew she religiously kept up with the news and must have read up some. I intended to introduce them to each other eventually, but I hadn’t had time. More importantly, Ingrid didn’t know about Violet.
I hesitated for a second and then decided now would be as good a time as any to explain. “Ingrid, there was something I wanted to tell you.”
“Oh no. Don’t tell me there’s another woman in the picture.”
I smiled at the inflection of horror in her tone. “No, I swear to you, Lisa is the only one on my mind at the moment.” Another strange occurrence. “It’s more about something I didn’t tell you a long time ago that I should have….” I hesitated for a few beats, nerves bouncing around in my stomach. Even though I was now ages away since I was a teenager, Ingrid somehow still had a way of making me feel like I was the same stupid little boy who sought her approval.
“I’m listening,” she said in her prompting way, and then I started.
“The truth is, I’ve known Lisa for a very long time. Since back in high school.”
“Yes, the article I read mentioned that. But I thought you were with Kim in high school?”
“Kim and I broke up toward the end. I started with Lisa on the night we broke up.”
“Oh. Well then, good,” Ingrid said firmly. “I’ve never liked that uppity bitch, Kim.”
I snorted unexpectedly. It was always a surprise whenever I heard my aunt swear, even though I’d seen her do it enough times when she got super into her game shows.
“Yeah, anyway, Lisa and I were together,” I said smoothly. “And we also slept together. And she got pregnant.”
Three was silence at the other end of the line, so I continued, “I didn’t know about the baby until recently…when we reconnected again. She said she didn’t tell me because she was scared about how I would react or if I would want her to get rid of it. We went our separate ways after I graduated. The media doesn’t know about the child either. I don’t want her involved in…all this.” And no one was going to hurt my daughter. I would rip them apart if they tried.
Unfortunately, now that I’d placed her mother in the spotlight, the truth about Violet would eventually come out. And so would the truth about her parentage. I just had to make sure I could spin this to put her in the best possible light, even if it meant I looked like a dickhead in the process.
“Oh my god,” Ingrid finally spoke up, her voice a mixture of awe and tears. “You’re telling me that I have a grandniece?”
“Yes,” I said, knowing how overwhelmingly happy she must be at the news. “Her name is Violet. Do you want to meet her?”
“Are you kidding me?” Ingrid practically screeched in my ear. “Of course, I want to meet her! I’m practically trembling in excitement. Oh, I don’t know, there are so many things I want to do! Buy her toys? Does she still play with toys? How young is she? Oh my god, is she okay? Is she healthy?”
“Relax, Ingrid,” I said, laughing at her exuberance. “Yes, she’s perfectly fine and healthy. She’s beautiful, in fact, and shy, like her mother. But unexpectedly brave too. She’s a complete angel.”
“Oh.” I could hear from Ingrid’s voice that she was full-on crying now. “Oh, I can just picture her already. I can’t wait to meet her.”
“You will, at dinner next weekend, if they say yes,” I said. “I’ll invite them over. If that’s okay with you.”
“Oh, absolutely. You just see what happens if you show up here without them. I’ll make a pot roast. And some apple pie. She likes apple pie, right? You used to like apple pie when you were younger. Unless she doesn’t…she’s not allergic to anything, is she?”
“Just shellfish,” I said, smiling as my aunt chattered on. And then, somewhere in the middle of the conversation, a light bulb went off in my head.
I knew how to fix it.
