Page 36 of Silver Fox's Twin Babies

“You can go on back. Doc is waiting for you since you’re the first one here.” She gestured at the door to my right. “Go through there and step on the scale. Cindy will be right with you.”

“Thanks.” I pulled my slacks up higher by the belt and turned toward the door. There were warning signs hung there, taped with scotch tape, depicting sick people covering their mouths or sneezing out germs. I opened the door and walked through to find a plump woman with a round face holding a clip board standing next to the scale.

“Mr. Smith,” she said, nodding. “Step up here and we’ll get your weight, then we’ll get you in a room to see Dr. Sharp.”

I allowed her to herd me through the process of taking vitals and history. She narrowed her eyes at me when I told her I was here for a paternity test so it was all rigamarole, but she put me in a room and I sat on the exam table waiting.

A few minutes later, a stout man with a burly mustache and wild eyebrows strolled in. He carried the same clipboard but nicer energy.

“Mr. Smith…I’m assuming it’s an alias?” The way his head dipped as he looked at me over his glasses made him seem approachable.

“Yes, my name is Evan, but I don’t want that on any records.” I fidgeted with my collar and loosened my too-tight tie. It was choking me for some reason. “I just need a paternity test run…There’s this whole drama and…” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the baggie of toothbrushes. He eyed them and then sat on the stool next to the exam table.

“I see. And these are?” he asked, accepting the toothbrushes as I handed them to him.

“These are toothbrushes used by the twins; I need to know if I’m the dad.” My heart hammered in my chest. There was no turning back after this. If Amber got furious with me for having her children’s—potentially my children’s—DNA tested, that would be it, no chance at redemption. But how could I live with myself not having actual evidence of the truth? I’d been stupid to believe I had a real relationship with my brother, one where I could trust him.

“That won’t be a problem,” he said, laying the baggie on the counter. “We’ll have a nurse come draw some blood and you’ll be set.”

“How long will it take? I’m sort of lying low. I have to face some things, but I need to make sure I’m prepared for that…” I didn’t want to even think about talking to Amber until I knew what the truth really was.

“Well, we can put a rush on it. Typically, between forty-eight to seventy-two hours.” He stood and tucked the clipboard under his arm and reached his hand out to shake mine. “They have your number on file?”

“Uh, yes,” I said, shaking his hand. “And I appreciate this being very confidential.”

“Not a problem, Mr. Smith,” he said with a wink. “That nurse will be right in.”

I sat anxiously waiting for the future to unravel, trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I could very well be the father of amazing seven-year-old twins. But was I ready to be a father? And how would I handle the fact that Amber had kept it from me?

I didn’t know if my love for her would cover this huge mistake. It might be something we could never come back from.

23

AMBER

After two days of not hearing from Evan, I was beginning to panic. The twins sat at the coffee table working on flashcards after being at school all day, but I had called in. The only thing more frightening than waiting for news of Evan to surface was the idea of learning something tragic had happened to him. I couldn’t even begin to process the idea of discovering that while I was at work.

“Mommy, she’s doing it too fast,” Parker whined. Vera shushed him, glancing up at me with a naughty grin.

“We’re fine. He’s just slow.” She smiled so hard she squinted at me, ignoring the way I glowered at her with disapproval.

“Both of you need to focus a little better please. Vera, he’s not as fast as you are, so be patient. Parker, please don’t whine okay, honey? If you have a big emotion like that, take a deep breath and call my name, and I’ll help you.”

My gentle correction felt like the most hypocritical thing to say. Internally, I was whining and complaining, crying a little. Not knowing what was going on with Evan felt like the worst sort of torture. After Jacob told me he’d let the secret slip, I figured Evan would blow off steam. I assumed he would ignoreme for the night, call me in the morning. When morning passed, I waited by my phone all afternoon, then into the evening.

Now the evening of the second full day, I was starting to be as worried sick as Jacob was the instant Evan stormed off. He wanted to contact the police immediately, but they wouldn’t do anything until he’d been missing for more than twenty-four hours. At that point, they filed the report, but there was no evidence of foul play anywhere. I showed Jacob where the hide-a-key was and he looked through Evan’s house. The only things missing were a few suits and some toiletries, or so it appeared.

“Mom!” Parker grumbled. “Please.” His tone wasn’t exactly respectful, but he was doing what I asked. I walked over to the kitchen table, prepared to settle in and make them obey, but as I stood over them staring at the flashcards, something inside of me broke. It wasn’t often that I hit my limit with them, but I was done.

“Alright, guys. We’re not going to make a habit of this, but as long as your homework for class tomorrow is finished, you may go play. Mommy has a lot on her mind right now. I don’t want to be grumpy with you.”

They raced away from the table with cheers before I finished my sentence, going straight for the Xbox. I sank onto a chair and began picking up the flashcards and worksheets. I felt so numb from the heavy emotion my body had started to ache. When I felt like crying, no tears would come. When I wanted to sleep, my mind raced and kept me awake.

Evan was out there somewhere, angry and hurting. It felt like half my heart was on fire and the other half was already made of ash and smoke. I hadn’t realized how important our interactions had become to me until they were gone—how important he had become to me.

Someone knocked on my door and my shoulders went rigid. Parker raced to the door as he had done a dozen times before, but this time his eyes fixed on me as he reached for the knob.

“Wait please,” I said as I slowly rose from the chair. He obediently waited, watching me walk toward him. I peeked out the peephole.

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