Page 71 of The Anniversary Party

“I hadn’t heard anything about a girlfriend either, but it’s possible Rex wouldn’t tell me,” Tessa said. “Do you think he told Bethany?”

“I don’t know if he confided in her. But theyhaveknown each other forever. And when she was still working with him, they spent a lot of time together.”

“Right. Also, I don’t remember if she reacted when Grady dropped the bombshell,” Tessa mused.

“I hope it’s true,” Annette said softly—so softly that Sasha had to strain to hear her. “Maybe it’ll give my parents some comfort. If Rex does have a child, a part of him lives on.” Her voice broke.

“Oh, Annette.” Tessa soothed her friend.

She sniffled. “This is a nightmare. And I don’t love knowing all this stuff about our friends—or even Joy. Everyone’s secrets getting dragged out into the open makes it all worse somehow.”

“Sasha and Leo aren’t trying to torture us. They’re just trying to figure out what happened,” Tessa assured her.

Sasha found herself nodding in agreement.

“I know,” Annette said with a sigh. “Good thing you don’t have any deep, dark secrets, huh?”

There was a silence. Then Tessa made a strangled noise. In the passageway, Maisy and Sasha exchanged a look.

“Oh, Tessa, I was joking. I’m sorry,” Annette hurriedly apologized.

“No, it’s … I am ….” She took an audible breath and tried again. “The idea that Rex might have fathered a baby is ironic to me. I froze some of my eggs last month.”

“You did? Really?”

“Yeah, I really did. I’m almost thirty, and I’m not seeing anybody seriously. And I started thinking maybe I should have a contingency plan. What about you and Brian? No plans for kids?”

“I don’t know. We’ve talked about it. I love his niece and nephew. But being responsible for another human seems daunting. Look at Bethany. That girl is more tightly wound than she ever was in college.”

Tessa agreed. “She’s beyond stressed. She’s a whirlwind of anxiety and worry. I don’t think she’s cracked a smile this entire weekend.”

“To be fair, two dead bodies is a bit of a buzzkill.”

They giggled at their dark humor. Maisy tried to swallow a giggle of her own, and Sasha shot her a warning look.‘Sorry,’Maisy mouthed.

Annette composed herself and continued, “Besides, when Rex owned that genetic testing company, he made the whole family get our DNA analyzed. Turns out he and I both inherited several mutations for rare and scary-sounding diseases. I wouldn’t want to risk passing any of those along.”

“Like what, if you don’t mind sharing?”

“Well, phenylketonuria, for one.”

“Wait. That’s PKU, right?” Tessa asked.

“I think so. I don’t know that much about it. It causes a build-up of some amino acid.”

“Hospitals screen for that. Rowan has it, actually.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I remember Bethany telling me about it. He’ll have to eat a special diet and be monitored throughout his life, but he’s otherwise healthy.”

“Well, that’s good. He’s the most adorable little thing.”

“He is.” Tessa agreed. “Sometimes I see those pictures Bethany sends around, and my maternal clock starts ticking—loudly.”

“Uh-uh,” Maisy whispered to Sasha in a hiss, “No, thank you. Just borrow your friends’ kids, silence that clock, and then give them back at the end of the night.”

“You’re saying this to the friend whose kids you borrow.”

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