Chapter 10: Harold's Study

Harold's study smelled of old books and peppermint.

He sat behind a desk the size of a small boat, with a blanket over his knees and the television on mute.

On the screen, my face was frozen mid-sentence, with my mouth open.

"You were very good," he said.

"I'm sorry. I should have told you about the check."

"You should have told Gavin. He would have stopped it. Sit down, Miss Hruska."

I sat in a leather chair that swallowed me.

"I am going to ask you one question," said Harold. "Answer it or don't. But I will know the difference."

My stomach turned over.

"Go ahead."

"Is this baby a business arrangement?"

I thought about lying.

I thought about the look on his face when Gavin said we're having a baby.

"The baby is real," I said. "The clinic is real. The rest is between me and your grandson, and I'd like it to stay there."

"That is not an answer."

"It's the only one I have."

He was quiet for a long moment.

Then he picked up a small framed photograph from his desk and turned it around so I could see.

Two boys in a hot-shop doorway, black hair and sunburn, one about fifteen and one about ten.

The taller boy had his arm around the smaller one's neck, and both of them were laughing at whoever held the camera.

"That's Gavin," I said.

"And that is Nathan."

The smaller one was grinning with a chipped front tooth.

He had dark curls and blue eyes, so bright against his tanned face that they looked wrong.

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