cry.”
“Why? Because she has to settle for second best?”
“Don’t do that, Jonny. It’s not fair, to her or you.”
Jonathan turned around and leaned against the chair rail. “I’m not agreeing to anything, but let’s think about this logically for a minute. A girl you haven’t seen in fifteen years shows up and asks you for sperm. A girl, by the way, who kind of went bonkers when you told her you were gay. And the two of you really haven’t spoken since then. And now, because she’s getting older and you’re sterile, you want me to give her my sperm.” Jonathan sat down on the floor in front of Philip so their knees touched. “Now, placing all that weirdness aside for a second, have you considered any of the legal ramifications?”
Philip drew circles with his finger on Jonathan’s knee.
“Jonny, I haven’t considered anything yet, other than bringing it up to you. First things first, ya know? And the first thing is to decide whether or not this makes any kind of sense. If it does, we talk more about it. Then, if it still does, we talk to G. She knows the law inside and out. And if she doesn’t know the nitty gritty about sperm donation, she’ll recommend someone who does. But first, it’s you and I who have to decide if there’s something here we want to get involved with.” He brushed the wisps of hair falling in front of Jonathan’s eyes. “No decisions have been made. Only points of discussion. Okay?”
“Okay.” Jonathan pulled Philip’s hand to his mouth and kissed the soft, padded skin of his palm, right below his thumb. “Okay. Now if I can get my mind back into it, I have an article to finish.”
“S'il vous plaît continuer. Je suis désolé pour vous ennuyer,” said Philip walking to the door.
“You’re never bothering me. And cut the French crap. It reminds me of Luc.”
“Mi dispiace, mi amor.”
“Okay, now you’re just showing off. Go take a shower or something.”
Philip grabbed the door sash and swung around. “I vill be vaiting for vous, how you say, in zee bedwoom,” he ran out of the room and down the hall.
Jonathan shook his head and rolled his chair back to the computer. Scrolling up to the top of the article, he stared at the headline: Data Security Specialists: A Day in the Life.
“Holy shit, this is dull.”
Although it was just a whisper, inside his head it sounded like a scream.
*
Two days later, on a polished maple table surrounded by the faint smell of old paper emanating from the tomes of law books, Jonathan and Philip tapped their fingers in unison. The meeting room was elaborately decorated: mahogany built-ins held ancient books that seemed to breathe decades of jurisprudence, and the large window bordered with sepia festoons, held thick, wooden panes that split the glass into twelve small squares. All of it served to increase Jonathan’s feeling of claustrophobia.
“G’s done pretty good for herself, huh?” Philip traced his fingers along the spines of the law books.
Jonathan stood, walked to the window, and stared at the brilliant blue sky and enormous white clouds silently floating like huge cities of cotton. He grabbed the ridge attached to the bottom half of the casement window, lifted it up and inhaled deeply.
“Yeah, she definitely has. I can’t believe she made partner and we didn’t even know. We don’t keep up enough with our friends.” He turned to Philip. “You already know that, right?”
“One thing at a time, Jonny. Let’s discuss the baby thing with her and then we can talk about what horrible friends we are.”
Jonathan smiled, allowing Philip’s soothing voice and logic to calm his nerves. He tapped the glass of the window, pointing toward Long Island Sound.
“I think I can see the Montauk Lighthouse from here. We should go back there before the summer’s over. Let’s look at our calendars and…”
“And you’ll take me along, right?” G interrupted. “I need a vacation too, you
“Why? Because she has to settle for second best?”
“Don’t do that, Jonny. It’s not fair, to her or you.”
Jonathan turned around and leaned against the chair rail. “I’m not agreeing to anything, but let’s think about this logically for a minute. A girl you haven’t seen in fifteen years shows up and asks you for sperm. A girl, by the way, who kind of went bonkers when you told her you were gay. And the two of you really haven’t spoken since then. And now, because she’s getting older and you’re sterile, you want me to give her my sperm.” Jonathan sat down on the floor in front of Philip so their knees touched. “Now, placing all that weirdness aside for a second, have you considered any of the legal ramifications?”
Philip drew circles with his finger on Jonathan’s knee.
“Jonny, I haven’t considered anything yet, other than bringing it up to you. First things first, ya know? And the first thing is to decide whether or not this makes any kind of sense. If it does, we talk more about it. Then, if it still does, we talk to G. She knows the law inside and out. And if she doesn’t know the nitty gritty about sperm donation, she’ll recommend someone who does. But first, it’s you and I who have to decide if there’s something here we want to get involved with.” He brushed the wisps of hair falling in front of Jonathan’s eyes. “No decisions have been made. Only points of discussion. Okay?”
“Okay.” Jonathan pulled Philip’s hand to his mouth and kissed the soft, padded skin of his palm, right below his thumb. “Okay. Now if I can get my mind back into it, I have an article to finish.”
“S'il vous plaît continuer. Je suis désolé pour vous ennuyer,” said Philip walking to the door.
“You’re never bothering me. And cut the French crap. It reminds me of Luc.”
“Mi dispiace, mi amor.”
“Okay, now you’re just showing off. Go take a shower or something.”
Philip grabbed the door sash and swung around. “I vill be vaiting for vous, how you say, in zee bedwoom,” he ran out of the room and down the hall.
Jonathan shook his head and rolled his chair back to the computer. Scrolling up to the top of the article, he stared at the headline: Data Security Specialists: A Day in the Life.
“Holy shit, this is dull.”
Although it was just a whisper, inside his head it sounded like a scream.
*
Two days later, on a polished maple table surrounded by the faint smell of old paper emanating from the tomes of law books, Jonathan and Philip tapped their fingers in unison. The meeting room was elaborately decorated: mahogany built-ins held ancient books that seemed to breathe decades of jurisprudence, and the large window bordered with sepia festoons, held thick, wooden panes that split the glass into twelve small squares. All of it served to increase Jonathan’s feeling of claustrophobia.
“G’s done pretty good for herself, huh?” Philip traced his fingers along the spines of the law books.
Jonathan stood, walked to the window, and stared at the brilliant blue sky and enormous white clouds silently floating like huge cities of cotton. He grabbed the ridge attached to the bottom half of the casement window, lifted it up and inhaled deeply.
“Yeah, she definitely has. I can’t believe she made partner and we didn’t even know. We don’t keep up enough with our friends.” He turned to Philip. “You already know that, right?”
“One thing at a time, Jonny. Let’s discuss the baby thing with her and then we can talk about what horrible friends we are.”
Jonathan smiled, allowing Philip’s soothing voice and logic to calm his nerves. He tapped the glass of the window, pointing toward Long Island Sound.
“I think I can see the Montauk Lighthouse from here. We should go back there before the summer’s over. Let’s look at our calendars and…”
“And you’ll take me along, right?” G interrupted. “I need a vacation too, you
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