Read Online One Small Thing by Jessica Barksdale Inclan - Free Book Online

damaged her liver.”
     
    Avery heard Dan swallow, coughing a bit. She wondered if he were crying. “Oh. Oh.” he mumbled.
     
    “But Daniel’s fine.” Midori added quickly.
     
    Dan coughed. “So about the boy.”
     
    “Yes. This is the important part. When the authorities finally found the boy—“
     
    “What do you mean? Found the boy?”
     
    Midori seemed to rifle through some papers. Avery pressed her tongue against the sore spot in her mouth. “This is the difficult part. It seems Randi didn’t or couldn’t tell anyone about her son. She died, and he was left alone in the home for over a week. Taking care of himself. Finally, one of the neighbors in the trailer park called the police.”
     
    Trailer park , Avery thought. Just figures .
     
    “Oh, my God. Was he okay?” Dan asked.
     
    “Physically, yes. But after being alone for a week and then being told that his mother had died, he was not in great shape psychologically. It was in the local papers here. I guess the story didn’t make it up to the Bay Area.”
     
    So what, Avery wanted to say, does this have to do with Dan? Get on with it. Tell him. Tell him the truth. Ask for it, Dan! Now! Ask for the answers that will ruin our life.
     
    “That’s terrible,” Dan said. “Where is he?”
     
    “In foster care. Temporarily. We hope. And that’s why I’m calling you.”
     
    Here it comes , Avery thought. She bent down to her knees, pushing her body together as if touching her own flesh could save her.
     
    “Okay. What can I do?”
     
    “When we went to the home, we found Randi’s papers. Years ago, it seems she wrote a will, and indicated that, well, you were the boy’s father.”
     
    Avery had known that was what was coming, and yet, to hear a stranger say what her brain had been spinning since she found Dan on the phone made her dizzy. A father. A father already. Of course his sperm had been good, mobile, perfectly formed and shaped. He’d already produced one child. It wasn’t him that was damaged. There was living evidence of his reproductive health living in foster care in the Central California Valley.
     
    “Oh.”
     
    “He’s ten years old. Does that work in terms of a time frame?” Midori asked.
     
    “Yeah. It does.” Dan sounded cold, shut down.
     
    “So, here’s the thing. We need to do a DNA test. To check for paternity. And then we can talk about what you want to do. There’s not really any obligation—“
     
    “Obligation.”
     
    “What I mean is, the boy could stay in foster care. While we want to establish paternity, it doesn’t mean you have to take custody. Paternity would necessitate some form of support from you, however.”
     
    “Custody.” Dan was turning into a robot. Avery sat up and rubbed her forehead, unconsciously looking for a pen and paper. He should be taking notes, not repeating words. They were already talking about money. Jesus! She walked into the hall and then into the kitchen, cradling the phone as she moved. Dan was slumped over the counter, his face pale.
     
    “We assumed you might want to—“
     
    “Of course.” Dan sat up when he saw Avery. “Yes. I see what you mean.”
     
    “So the DNA testing is very quick, very easy. It involves only a quick swab of your mouth. Once we have those details confirmed, we can talk about the rest. It seems overstepping to go into too much at this point.”
     
    “Okay,” Dan said.
     
    “Did you have any knowledge about this child?” Midori asked. “Did you have any discussion with Randi after you left Sacramento?”
     
    “No. None. I left for Cal and never talked to her again. That makes me wonder—how did you get my phone number in the first place?”
     
    “Your parents. She’d indicated their names. They were at the same residence, which made it easy.”
     
    “When did you talk with them?” Dan looked up at Avery, his mouth open slightly.
     
    “This morning. I was so glad they were home.”
     
    They were home