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Cassie.” The child somehow softens me and calms my temper. “You should still
breastfeed like we discussed…” The nurse nods her agreement. “…and I still want a
paternity test, just in case.” Dan is planted on the couch. He doesn’t say anything.
He is probably too busy digesting a monumental amount of crow. “And…come
clean to your family. I don’t need you painting a picture like I’m some sort of

deadbeat.”
Sanya looks longingly at the small bundle. “She’s beautiful, Cassie.” Cassie
fixes her with another death stare.
I shake my head. I know Cassie wants to blame Sanya, but we aren’t a couple,

nor are we trying to be. Yes, my thoughts get away from me sometimes, but I keep
them to myself.
“Don’t do that, Cassie. She didn’t break us up. We were over long before I met
her.” I look pointedly at the baby. “Tell Monty I said congratulations.”
A shocked gasp makes us all turn towards the door. Cassie’s mom is standing
in the doorway clutching baby gifts. Her eyes are filled with unshed tears, and her
mouth is slightly agape. I feel bad for Mrs. Frank; she is stuck with a possible son-
in-law that has spent twelve years trying to get his band signed. It’s nothing wrong

with having a creative gene. I encourage it. Monty never tries to find other ways to
make money. A gig here or there doesn’t really pay bills.
Plus, the math tells everyone that she has cheated on me more than once. It
isn’t supposed to be possible for the baby to have two possible fathers. I like Mrs.
Frank. She’d confided in me that she was glad I was with Cassie because she hated
Monty. Now she is stuck with him in some capacity. I hand the nurse the bear. I
nod at Mrs. Frank apologetically on my way out of the door. I hear Cassie start to
cry, but I don’t turn. Instead, I toss a “goodbye, everyone” over my shoulder. That
is the last thing I plan on saying to the Frank family.

Our trip to the car is quiet, but an unasked question pings between us rapidly
and with such force that it takes the shape of a metaphorical elephant. After we
lock ourselves in the car and click our seatbelts into place, I address the beast.
“I didn’t correct her assumptions about our relationship because what we do
or don’t do is none of her business; it never will be.” I leave out the part that I kind
of like the idea. My head falls back on the seat before I continue. “Cassie lost all
rights to know what I do the moment I caught her being unfaithful. Even if I’d