“I’m thrilled for you.” Aileen squeezed her hand. “You get exactly what you want out of life, my dear. Get every bit of it.”
Mina lingered too long, soaking up every available lucid moment with Aileen. The short day turned into darkness while they chatted. By the time she got out to her car, the night air had filled with whirling snow. “Can’t you wait a bit longer?” she pleaded with the sky. “I just need to get home.” It was thirty minutes to her place in downtown Benton Ridge, most of it along dark highway. Brights on, seatbelt on—it was time to go.
Her mind drifted to the appointment as soon as she pulled onto the highway. Two days. In two days, she’d be back in the city, hopefully getting pregnant. Mina laughed out loud. It wasn’t the way she would have chosen to get pregnant, but if medical science could help her, she’d sing its praises for the rest of her life. In the end, what did it matter if it happened the old-fashioned way or not? It didn’t matter, not at all.
Plus, there was the sperm donor.
Once she’d booked the appointment and put down the deposit, they’d given her access to a more detailed Q&A that the donor had filled out. It was much more than the website had offered. Favorite books. Favorite movies. Favorite quotes, even. The email had come in as she walked into Sunnyside to see Aileen. In a matter of minutes, she’d be at home, going through all that information. Her pulse pounded in her veins. Could she really wait that long? The snow came down harder.
With a little whoop, Mina pulled off the road and into a turnabout. Why not give herself the gift of early knowledge? Why make herself wait to meet the father of her child? She just couldn’t focus until she saw that questionnaire.
Mina put the car in park and took out her phone. The profile was only a click away. She’d had it saved, ready to pull up as soon as she had a spare second. This was it. This was it.
She drank in the knowledge like a parched woman in the desert. Oh, it was all so good. His favorite movies weren’t her favorite movies, but they were close enough that she’d want to see them too. A nice selection of quotes. It all wrapped up with live life at full throttle.
Mina’s heart stopped.
The phone trembled in her hands.
Live life at full throttle.
She’d heard that before. And not a long time ago, either. At the diner. On Thursday. Liam Wells. That was his catchphrase. Someone had shouted it at him. Pieces of information clicked into place in her mind, one after the other, until they formed a full, terrible picture.
Oh, no.
No, no, no.
It couldn’t be.
She read the profile again. What did she know about Liam’s favorite movies? All she knew was that the saying was his catchphrase. It had been beneath his senior picture in the yearbook. No. It couldn’t be. She pressed a hand to her forehead. It wasn’t that uncommon a saying, was it? But something deep down inside her knew that this was Liam. It couldn’t be Liam, but it was. She scrolled frantically back up to the top of the profile. ANONYMOUS. There had never been a name.
Mina dialed the clinic without thinking. Jennifer would solve this for her. Even if she had to speak in code to get the information she wanted, she’d do it. But what code was there for is my sperm donor Liam Wells? Could she ask Jennifer to clear her throat twice in a row to confirm?
Jennifer’s voice came over the line and Mina started in. “Hi, this is Mina and—oh.”
Voicemail.
She’d gotten the clinic’s voicemail. Mina double-checked the clock. It was too early for the clinic to be closed. She hung up and dialed again. There came Jennifer’s voice. Due to the increasing traffic hazard, our office has closed early. Please leave a message and we’ll get back to you as soon as we’re back in.
Mina waited for the beep, but instead another voice came over the line. This mailbox is full. Please try again later.
No.
Now she couldn’t ask them to put a hold on her donor choice. Now she couldn’t beg Jennifer to tell her who the sperm donor was.
Mina dug wildly through her purse until she came up with the business card. She’d just call Liam, then. She picked up the crushed card and laughed at the paper in her hand. What was she going to say if he answered? Hey, Liam, are you by any chance a sperm donor? She had to get a grip.
And she had to get home.
But when she looked up from her purse, the snow was falling even thicker and faster. The highway had been more or less clear when she’d pulled off the road. Now it had a white film across the top. Her pulse quickened. Getting home had to be her first priority, not freaking out over accidentally choosing Liam Wells as a sperm donor. Everything with the clinic could be figured out when she was safely tucked up on her couch with a clear head.
Mina pulled back out onto the road, checking every mirror three times over. She passed one road, then two, and then came upon the side road that led to the Wells Farm.
Don’t do this, she thought.
Do what, exactly? She could drive by the farm without doing anything she’d regret later. It would be a simple trip down the road, just to…see. To see how she felt. She definitely wasn’t going to stop and ask him about being a sperm donor. There was no way she would go up on the porch of their classic farmhouse and see if Liam was home. If he was staying with Cade and
