“You’re doing such a good thing, sweetie.” Maren said, setting her novel down beside her. “I’m really proud of your strength in all this. It’s not easy.”
“I know it’s the right thing to do. But I am a little scared.”
“I know, honey. You’re tough though. And I’ll be right by your side for as long as the doctors will let me.”
“Thanks. I know this sucks for you. I get it. I really do. But I wish you could see. They’re a really nice family.” Winnie had a faraway look on her face. “I met Chase’s dad. He was the nicest man. He gave me a huge hug and said, ‘Granddaughter, I’ve dreamed of meeting you every second of every day since I found out about you. I’m sick thinking of all the years I’ve missed with you.’”
“Sounds welcoming. Was your, um, his wife there too?”
“Nope, she died last year. He said he was so sad that she missed the chance to meet me. He told me she would have smothered me with love but that knowing what Chase had done would have broken her heart.”
“I bet. It’s hard to imagine being a loving mom and learning your son had done something so awful,” Maren said.
“Yeah…the whole day was so sad and happy at the same time. I guess the definition of bittersweet?” Winnie continued. “I asked Chase’s dad what I should call him, and he was so cute. He said, ‘I hope you’ll call me Grandpa, but if not that, then Jack will do for now. You can call me whatever you like, just don’t call me late for dinner!’”
Maren shook her head. Her dad used to make that same bad joke when she was a kid. “Was anyone else there?”
“No, it was just Chase, Naomi, Olivia, and Jack. Mom—would it bother you a lot if I called him Grandpa? I’ve never had a grandpa. It felt kinda nice.”
“Winnie, listen to me,” Maren said as she moved across the gap between the beds and covered Winnie’s hands with her own. “I’ve had you all to myself for your whole life. But for so long, it was devastating to me that I couldn’t provide you with more of an extended family. I trust your judgment here, and I can live with you pursuing a relationship with them. I just don’t want you to be disappointed if their interest in you wanes after tomorrow’s procedure. I’ve learned the hard way that people can be pretty awful. I hope for your sake that’s not the case here. But just do me a favor and keep your guard up a little while longer?”
Winnie teared up. The emotion of the day was overwhelming, and now Maren had just thrown a bucket of cold water on her optimism. Why couldn’t Maren just let Winnie have her moment in the sun? “But look, there’s no harm in hoping for the best. Don’t let me drag you down. How about we go have ourselves a feast downstairs and be thankful for everything we do have. Deal?”
“Deal.” Winnie fist-bumped Maren. “I’m starving. Let’s eat!”
* * *
Maren and Winnie arrived at the hospital at half past six on Friday morning for check-in and pre-op. The past couple weeks had been harrowing, not the least from an insurance perspective. Shortly after Winnie had decided to go through with the procedure for Eli, Naomi had texted Maren for their insurance info. Maren promptly set up a phone call with Naomi and Chase to break the news that she and Winnie were among the ranks of the uninsured. It wasn’t Maren’s fault, she knew, but the sting of embarrassment pricked at her as though she’d failed an important mothering exam.
“But what about Obamacare?” Chase had asked.
“Sorry to break it to you, Mr. Golden-Haired Man of Privilege, but even with Obamacare, the cost is prohibitive. Welcome to my reality.” What a dickhead.
“Sorry, I just didn’t realize,” Chase said. “Shit.”
“But you work for goddamn Alicia Stone!” Naomi said. “Are you kidding me? You mean to tell me…oh Jesus, what a stingy bitch! I still can’t believe I actually held her in such high esteem all these years!”
“It’s not ideal,” Maren said, “but when your focus is survival, you figure out how to make things work, and you don’t complain. And also I’m bound by a strict confidentiality and nondisparagement agreement, so please don’t ever repeat that to anyone, OK? She will absolutely crucify me.”
“Of course,” Naomi said. “I promise. Chase, we gotta figure out how to get Winnie’s procedure covered. Eli started chemo prep yesterday. Poor little guy feels so crummy. I don’t know how much more his tiny body can take.”
“I got this,” Chase jumped in. “Don’t worry about insurance. I’ll take care of it. We’re gonna get both of you insured—and keep you that way after this is over. I meant what I said. I can’t erase what I did to you, Maren, but I will do everything in my power to help you going forward and see that my, um, your daughter is taken care of.”
We’ll see about that, Maren thought, thinking of the seven medical bills she’d already received and stuffed in a drawer in the few weeks since Winnie’s accident. She still had no idea how she’d pay them without going bankrupt. But for the time being at least, she’d take whatever leg up the Alders were offering.
* * *
Winnie had been taken to the operating room at eight thirty a.m. Maren had been directed to the surgical waiting room for the duration of the procedure. She checked her phone again for the time. It was nine thirty a.m., and still not a word. The doctors had said they would let her know as soon as the thirty-minute procedure was over and Winnie was in recovery, but she had no way of knowing whether the procedure had even begun. The last time she sat in a hospital waiting room, less than a month ago, the rage she’d felt toward the driver who’d caused Winnie’s accident had kept her company through the night. Today, if anything were to go wrong, she would have only herself to blame. Why had she agreed to let Winnie do this? Maren put her head between her knees to tamp down her nausea.
“Can I get you a cup of water or coffee, dear?” A deep, soothing voice interrupted Maren’s misery.
“No, thank you, I’ll be fine,” she said to the stranger who had taken a seat beside her.
“You must be Maren,” he said. “I’m Chase’s father, Jack. It’s good to meet you.”
Maren croaked out a hello and put her head back down, hoping to put an end to Jack’s overture before he got going. By design, Maren had yet to come face-to-face with Chase and Naomi. She assumed they were in Eli’s room with him.
“I’m sure you’re worried about Winnie. We all are. She’s an absolute angel to do this, especially under the circumstances. I assume I have you to thank as well.” He paused but continued when Maren didn’t respond. “I know there’s probably never a right time to say this, but please let me apologize for my son’s wretched behavior. If I’d known about it back then, I would have hauled him to the police station myself. No one deserves what he did to you.”
Maren tried to shove the tears down, but her emotions were too on the edge. She did not want to deal with this right now. “You know what, Jack? There may not be a right time to talk about this. But there’s definitely a wrong time. And while my daughter is having holes drilled in her bones to help the son of my rapist? Well, there’s probably not a worse time to have this chat, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Yes, I suppose you’re right. That was insensitive of me,” Jack said gently, seemingly unfazed by her harsh tone. “It’s just, I don’t know, you looked so lonely sitting here, and I thought maybe you could use some company. But I didn’t feel right talking to you without first acknowledging the reason we’re all here.”
Maren peeked up at him. He had a full head of silver hair, a lanky body, and a patrician nose. At first glance, she didn’t detect a resemblance to Winnie, which was a relief, although she wasn’t sure why. “What’s your relationship to the Brown family anyway?” Maren asked flatly. “Are you the blood relation? Or your wife?”
“My late wife was Charles’s mom’s sister. For the record, I never liked that family. For years, Evelyn and I scratched our heads trying to figure out what her sister eve
r saw in that pompous jackass she married. And it was clear Charles was an utter piece of garbage from his toddler years on. None of that excuses my son’s behavior, but I just thought you might be interested to know we’ve had as little to do with them as possible over the years, especially once Chase started refusing to visit them years ago.” He scratched his head. “And now I finally understand why.”
“I’m sorry for the loss of your wife,” Maren said, remembering what Winnie had told her about her “grandmother” passing away. Dammit, why couldn’t she help being civil to these people?
“Thank you. Ovarian cancer is a rough way to go. But I’m glad she never learned what Chase did to you, although she would have adored getting to know your lovely daughter.” He smiled at Maren. “Winnie really is delightful. Your parents must be so proud of you for overcoming such hardship and raising a wonderful girl.”
Maren’s head snapped up, once again thrown back on her heels. Her voice came out laced with steel. “I guess Chase forgot to mention the part about my parents blaming me for the rape and disowning me when I refused to give Winnie up for adoption?”
Jack’s eyes widened in surprise. “No, I’m sorry I didn’t know that. Chase has been too upset to tell me the whole story. Said he’d give me the rest of the details after Eli was out of the woods. I’ve never seen my boy so broken up. First Eli gets sick, then his mom dies, and then he has to confront what he did to you. I think he’s starting to fear this is his karmic retribution. The only silver lining has been getting to know Winnie.”
“Poor baby,” Maren muttered but then instantly berated herself for acting so juvenile. “Sorry, I don’t mean Eli. I can’t imagine how hard that would be. But forgive me if I don’t shed too many tears over your son’s suffering.”
Jack nodded somberly. “I’m a professor of law at Berkeley with a master’s in philosophy, and even I can’t adequately answer the question of whether someone who’s done such an evil thing can ever be considered ‘a good person,’ but I do believe he’s a far better man than he was that day. He may not be good, but he’s at least become decent. And if I’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that one can never have enough decent family. I hope with time you’ll be able to figure out a way to let us be part of your and Winnie’s family.”
“I highly doubt you’d be inviting us into the family fold if you knew everything I had to do to get here.” Maren looked away.
“Try me.”
Maren narrowed her eyes. She knew men like this. From their privileged perches, they had no problem being magnanimous, and they could talk a big game about tolerance too. They were the men who would donate a million dollars to a homeless charity but couldn’t bring themselves to make eye contact with the homeless people begging outside their high-rise office buildings. “OK, fine, but you might want to pop a blood pressure pill first, Gramps.” She looked at the clock on the wall before glancing back at him to gauge his reaction. He was just sitting there, politely waiting with an open expression on his face.
“Look,” Maren said. “Suffice it to say, I kept us mostly sheltered, fed, and safe the first couple years of Winnie’s life in LA by working as an exotic dancer, and then later, when I had the chance to make even more money with far less time away from my baby girl, I took it.” Recalling that brief chapter of her life always sent a chill down her spine. Every single second had been torture. “On my third date, I got caught up in a sting and was convicted for being an unlicensed escort. I was locked up in county jail for two weeks. It gave me an arrest record, and I almost lost Winnie. I quickly figured out it wasn’t the life for me long-term, but I can’t erase the past. And frankly,” Maren said with a defiant gaze, “I’ll never apologize to anyone for keeping my daughter safe. The people who take advantage of young women in my situation—desperate and destitute single moms—they’re the ones who should feel ashamed. I did what I had to do to survive after your son destroyed my life.
“So anyway,” Maren said, her eyebrows raised at Jack in open challenge, “still want us to join your nice polite family? Or maybe we’re a little too lowbrow after all? I mean, borrowing a few stem cells is one thing, but putting the formerly homeless ex-prostitute and her offspring in the family Christmas card is another thing altogether.”
“Yes.”
“Yes what?”
“Yes, I still want you as part of this family,” Jack said. “Full stop.”
For the love of God, when was this surgery going to be over? Maren looked skyward in exasperation. “We’ll see about that.” It was all she could say.
“I’ll take that,” Jack said. “Now, even though I’m grateful as all get-out that we learned about you and Winnie, what that Stone woman did to you by taking Winnie’s genetic material without your consent? That was not decent. And I’m quite certain it was also illegal. You could probably press charges, you know.”
“Yeah right.” Maren rolled her eyes. “That would not end well for me, I can guarantee you. Do you have any idea the resources that woman has at her disposal?”
“Stranger things have happened. Bernie Madoff got what he deserved. That Elizabeth Holmes fraudster did too.”
“Yeah, but your son didn’t. Charles Brown definitely didn’t. Brock Turner didn’t, and that one gives me nightmares given Winnie’s determination to go to Stanford. I sometimes worry I’ll be sending her to the wolves if she gets in there like she hopes. The rich and powerful always get their way in the end.”
“Not always, but I see your point. Anyway, if you ever change your mind and want to go after her, let me know. I’ll help. And also I think you should consider having Winnie apply to Berkeley. It’s just as good as Stanford but with far less arrogance. I promise to look after her.”
“Thanks,” Maren said. “I’ll definitely keep that in mind.”
“Keep what in mind? Pressing charges? Or Berkeley?”
“Berkeley. To be honest, Stanford doesn’t seem right to me. It feels, I don’t know, a little too perfect.”
“And how about pressing charges?” Jack said.
“That I will not keep in mind. There’s no way I’d be that crazy. It would be a suicide mission.”
“Mrs. Pressley?” A nurse in scrubs approached Maren. “Good news. Your daughter is in recovery. The procedure went smoothly, and she’s starting to wake up now. I can take you back to see her.”
“Oh thank God!” Maren jumped up.
Jack stood with her. “Excellent!”
“And the stem cells are being filtered as we speak. Eli should receive his transfusion within a few hours.” The nurse looked at Jack. “You’re Eli’s grandpa, right?”
“Yes, and Winnie’s too.”
Maren shot him a look.
“Maren, think about what I said about family, OK?” Jack said with a wink. “Can I come see Winnie in a bit?”
“Man, you are really persistent, I’ll give you that,” she said. “Fine—OK, you can come see her. That’s all I’m promising for now.”
He grinned at Maren. “I’ll take it.”
As Maren followed the nurse down the hall, she couldn’t help shaking her head. That Jack was some character. A little smile fought its way onto her face, threatening to take up long-term residence.
29
Alicia
Their driver pulled away from the house, and Alicia sighed as she stared out the window. The week skiing in Telluride for Thanksgiving, followed by a week in Europe visiting all the Aspyre offices and meeting with key investors, had left her exhausted and stressed. Detective Davis was fed up with her lawyer’s delay tactics and had given Alicia and Bryan until Friday, December 18, to sit for an interview or he would haul them in for obstructing an investigation. The one piece of good news—or at least no news taken as good news—was there had been no more messages for Winnie on apairofgenes.com after Alicia’s threat to go to the police if that Naomi woman didn�
��t cease contact.
It had been a Herculean effort to coax herself off the couch and out of her sweats to get ready for Diana’s vanity party at the Chihuly Glass Museum, but there was no way she could bail and risk alienating Diana with their relationship still on shaky ground. Alicia stole a glance at Bryan. With his head tipped back against the leather headrest, she could see his eyes were closed and his face looked relaxed. No wonder, since he’d stood out on their porch smoking a joint while waiting for the driver. Alicia had refused when he’d offered her a toke. Marijuana might be legal in Washington, but it was not sanctioned for Aspyre employees. She didn’t need to add whispers of drug use to her mounting problems, even if it might make the evening a little more tolerable.
As the car meandered toward downtown, Bryan said, “Hey, wanna see Brooke’s new college list?”
No, Alicia thought, what I want is confirmation that Brooke is Stanford’s chosen one. After Ted Clark’s scathing “community values” email, she had ceased pinging Ted for reassurance and instead tried to lean on Stanford’s director of admissions. But they must have been screening his calls, as she was she never able to get through. After four unreturned calls, his assistant left Alicia a message letting her know she’d receive a courtesy call several hours before admission decisions were posted online for all applicants. But with only ten days to go, playing along with Brooke’s new college list was easier than pissing Bryan off. The new list would be moot anyway once Brooke got into Stanford. “Sure,” she said with fake enthusiasm.
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