by ANDREA SMITH
As if on cue, the bedroom door opened and Trey came in carrying Preston. They were both still in their jammies so it couldn’t be that late. The clock on the nightstand read 7:52 a.m. I knew that I'd passed out before midnight, so I'd at least gotten a sufficient amount of rest.
Trey put Preston on the bed and she immediately smiled at me as she crawled over to where I was slumped against my pillows wanting to die.
“How ya feeling, baby?” Trey asked his voice resounding in my ears like a relentless echo.
I managed a weak, sickly moan, covering my eyes with the back of my arm. Preston was right there next to me chanting “num-num . . . num-num.”
She was tugging at my pajama top. It hurt.
“I don’t think so, Preston,” Trey said, scooping her up into his arms. “Mommy’s num-num is likely to be eighty-proof this morning. She’s going to need to pump and dump before anyone under drinking age can imbibe from those breasts.”
“Ha ha,” I managed weakly.
“I’ll go get her a bottle and feed her some cereal,” Trey said. “Can I get you anything while I’m downstairs?”
“Gina,” I rasped. “Please, Trey, send Gina in here.”
“I’ll see if they’re up,” he replied. He left the room. It was obvious that he'd no sympathy for my condition this morning. Several minutes later, Gina popped in looking well rested and refreshed.
“Feeling kind of down and out this morning, girlfriend?”
“Gina, please have Thatcher make me whatever that concoction you had him make for me last year to kill that hangover I had. Tell him to make it stronger. Hurry, please.”
“You got it, Ty. Be back in a few.”
It seemed like an eternity before Gina returned with a tray that had a glass of the red liquid and a plate of dry toast on it. Trey was right behind her with a tall glass of ice water and a bottle of ibuprofen. I managed to sit up anxious to drink the nasty brew and feel the relief it would bring.
I chugged it down swiftly, feeling the warmth start in the pit of my stomach and rise back up through my throat. The long, loud belch that followed tasted fiery this time.
“That’s a turn-on,” Trey remarked, handing me the glass of water and two tablets of the ibuprofen to swallow. “It ranks right up there with you puking all over the front of me last night.”
“You did?” Gina asked giggling.
I was clueless. Trey gave Gina a dirty look and told me to lie back down that he'd handle Preston until I felt better. He left Gina and me alone.
She continued giggling as she sat down on the bed. “I wondered what the hell happened to you last night. One minute you were on the dance floor dancing to ‘Disco Inferno’ and the next minute you’re nowhere to be found. You missed some excitement.”
I was just glad that I wasn’t part of any excitement last night.
“Oh, yeah? What happened?” I asked, lying back against my pillows waiting for the ibuprofen to kick in. The nasty drink had done the trick on everything else.
“Well, let’s see. First Caroline came running in all freaked out with her damn shirt all unbuttoned and Landon’s jacket tied around her waist. She claimed someone puked on her, but I think as hammered as that bitch gets, she finally exceeded her own limit and either puked or shit herself.”
Oh my God! It's all coming back to me now!
“Actually Gina; that would've been me. I felt sick after that last dance and went outside. I made it over to the oleander bushes to heave. Hell, I didn’t know her and Landon were on the other side of them screwing. Please don’t tell anyone. I’m glad she didn’t recognize me.”
“Oh, Ty, that's too funny. I'd say being that it was Caroline that was probably just some karma coming back at her in liquid form. But the really big news is I found out what the brotherly pow-wow was all about last night.”
“The what?” I asked.
“Come on, Ty, you couldn’t have been that trashed. Remember when Tristan, Trey and Nigel all went off to talk about something important? It was when you, Tess and I were talking on the couch.”
“Oh yes-yes,” I said, “I remember now. So, what was the discussion about?”
“I’m not sure if you’ve recovered enough to hear this.”
“Gina, I'm so not in the mood to have to drag this out of you. Spill it now.”
“Okay, but get ready. You remember when Tess shared with us that she and Nigel have been working with a fertility clinic in California having her eggs harvested so a surrogate can carry the child for her?”
I nodded.
“Well, there apparently is more to the plan. Nigel asked both Trey and Tristan if they would be sperm donors for the cause.”
What??
“What?”
“You heard me correctly.”
“Well, what does Tristan say about all of this?”
“He's being the sweetheart that he is. He says he'd really like to help his brother out, but he doesn’t want me to feel uncomfortable about it.”
“Well, so there you go,” I said. “Tristan's willing and I’m sure you aren’t uncomfortable about it so problem solved.”
“Whoa, wait a minute, Ty. I’m not comfortable with it any more than I know you are, but that's not really the point.”
“Then what is?” I hissed still feeling the ache in my head.
“He asked for both of them to be donors. Not just one or the other.”
“What’s the rationale in that? It only takes one random sperm to fertilize an egg.”
“I think the whole point of this is Nigel and Tess would like their baby to have Sinclair DNA, but not know exactly who the source of it is.”
“What?” I asked, my head throbbing in confusion.
“Look, understandably it's a complicated situation. So, in order to make it a bit less complicated, both brothers donate and it'll be difficult to pinpoint which sperm actually succeeded in fertilizing the egg. Therefore, the paternal trail is somewhat muddled, but yet it's Sinclair DNA.”
Is that supposed to make me feel better?
“Tristan explained it all. They somehow mix it together and spin it to make sure only the heartiest sperm survive to fertilize the egg. This makes for a more robust conception.”
“I can’t deal with this right now, Gina,” I said, suddenly feeling ill all over again.
“I'll let you get some rest,” she said getting up to leave the room.
“Please ask Trey to come back up,” I asked.
“You aren’t going to tell him I told you about this are you?”
“Why not? If I hadn't been so fucking drunk last night I might've been privy to it then. You’re damned straight I’m going to address this with him!”
Gina skittered from the room without saying anything else. I sank back down further into my pillows. My head was reeling now more from the information Gina had shared just now than from my hangover.
Several minutes later, Trey was in the suite. “Gina said you needed to see me. Are you okay?”
“No, Trey, I'm most certainly not okay. Is there something you need to tell me about a conversation you had with your brothers last evening?”
He sank down on the bed sitting next to me. He took one of my hands into his and studied me intently for a moment trying to organize his explanation in such a way I wouldn’t find the whole issue deplorable. He wasn’t going to have much luck with that.
“Tylar, I was going to discuss this with you, but there really hasn’t been much of an opportunity between the time Nigel discussed this with Tristan and me until now. You were a bit distracted last night, remember?”
“I’m fully attentive now. Let’s talk.”
“Why do I think you already know the gist of it?” he asked.
“Yeah, Gina filled me in, so what? You aren’t seriously considering this, are you?”
“Why wouldn’t I consider this? Nigel's my brother. He’s asked something of both Tristan and me that we're equipped to give. I love my brother.”
“Trey, we’re not talking about lending your brother your car or giving him money. We're talking about you contributing your half of the DNA that's necessary to make their child. It'd be your child with Tess essentially. I’m sorry; I've a problem with it. End of discussion.”
“No, Tylar,” he said shaking his head, “This is far from the end of the discussion. I get that this came out of the blue for you. It did me as well, but this bears further consideration. I'm prepared to do this and so is Tristan. You're hung over at the moment and need rest and time to gain perspective. I’m sure once that's taken place, you'll be in a position to consider this more objectively. This is about caring and about family. It in no way should make you feel threatened. It has nothing to do with my love for you, but has everything to do with my love for my brother. We'll talk about this once we return to Atlanta.”
“Trey,” I said, my voice quivering, “don’t patronize me by using my hangover as an excuse for my not agreeing with your decision to be a sperm donor to your ex-fiancé. What you're essentially agreeing to do is to sire a child with another woman. How well would that sit with you if I were the woman having another man’s child?”
“It's not the same thing dammit! A surrogate will carry and deliver the child. My God, it’s not as if Tristan or I'll be having sex with Tess.”
“Well, why not?” I chided him, gaining my strength back. “After all, you’ve been there before haven’t you?”
Trey looked at me. “I'm going to leave you so you can rest. We'll discuss this when we're back home. End of discussion."
I turned my back to him as he left the bed. I didn’t want to discuss this further now anyway! Several minutes passed before my phone chimed. I reached for it on the nightstand. It was my dad.
“Happy New Year,” he said cheerily as I answered the phone.
“Thanks. You too, Dad."
“Somebody sounds as if she partied too much last night. Do you want me to let you go, Tylar?”
“I’m sorry, Dad. You’re right. I overdid it last night but that’s not what’s bothering me at the moment.”
“Do you feel like talking about it with your old man?”
I smiled when he said that. It was if we'd a history together; like I'd always had the luxury of taking my problems to him for fatherly advice over the years. It didn’t matter. I had that luxury now and I was going to take him up on it.
“I’d like that, Dad.”
I shared the details with him concerning Nigel and Tess and their situation, including the fact that Trey had been engaged to Tess years back and her infidelity. I mentioned as I'd come to know Tess, I liked her as a person and sister-in-law, but I had fundamental misgivings about having Trey potentially father her child.
He listened intently over the phone letting me get it all out. I dissolved into tears at the end where I shared with him Trey intended to contribute against my wishes.
“Well, I see your point Tylar; but I see Trey’s as well.”
Do men always stick together on stuff like this?
He continued on explaining his position to me very patiently.
“Darling, you were an only child. It may be difficult for you to be totally objective to this because you've no point of reference. It's not something I'd have wished for you. Had I known at the time I was to be a father, I assure you I'd have insisted on marrying Marley and we would've given you brothers and sisters.”
God, he's so much like Trey!
“I realize its water under the bridge now so I can only share with you what I know. I was one of four.”
“Really,” I interrupted, “You mean I have aunts and uncles?”
“You've one aunt in Texas; you've an uncle in Oregon and another one in Minnesota. I was the youngest of the four. You've cousins as well.”
There was so much about my dad and his family I hadn’t learned about yet. There were so many things I wanted to know.
“My point's this: siblings have each other from cradle to grave. Parents die; spouses can leave through death or divorce, but brothers and sisters are a gift from their parents to their children. They're there to love and support each other. That’s all Trey wants to do for Nigel, darling.”
“I know, Dad, and if one of Trey’s brothers needed him for a blood transfusion or to donate a kidney, I wouldn’t have an issue with that. This just feels different.”
“It’s probably because you're looking at it as a very intimate thing. Traditionally babies are conceived in a sexually intimate relationship. Modern science has evolved providing other options. Trey's not offering himself sexually to his sister-in-law; it's more akin to him donating blood.”
“With the obvious exception that a human being will be created as a result of this particular donation. What if it’s a boy?”
“What if it is?” he asked.
“Well, it'd kill me if I wasn’t able to give Trey a son, or at the very least, his first son.”
“Tylar,” he said, “you and Trey plan to have more children, right?’
“Yes, as a matter of fact, we're going to start trying soon.”
“Excellent,” he replied. “Whether your sister-in-law gives birth to a boy or a girl; whether that child carries Trey or Tristan’s specific DNA, it won't matter. The child will be the product of Nigel and Tess. You'll give Trey his second child be it a boy or be it a girl. It’s that simple.”
When my father explained it to me in those terms, it didn’t seem nearly as complicated or as threatening as I had initially felt. I didn’t understand a brother-sister bond. I had to trust he was right.
“Thanks, Dad,” I said, smiling into the phone.
“I love you, Tylar,” he said simply.
“I love you too, Dad.”
CHAPTER 53
The four of us returned to Atlanta after another fucked-up holiday at the Sinclair’s. I'd told Gina she just needed to get used to it. I had.
Gina and I'd talked at length once we were back at the apartment. Trey and Tristan had gone out to the new house. Tristan had agreed to get Derringer and the other two horses Trey had selected transported to our new home. They were going to the feed store in DeKalb County to get the supplies ordered and delivered for the horses.
We were in the laundry room, folding clean clothes and sorting them into piles. “So, Gina, tell me; how do you really feel about Tristan’s going along with Nigel’s request for his ‘DNA’ for lack of a better term?”
“Truthfully, Ty, I guess I don’t feel nearly as emotional as you feel about it. Probably because Tristan wasn't engaged to Tess at one time, or maybe because in some way, it makes me feel less guilty about not telling Tristan there's a miniscule chance the baby I’m carrying could be Ian’s.”
I looked at Gina and apparently she read the expression I thought I'd hidden.
“Okay, I can tell you're disappointed in my decision, Tylar; but it's my decision to make.”
“I didn’t say a word, Gina.”
“You didn’t have to, girlfriend. You think I can’t read your silence? I’m sorry if you don’t approve, but my decision is final.”
“You don’t owe me an apology,” I replied, folding Trey’s tee shirt. “It's your decision to make and as your friend, I support whatever you choose to do.”
I turned to look at her and saw that she was surprised by my attitude. She'd expected me to press her to change her mind about it. That wasn’t how I felt about it anymore.
“What's gotten into you these days?” she asked.
“I've just had time to think about the things my father and I discussed on New Year’s morning. I guess I've learned everything isn’t always black and white; there are shades of grey,” I replied.
“Yeah,” she giggled, “At least fifty of them."
I rolled my eyes at her as we continued with our folding.
“What about you, Ty? How are you dealing with Trey’s decision to donate to the cause?”
“I guess I've put it in perspective; I mean I could m
ake it a major issue between us; throw out an ultimatum and likely get my way. All that would accomplish is putting distance between us that doesn’t exist now. I don’t want that for us. I love Trey too much to allow my selfishness to get into the way of that. Plus, I'd like to think if the tables were turned a relative of mine would come to my aid.”
“I think that’s a very healthy attitude,” Gina replied thoughtfully.
Our landline rang so I went grabbed the phone in the kitchen before the one in Trey’s office woke Preston. It was my father.
“Tylar,” he said, his voice had urgency to it not familiar to me.
“What is it, Dad?”
“You and Trey need to get to Baton Rouge tomorrow. Matthew Renaud's to be arraigned in the morning and the grand jury's recommended two counts of premeditated murder; one count of attempted murder. If convicted on just one of the murder one charges, it's enough for the jury to recommend the death penalty.”
“Did the results come back from my mother’s autopsy?”
“Yes,” he replied, “I'm not privy to the details, but apparently it was enough to convince the grand jury.”
“I’m glad,” I said, “I want him to burn in hell.”
“That’s why I thought you might like to be present when he's formally charged.”
“I'll be there, Dad. I’m curious about the ‘attempted murder’ charge you mentioned. Did Matthew try to murder someone else?”
“Yes, though I think that charge was brought about as an offshoot of one of the murder one charges.”
“I don’t understand,” I replied. “Who was the victim on that charge?”
“That would've been you, Tylar. The tainted breast milk resulting from the poisoning of your mother, I presume. Had she not switched you to formula when she did there was the possibility it could have proven fatal to you. That’s how the grand jury sees it, at any rate.”