by S. E. Lund
Finally, at around eleven thirty in the morning, after I'd gone for a long bike ride along the Hudson to clear my mind and kill time, I received an email from the lab. I sat and stared at the mail icon for a moment, trying to prepare myself for the news.
I kicked myself for being reluctant to open it. I'd seen combat in Afghanistan. I'd been through the deaths of both my parents and the breakup of an engagement.
By comparison, this was serious, but not the end of the world.
I opened the email and read the contents, my breath held.
* * *
Dear Mr. Macintyre:
Based on the results of our analysis of your DNA sample, we conclude that there is 0% likelihood that you are the father of the child. If you have any questions regarding this result, please feel free to call the office. One of our customer support team workers would be glad to answer them.
Sincerely,
Dr. James Fillmore
* * *
I leaned back in my chair and covered my face with my hands.
"Oh, thank God," I said to the room.
As the stress drained out of me, I felt a small tinge of regret. Although I didn't want to be the father to this child, I had mentally prepared myself to be the best father I could be to him or her and had even imagined holding my child after she or he was born. But Ella and I would have our own children one day -- hopefully soon. My desire to have a family would be satisfied with her.
I felt bad for Alicia. She'd figure out who the father was, and it would hopefully be someone responsible enough to look after her and the baby.
The first thing I did was call Ella. She answered her cell right away, probably knowing this call meant I had the results.
"Hi, Sweetie," I said. "I'm not the father."
I heard her exhale on the other end of the line.
"Thank God, Josh. I mean, I feel bad for this Alicia person but glad for us."
"I know," I said, relief making me feel giddy. "I feel bad for her, too, but now we can put this behind us and focus on our future. We'll have our own children when the time is right."
"Yes," she said, and she sounded really happy. "We will."
"Well, that's all I had to tell you. Shall we go out for lunch and celebrate?"
"That sounds perfect. Pick me up when you're ready."
"See you at around twelve thirty," I said after checking my schedule. "We'll go get some deli food at Maxine's. I want a huge pastrami on rye and some of those great fries."
"I can't wait," Ella said. "I love you, Josh. I'm so relieved."
"Me, too," I replied. "I love you, Ella."
Then, we hung up and I sat back in my chair and let out a huge sigh of relief. It had been incredibly stressful, waiting for the news about the test. I had been prepared to be a father, but the truth was that I had a lot of living to do before I wanted children. I had a new penthouse renovation to finish, I had a wedding to arrange, and I had a honeymoon with my love to plan. Plus, I had a paper to run and an empire to manage. Having a child was not on my radar for at least a year or more, depending on what Ella wanted.
She had her own plans. She wanted to work as an editorial assistant and when she got enough experience, move up to a full editor. She wanted to write her own novel and get a publishing contract. She wanted us to live together and travel. She wanted children as well and hopefully, when the time came, she'd have that as well.
We had our whole lives ahead of us and now that this one potential speed bump had passed, there was nothing else in our way.
* * *
At twelve thirty, I grabbed my coat and scarf and took the elevator down to Ella's office to pick her up. She smiled when I entered her office and closed her laptop, grabbing her bag from the drawer in her desk.
"There you are," she said and came over to me. She slipped her arms around my neck. "Give me a kiss."
I was only too happy to oblige, grabbing her and picking her up off the floor. We kissed, deeply, and I felt an overwhelming love for her at that moment.
I was so lucky, and I knew it.
"Let's go get some pastrami," I said and helped her with her coat and scarf. "I'm so hungry I could eat half a cow."
"Me, too," she said, her eyes wide. "Although maybe only a quarter." She grinned at me and I put my arm around her shoulder, squeezing.
We walked out together, my arm still around her possessively, and I didn't care who saw us giving a PDA. She was going to be my wife and to hell with what anyone thought about it.
The deli was only eight blocks away from the office, so we elected to walk there, hand in hand.
"Aren't you glad we no longer have Reg and crew tailing us?" she asked.
"Yes, but I do miss someone else doing the driving," I said and smiled down at her. "I kinda like the whole limo thing."
"Do you really?" she asked, frowning.
"Yes," I replied. "I hate Manhattan traffic. I'm happy when someone else has to worry about it."
"So, use the limo service all the time," Ella offered. "You can afford it and it employs people."
"That's the ticket -- I can justify it by saying it boosts the economy," I said with a laugh. I glanced down at her smiling face. "I like the way you think."
We kissed and then arrived at the restaurant. It was busy and the lineup extended out the door.
"I guess we have to wait for a table," I said. "Everyone else seems to have the same idea as us."
"I can wait," Ella said and stood beside me. "Their pastrami on rye is the best."
While we waited, we discussed the renovation and where we were at.
"They're finishing the new drywall this week and the floors. Once the new fixtures are in, we can start picking furniture."
"Steph's coming today, right?" I asked, remembering Ella telling me that Steph was coming for a stay. "You two can go out and shop together."
"I want us to pick stuff out, too," Ella said, a touch of protest in her voice.
"Oh, sure, we will," I said. "All the big stuff. Sofa, television, sound system. But you two can pick out all the decorations and smaller stuff. I don't have to okay everything. I trust your taste."
"We're probably going to focus on the wedding dress and bridesmaid dress," Ella said. "Of course, I'll show you my choices, but she has to pick out her own dress. That was her one requirement."
I smiled. "I can't wait to finally meet her. The mythical Steph has loomed large in my life since I met you."
"She's tall and doesn't want anything to make her look taller and as she called it, giraffe-like."
"How tall is she?"
"She's probably almost six feet. She played basketball."
"That's tall for a woman," I said, picturing her in my mind based on photos Ella had shown me.
"She's been self-conscious about her height all her life," Ella said.
Just then, our table opened, and we went to it, glad to finally be inside. We removed our coats and sat at the table, taking the menus the waitress offered, even though we both knew what we wanted to eat.
We placed our order and then sat back, looking at each other, both of us smiling.
"I'm so happy," Ella said and reached out to take my hand. "I was trying to psych myself into being a step-mother, and I was ready to accept it if you were the father, but I'm so glad you're not."
"I feel incredibly relief that a one-moment lapse might make me a father before I wanted to be."
"I hope everything works out for her," Ella said softly, and I loved her for her empathy.
"Me, too, but right now, I want to talk about us. Will we go to the penthouse with Steph and show her the place?"
"She'd love that," Ella said. "I'm so happy you'll finally meet her. We'll take her out for dinner and then drop by the penthouse. How does that sound?"
"Sounds good. Where should we go?"
"She wants meatballs," Ella said with a laugh. "She encouraged me to meet you for dinner that first time and now she wants to have them herself."
"It is. It has a happy ending, too."
"It does."
We had a nice lunch, chatting as we did about everything -- the penthouse, the wedding, Steph's visit.
When lunch was over, we walked back to the office and I kissed her goodbye, sending her off to her office while I went up to mine. For the rest of the afternoon, I kept busy with work and barely thought about anything but business. I was so relieved to have the paternity test out of the way that I could focus on the Chronicle in a way I hadn't been able to before I got the results.
One thing I did before the end of the day was to call the Ritz and reserve the same hotel room I did for Steph and Ella the last time Steph was in town. Steph could have stayed with us at the apartment, because we had an extra bedroom, but I knew it would be extra fun for them to stay at the Ritz. It was a treat for them both. It would give me a chance to work through the weekend, trying to get caught up with the issues arising from the data breach. I knew Ella would be happy, spending time with her best friend at the Ritz so it was money well spent.
* * *
Steph arrived just after six, and Ella met her in the lobby, too excited to wait for her to come up on her own. She brought her right up to the apartment where I was waiting. Ella was right -- Steph was tall, and pretty with long wavy blonde hair and hazel eyes. She was imposing but was quite attractive at the same time.
"Hello, Steph," I said and gave her a quick hug. "I'm so glad to finally meet you. Of course, Ella's talked about you pretty much from the first day we met. I've been so curious to finally meet you."
"Do I match her description? She tends to describe me as a gazelle, but I feel more like a giraffe."
"A thoroughbred is more what I was thinking, to be truthful," I said, for she did remind me of a racehorse, sleek, looking like they could run for hours.
"Ooh, I like that. A thoroughbred racehorse. That's miles better than a giraffe. Do you mind if I steal it?"
"Not at all. It's all yours," I said with a grin. "Ladies? I have a treat for you. Here," I said and handed Steph the room key to their hotel room at the Ritz. "This is for you both, so you'll really enjoy your stay."
Steph took the room key and stared at it, but then she stroked it in a comic way, her eyes mock-rolling back in her head.
"Oh, my God, Josh. You shouldn't have," Steph said. "But I'm glad you did. Did you know about this?" Steph asked and turned to Ella.
"No idea," Ella said and leaned up to kiss me. "Thank you."
I smiled. "My pleasure. This will give you two a chance to indulge yourselves and me to work all weekend."
"Not all weekend? Aren't we going out for dinner?"
"Absolutely, we're going out for some delicious meatballs. The best meatballs in all of Manhattan. Shall we?" I asked and held out both my arms, elbows crooked.
"Please," Steph said took my arm while Ella took the other. "I'm famished. The food on the road isn't the best by a long shot."
We left the building and made our way to the restaurant where I first took Ella and had a lovely meal, and I enjoyed listening to Steph and Ella reminisce about old times growing up together, living in a college dorm together. I knew that Ella and Steph would be busy all weekend, shopping for dresses for the wedding and furniture for the apartment. Which was good, because I had to deal with my own issues -- namely, the hack of MBS and the breach of our security.
I hoped things were back to normal now, and that our staff was being properly trained to recognize phishing attempts and not get trapped but with staff overturning frequently, that was a real challenge.
19
Ella
I was really excited about my long weekend with Steph and knew the two of us would have a blast.
Josh was a prince for being generous enough to spring for another stay at the Ritz. We had a room identical to the last time we stayed, but down the hall so it was like old times. When we arrived, we found some beautiful flowers and chocolates waiting for us in the entry to the suite, as well as a chilled bottle of Moët et Chandon. The gifts were from Josh and so we opened the box of chocolates and picked out our favorites from the menu.
"This is so much fun," Steph said as she poured us some champagne and we ate chocolates. "I promised myself I'd be good all weekend and stick to my low-carb lifestyle but to hell with that. I'm not missing out on these chocolates."
We planned on spending the entire time pampering ourselves, shopping and eating all the room-service meals and restaurant meals we could.
"I'm going to have gained ten pounds by the time I go back on Sunday night," Steph said and rubbed her very flat belly.
"Yeah, right," I said, laughing.
On Friday, after sleeping in until ten o'clock, we had showers and then went down for brunch, gorging ourselves on the buffet of eggs, waffles, sausages, and every kind of brunch food you could imagine. After we sat and digested for a while over our coffees, we set off to stroll around Chelsea and check all the bridal salons. I tried on a dozen dresses, trying to get an idea of what kind of dress suited my figure and what suited my personality.
I modeled several choices for Steph, and she took pics on her cell so we could compare and discuss later with Josh at dinner. He would have a say, since he was paying for it. He insisted on paying for everything and I didn't argue, considering his wealth. My parents were well-off in an upper middle-class kind of way, but if we really were going to fly to California and have the ceremony at David's mansion in the Hollywood Hills, I figured Josh could foot the bill.
Still, I tried to keep it in the not-insane realm, and so we avoided some of the higher-end designer boutiques and shopped instead at what we both considered middle-of-the-road stores in terms of prices.
"White or ivory?" Steph asked, and held up the dress skirt of one dress against my face. "I think you're better with ivory than pure white. It goes better with your coloring."
"Ivory it is," I said, not being up on all the issues with coloring the way Steph was. I had light red hair, which some called auburn, and greenish hazel eyes and a healthy dose of freckles to go along with both. "Now, the question is, should I go modern or traditional?"
"You're getting married at David Macintyre's mansion so modern would be appropriate, if you like modern. But do what you want. If you want a more traditional gown, go for it."
I shrugged. I didn't know what I preferred. The only thing I knew was that I didn't suit something princess-like because of my height.
"I want something sleek, to make me look and feel taller. No puffy skirts or flouncy sleeves, as much as I love the princess look."
"Sleek and tall it is," Steph said and then, she acted as my consultant, selecting dresses for me to consider.
After four hours of going through dresses and through three different bridal shops, Steph found one that I immediately loved. It was vintage ivory lace embroidered on tulle, with a satin underdress. The bodice had a plunging V-neck, spaghetti straps, a form-fitting skirt, with a low v-back and tiny satin-covered buttons. The lace-tulle train extended about five feet.
It was a dream come true.
Steph snapped several pics of me in the dress standing on the platform and I had to admit I liked the way I looked in the dress.
"It's perfect," Steph said. "It's totally you, Ella."
"Am I too short for it?" I asked, biting my bottom lip.
"Not at all," Steph replied. "It elongates you because it's form fitting. You look stunning."
She actually had tears in her eyes as she stood there, taking pics and so I knew she really loved it.
There were several in stock, so I decided to show the pics we'd taken to Josh for his approval before I committed to it.
"Do you think Josh will like it?" I asked, although I knew he'd love anything that I did.
"He'll love it. You look like a model in it. Seriously. If you could grow a foot, you'd be perfect to model that dress."
I hugged her and we left, going to one more store before we were both exhausted. I found another dress that was about third best, in a similar silhouette but not quite as delicately embroidered as the one that I really loved. When we were finished, we went to a coffee shop and pored over the photos on Steph's cell and ate a donut while we considered.
"I really think this is the one," Steph said. "It's the best on you, and it's also the highest quality. The lace is beautiful and the buttons down the back? So nice."
"I'll show it to my mom and to Josh and see what they say. We still have time and could go out again. The seamstress said it would take six weeks to get the alternations done so we have time to decide and even go shopping for more choices if needed."
"Don't put it off too long. It's already late January. That leaves less than eleven weeks until your wedding, right?"
"That's lots of time. It's a low-key wedding, Steph. Just a ceremony at David's mansion, and then a honeymoon somewhere warm. Nothing big. Just family and closest friends. After the huge to-do about both Josh and my previous engagements, neither of us want to make this into anything ridiculous."
"I get that, but this is hopefully your one and only wedding. Try to make it exactly the way you want it to be. You both deserve it."
"We do," I said and took a long sip of my coffee. "Both of us were burned. We were both down on marriage and look what happened?"
"You found each other," Steph said. "And luckily, I encouraged you to go out for meatballs, or none of this would be happening."
I smiled and gave her a hug. "You're absolutely right. And if I had taken your advice and come home on the bus that day when I lost my briefcase?"
She nodded and shoved me playfully. "None of this would have happened. Okay, okay. You got me. I'm glad you stayed, and I'm glad I encouraged you to eat meatballs. In fact, that should be your motto -- the meatballs did it."
We laughed together and then decided to go back to the hotel and rest up before we met Josh for dinner.