Ted met Donna at the clinic on Monday, more nervous than he ever remembered being. “You doing okay?” he asked her as she sat beside him in the waiting room.
“I’m not really sure. My world is just… I mean, nothing will be the same.”
His heart squeezed in his chest. As happy as he’d be to know he had all this family, he hated to see the upset Donna was going through.
“I wanted to call and tell Cassandra, but decided to wait until the official results of the tests came back.”
“I haven’t said anything to Olivia or Emily either. I just… well, we’ll see what the results say.”
The nice technician took care of them and explained they’d both get emails where they could click on a link and use a code to get their results. It would take a few days. He wasn’t sure how he’d make it through the hours until he knew for certain.
They walked out of the clinic and into the sunshine. He turned to Donna. “Would you like to get a bite to eat?”
“You know. I would. Can we go somewhere besides the cafe? How about Jimmy’s out on the wharf?”
“I’ve never been there. Anywhere you’d like is great with me. Shall I drive us over?”
“Can we walk? I need… some air.”
“Walking is always fine with me.” They headed down the sidewalk. He couldn’t get the idea out of his mind that he might be walking down the sidewalk with his daughter.
“This is strange, isn’t it? Walking together.” Donna paused and shoved her hair away from her face.
“I was just thinking the same thing.”
“I don’t know how I’m going to make it until we hear.”
He laughed. “And I just thought that, too.”
“How about I introduce you to the coldest, best craft beer in Moonbeam and the best fish tacos, too? That might get our minds off of it.”
They sat at tables by the railing at Jimmy’s and Donna was right. The cold beer was perfect, and the tacos didn’t disappoint.
“So, tell me about yourself. I mean, if you want to.” He looked across the table at this woman who might be his daughter.
Probably. Maybe.
The words taunted him.
“Well, I grew up here in Moonbeam. My grandmother mostly raised Evelyn and me. Mother and Father—and, uh, Nelson—traveled a lot for business. They’d go to Europe for months at a time. But it was great. I adored my grandmother.”
“And Olivia’s father?”
“Ah, yes. Charlie Brian Foster. I’d say he was a mistake, but then I got Olivia from marrying him. He’s been mostly out of our lives for years. Rarely see him.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It was just one of those things. He wasn’t cut out to be a father… or a husband.”
“But you found Barry. You two seem very happy.” He loved seeing the way Barry’s eyes lit up when he looked at Donna. She deserved a man who loved her like that.
“We are happy. Very. I was lucky to find him.”
“And tell me about Olivia and Emily.”
“Olivia got pregnant in college and moved home. Emily’s father—Brett—they never married. He wasn’t much of a father either. He does see Emily occasionally. He even took her to Paris, but… well, that didn’t work out well. Olivia is engaged to Austin now, and that’s what matters. He’s a wonderful man. I’m so pleased.”
“Okay, I know I’m asking a hundred questions. But Emily?”
“Ah, our Emily. She’s one of a kind. Full of boundless energy. Smart as a whip. Generous and kind. She’s… wonderful.”
“Sounds like you have many blessings in your life.”
“That I do. And I’m grateful for every one of them.”
He wondered if she’d be grateful for him. If she’d consider him a blessing in her life, or just the man who upended the world she knew and all she knew about herself.
Donna stood in the kitchen of the cafe and checked her phone for the millionth time since she and Ted had the paternity test at the clinic. It had been two days, and she was about at the end of her rope with waiting.
“You okay?” Evelyn came up behind her.
“I just want to know for sure.”
“Mother still won’t talk to you?”
“No. She won’t answer her phone. I’m so angry right now that it’s probably for the best. But I will talk to her. When I find out the truth. Whatever the truth is.” She turned to Evie. “And you know, I might only be your half-sister. That’s so strange to think about.”
Evelyn hugged her tightly. “You aren’t half anything to me. We grew up together. You’re my best friend. Nothing changes that. Nothing.”
“You’re the best sister ever, Evie.” She put her phone back in her pocket. “Come on, since Melody is off today, I’ll peel peaches while you make pie crust. It will give me something to do besides pulling my phone out every other minute.”
They made the pies, then Evelyn made both of them some tea. “Sit. I could use a break before worrying about the dinner crowd.”
She sat across from Evelyn, mindlessly dunking the teabag in the steaming water. She looked up to see Ted standing in the doorway. “The girl at the checkout at Parker’s told me you were here.”
“You found me.”
Ted’s eyes were glistening, and he had the widest possible smile, one that looked like he’d gotten Christmas, his first snowfall, and an impossible wish granted, all wrapped up in one.
She jumped up and grabbed her phone and saw she had an email. She looked at Ted. “You got the results.”
“I did.” He crossed over and took her hands in his. “And… I’m your father.” Tears filled the corners of his eyes.
“Oh.” She stood there in stunned silence for a few moments until a grin began to spread across her lips. “That is… wonderful.” And she threw herself into her father’s arms for the first time in her life. A sense of rightness flowed through her. A sense of parental acceptance and belonging like she’d never experienced before this moment.
He finally released her and stepped back. “And now I have a family. Lots of family.”
“You know we Parker women come as a package deal, right?” Donna grinned at him. “Along with me and Olivia and Emily, there’s Evelyn, too. And Heather. And all the guys. You just might have gotten more than you bargained for.”
“I just might have gotten more than I’d ever hoped.” Ted’s eyes still glistened and the purest look of happiness she’d ever seen settled on his features. Her father’s face. Her father.