from college to a pianist who was content to live in her childhood home, Tara had three children under eight, an accounting degree she had earned at night, and a part-time job she hated but without whose pay she and her husband couldn’t live. The only thing ever ruffled about her was her light brown hair, which was chin length, wavy, and rarely combed. Otherwise, she was a perfectionist, juggling the minutiae of her life with aplomb.
She was also a knitter and, in that, Dana’s partner in copying other designers’ new styles. At the start of each season, they scoped out the most exclusive women’s clothing stores in Boston, taking notes. Then, though both of them had other jobs and no time for this, Dana designed patterns, which, between them, they knitted – occasionally the same sweater multiple times, each with variations of color or proportion. Tara’s reaction to the process told Dana – and more important, Ellie Jo – whether the pattern would work in the shop.
Now Tara hugged her and oohed over the baby much as Ellie Jo had done. Only Dana didn’t have to ask Tara what she thought. Tara was forthright as only a best friend could be. ‘Whoa,’ she said, ‘look at that skin. Where did you say you got this baby, Dana Jo?’
‘I assume she’s a relic of my unknown past,’ Dana replied, relieved to joke. ‘Hugh’s upset.’
‘Why? Because he can’t say she’s the spitting image of his great-grandfather or his great-great-grandfather? Where is he, anyway?’
‘Gram sent him for ice.’
‘Ah. I’ll bet you’re starting to need it. Oh, and look at this baby, rooting around. She’s hungry.’
Dana’s breasts were larger than they had been pre-pregnancy, though no larger now than last week or the week before. ‘Do I do it this early?’
‘Oh yeah. She isn’t starving for milk yet, and you have colostrum.’
Dana opened her gown. Tara showed her how to hold the baby so that she could latch on, but it took several minutes of manipulating Dana’s nipple before they finally managed, and then, Dana was stunned by the strength of the sucking. ‘How does she know what to do?’
Tara didn’t answer, because Hugh had returned, and what with her hugging him and Ellie Jo trying to position the ice, the question was forgotten. All too soon, though, Dana’s two favorite women left to go to work, and she was alone again with Hugh.
‘Is she drinking?’ he asked, looking on with interest, and for a minute, Dana imagined that he had moved past his parents’ ill will.
‘She’s going through the motions. I don’t know how much she’s getting.’
‘She’s getting what she needs,’ came a voice behind Hugh. It was the lactation specialist, introducing herself and looking on, then pulling and pushing at Dana’s breast. She asked a few questions, made a few suggestions, and left.
Dana put the baby to her shoulder and rubbed her back. When she didn’t hear a burp, she tried patting. She peered down at her daughter’s face, saw nothing to signal distress, and returned to rubbing.
‘So,’ Hugh asked with undue nonchalance, ‘what did Ellie Jo say?’
It was an innocent question, but there were other things he might have said. Discouraged and suddenly excruciatingly tired, Dana said, ‘She’s as startled as we are.’
‘Does she have any idea where the color is from?’
‘She isn’t a geneticist.’
‘No suspicions?’
‘None.’
‘Suggestions?’
Dana wanted to cry. ‘About what? How to lighten the baby’s skin?’
Hugh looked away and sighed wearily. ‘It’d be easier if we had a few answers.’
‘Easier to explain to your parents?’ Dana asked, knowing she sounded bitter. There was a … not a wall, exactly, but something separating them. Before, they had always been in sync.
His eyes were dark and, yes, distant. ‘Easier to explain to your friends?’ Dana asked. ‘Easier for your parents to explain to their friends?’
‘All of the above,’ he admitted. ‘Listen. Here are the facts. White couple has black baby. It isn’t your average, run-of-the-mill event. People will ask questions.’
‘Do we have to give them answers? Let them think what they want.’
‘Oh, they will. Their first thought will be my mother’s – that there was a mix-up in the lab.’
‘What lab?’
‘Right. I told her that, even though it was none of her business. But she won’t be the last to wonder.’
‘Would it matter if we’d had help conceiving?’
‘That’s not the point. I just don’t like people speculating about my personal life, and they will as long as there’s reason to speculate. So.’ He raised three fingers. ‘First guess is in vitro.’ He folded a finger. ‘Second is a relative with African roots.’ Another finger lowered. ‘Know what the third is?’ He dropped his hand. ‘She isn’t mine.’
‘Excuse me?’
‘She isn’t mine.’
Dana nearly laughed. ‘That’s ridiculous. No one will think that.’
‘My parents did.’
Her jaw dropped. ‘Are you kidding?’
‘No. And don’t knock that one, either. It’s a logical possibility.’ ‘Logical? Your parents thought I had an affair?’ She was appalled. ‘For God’s sake, Hugh.’
‘If my parents thought it, other people will.’
Dana was livid. ‘Only people who don’t know us. People who do, know that we’re happily married. They know we’re together every free minute.’
‘They also know I was in Philly for a month nine months ago trying a case.’
Dana was stunned. ‘Whoa!’
The baby whimpered in response.
‘Not me, Dee,’ Hugh said, but his eyes remained dark. ‘Not me. I’m only playing devil’s advocate. They’ll wonder, particularly since the baby came two weeks early.’
‘And you’ll tell them there isn’t a chance,’ Dana stated.
‘Do I know what happened while I was away in Philly?’
‘You sure know what happened the weekends in between.’
‘You could have done both.’
Dana was beside herself. ‘I can’t believe you’re saying this.’
‘I’m only saying what other
