Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 61542 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61542 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
Let’s do this.
The list on the webpage shows the types of samples they accept, the prices, and the success rates.
So, the best samples to collect would be:
(1.) Blood.
Katie wouldn’t hesitate to kill me if I tried to get a blood sample from William. I’d be dead before I so much as prick William’s skin with a needle.
(2.) Semen.
Yeah, that’s not going to work in this case.
(3.) Nail clippings.
(4.) Hair (with roots).
I stare at the bright-yellow trash can with the silver lid. Any of those two things could potentially be inside there, right?
It’s kind of gross . . . But I can wash my hand afterward, right here, and it’s probably just facial tissues anyway, right? Like the kind Katie probably uses while putting on her make-up.
Besides, we’re talking about my firstborn son here. A little dirt’s not a big deal.
I crouch down and open the lid. It’s not too full, which is great because that means it’s relatively cleaner—as clean as a trash can can be anyway—but it also means that I’m less likely to find . . . let me check my list.
Five to ten nail clippings, or seven to ten hairs.
As I sift through the trash and come across some dark hair, I realize there’s no way to tell if the hair belongs to William or Katie, or even Sawyer. Same goes for the nail clippings, although I don’t see any in the trash.
I check my phone again. What’s next on the list?
(5.) Ear swabs.
I guess I can get a Q-tip and swab William’s ear real quick. If I’m careful, maybe Katie won’t notice.
(6.) Toothbrush.
(7.) Drinking glass.
I decide taking William’s toothbrush or drinking glass home would be too obvious to escape Katie’s attention. Besides, I’m not about to steal anything from the home of a single mother, who could potentially be the mother of my firstborn son.
(8.) Mucus on facial tissue or paper towel.
(9.) Drinking straw.
I guess I can try to get some of William’s drool on Kleenex, or make him drink through a straw somehow and take that straw home. But where would I even get a straw from?
I wash my hands then open Katie’s medicine cabinet and rifle through it.
I knew she’d have them.
Armed with the two Q-tips and the two Kleenexes in my pockets, I step out of the bathroom, a man on a mission.
Katie
“Let me help,” Adam says as he sits on the couch in my living room.
I narrow my eyes at him. I can’t decide how I feel about him—angry, attracted, afraid? All I know is, he’s suspicious.
Am I really about to hand him my boy?
At the same time, though, he is William’s father. Maybe it won’t hurt to let him hold his son for a few minutes.
Besides, Sawyer’s in the bathroom and someone has to pick up the phone that’s ringing. There’s an important call I’ve been waiting for.
“Okay,” I say, defeated. I place William on Adam’s lap and rush to take the call.
I’ve been waiting for word about a promotion at work, and this could be the all-important call. If I get this promotion, I can finally afford to hire a babysitter a couple nights a week so I can have a life.
Sawyer’s offered to do that for me before, but I can’t expect that kind of a regular schedule for him. I’ve only ever asked him to look after William when I really had no other alternative.
“Hello,” I say into the phone.
“Katie, have you heard yet?” Daisy’s voice filters through the receiver, filling me with relief and disappointment at the same time.
“Heard what?” I ask as my heartbeat slows down.
“The news about the promotion. Have you heard from the hospital yet?” she asks excitedly.
“No. When I picked up, I thought it was the hospital calling.”
“Oh.” Daisy giggles. “Sorry. Call me when you hear the news.”
“Okay. By the way . . .” I drop my voice to a whisper and cover the phone microphone, “The guy from the club came to dinner tonight.”
“What club? Since when did you have time to go partying again? And if you have so much free time, why haven’t you been visiting me?” Daisy asks.
“No, no. It’s that guy. The guy from The Succubus,” I say, still whispering.
“What?” Daisy asks. “You mean . . . William’s dad?”
“Yeah. It can’t be anyone else, Daisy. I told you.”
I used to sleep around when I was younger. But by the time I took that job at The Succubus, I’d mellowed out some.
So when Adam whisked me into the private room and gave me the best sex I’ve ever had, it had been a few months since I’d had sex with anyone else.
And after that night at The Succubus, I got scared and decided not to sleep with anyone for a while. Then, I found out I was pregnant . . . and then, I had William, and I just haven’t had time to get laid since forever.