Clothes weren’t his—or my—area of expertise, so Lucky wasted no time asking for help once we got to the high-end department store. Since it was midmorning on a weekday, it was far from busy, and we ended up with four salespeople pulling together outfits for me. They actually seemed to be enjoying themselves, and so did Lucky. His job was to give me his honest opinion while I modeled for him.
I fidgeted in front of a three-sided mirror and asked, “What do you think? Is this outfit somehow better than the last one?” I’d tried on a few combinations of dress pants and button-down shirts by this point, but I wasn’t sure why. As far as I was concerned, the first outfit I tried on was just fine.
Lucky came up behind me and slipped his hands around my waist. “This royal blue shirt looks amazing on you. Why don’t you wear this outfit to today’s lunch meeting, and then we’ll have them bag up the rest?”
“Wait, you mean you’re getting all of these clothes? I thought we only needed one decent outfit for the meeting.”
“There are going to be lots of meetings, and you don’t want to wear the same thing over and over. We’re going to get you some suits too, but that’s a job for my tailor. And remember, these clothes will have a life beyond the custody hearing, so think of them as an investment.” I started to look at the price tag hanging from my cuff, but he quickly plucked it off and said, “You don’t want to know. You’ll just say I’m spending too much.”
“And are you spending too much?”
“No. I’m spending exactly the right amount.”
One of the sales associates helped me remove all the tags from that outfit so I could wear it out of the store, and another rang up our purchases while the last two neatly packed everything into shopping bags. I’d ended up with six new shirts and pants, a sport coat, three neckties, two pairs of dress shoes, some socks, and two new belts. Lucky had even thought to include some new briefs, not that they had anything to do with looking good for my appointments.
He must have spoken to her ahead of time, because the woman working the register never told us the total. Instead, Lucky just handed over a credit card, and it was all handled discreetly. I was sure that was for my benefit. I’d glimpsed a price tag here and there, so I knew this must have added up to a couple of thousand dollars. In other words, he’d just spent more on my clothes in an hour than I had over the entire course of my adult life.
When I told him that, he said, “That can’t be true.”
“Spoken like someone who’s never spent time in thrift shops,” I said, as we loaded the shopping bags into the trunk of the town car. “You’re really missing out too, because let me tell you—finding a pair of nice jeans for a buck is a rush.”
“I can imagine.”
After he slammed the trunk, I gave him a hug and said, “Thank you. I feel good in this outfit.” I also felt guilty for letting him spend so much on me, especially on the heels of the fortune he’d spent to hire the lawyers. But instead of casting a shadow on his kindness and generosity, I went with gratitude.
We drove straight to our meeting after the department store. It was weird to actually go inside one of the tallest buildings in downtown San Francisco, and weirder still to look out over the city from the fortieth floor. I barely recognized it from up here.
Walt met us in the lobby and took us back to a spacious conference room, where we were introduced to Padma Singh and Charles Spiegel, the senior partners Lucky had hired. Since they were working through lunch, someone had ordered fancy boxed lunches for all of us, but I was too nervous to eat.
Instead, I answered the lawyers’ questions while they jotted down some notes. They wanted to know about Kathy, our relationship, how and when Owen had come into my care, and so on. They also told me about the process and what to expect, both over the next few weeks and once the custody hearing began.
Then, toward the end of the meeting, Charles said, “I assume you did a paternity test when your son was first put into your care, but don’t be surprised if the Wilsons’ lawyer requests another one. They probably won’t take your word for it that you’re the baby’s father.”
“I, um, I actually never took a test,” I admitted. “I thought about it when I first found out about Owen, but then I guess it didn’t really matter. I knew I was going to take care of him no matter what, because he needed me.”
A look of concern crossed Padma’s elegant features, and she exchanged a quick glance with her colleague as she tucked her salt-and-pepper bob behind her ear. But then she quickly schooled her expression and turned to Walt. “Please schedule an appointment with Doctor Gunderson. Ask him to fit Mr. Genardi in as soon as possible.” Walt told her he was on it and stepped out of the room, and then Padma turned to me and said, “Just so we know up front if there might be a potential issue, I’d like you to take your son and get a paternity test right away. It’s important.”
A sick feeling settled in my gut, and I asked, “What if it comes back saying I’m not his father? I want to believe Kathy was monogamous when we were together, but I just don’t know for sure.”
Padma pulled up a smile that felt rehearsed. “Let’s not worry ourselves with what-ifs at this point. Just get the test done, and we’ll go from there.”
Walt returned a minute later and said, “The doctor can squeeze you in at two, Logan. I know that’s short notice, and you’ll need to bring your son along since they’ll collect DNA samples from both of you. Do you think you can make it?”
“Yeah, I think so. I’ll ask one of my family members to meet me there with the baby.” My hands were shaking as I picked up my phone and sent JoJo a text. While I waited for her to reply, I asked, “How long does it take to get the results?”
“Usually just twenty-four hours,” Charles said. “And please don’t worry. There’s every chance the results will be as expected.”
“Absolutely,” Lucky chimed in, as he placed his hand over mine. “Owen’s definitely Logan’s son. He looks just like him.” Did he, though? We both had brown eyes, but that was about it.
JoJo replied a minute later and told me it was no problem meeting us at the medical practice. Walt gave me the doctor’s business card, and after I sent her the address I told JoJo to take my car, so she wouldn’t have to worry about moving the bulky car seat. As I returned the phone to my pocket, I said, “Okay, we’re all set.” It was all I could do to sound calm when I was screaming inside.
Fortunately, the meeting was wrapping up, and after we all said our goodbyes and promised to be in touch soon, Lucky and I headed for the elevator. He knew me well enough to realize I was on the verge of panicking, no matter how much I tried to hide it, and when the elevator doors closed behind us he rubbed my back and said, “Take a deep breath, Logan. You have nothing to worry about. I’m sure the paternity test will show that Owen’s your son.”
“But what if it doesn’t? I’ll have zero chance of winning custody over his grandparents if I’m not his biological father.”
“You are. I just know it.” Lucky sounded confident.
I felt lightheaded by the time we reached the lobby, so I bent over with my hands on my knees and tried not to hyperventilate. This probably looked odd to all the people hurrying to and from the elevators as they went about their Very Important Business, but I really didn’t care.