“I do.” Lexi exchanged glances with Wills’s cousin. “In vitro. I have contacts.”
“How…?”
“That’s not important. What is important is that I can make an appointment for you and Cat to see a genetic counselor, and if everything is okay—”
“Which it should be,” Cathy grinned, “since both sides of the family are disgustingly healthy.”
“There you go, Will. If you want to go this route, you and Cat can make a baby.” Lexi sent an innocent look around the table. “Using strictly scientific methods.”
I could picture Wills cradling a son in his arms, singing him lullabies, letting him hold his fingers as he learned to walk. But could his cousin be that altruistic?
“Why would you do this, Cathy?” I asked.
“Will was always my favorite cousin. I hate what our grandparents have done to him.”
“So you want to make it up to him?”
“You could say that.”
“This baby would be part yours. What would happen if you came back from Italy and decided you wanted him?”
“I won’t do that, Theo. I promise. But if it would make you more comfortable, I’d be willing to sign a document relinquishing all rights to the baby.”
“I trust you, Cath,” Wills said, “but…Technically, Uncle Tony would be the baby’s grandfather. If he challenged us…Frankly, I could see any judge taking our child away from us simply because we’re gay.”
I’d ask Vince for help. He’d know a judge who would side with us. He had to. I shivered. “All right. How much is this going to cost?”
“Generally it can run from anywhere between sixty and eighty thousand dollars, but I’ll see you get the family discount. Twenty-five thousand off.” The corner of Lexi’s mouth curved up in a grin.
I did some rapid calculations. “The cost can still range from thirty-five to fifty-five thou.”
“Theo? That’s a lot of money, babe.”
“Wills, I just spent that amount on the reno to the kitchen and dining room.” I’d seen those red enamel appliances and fallen in love with them. Wills had been taken aback by the bright color, but he’d just said, “If you like them, babe…”
He gave a determined nod. “I’ll cover it. I can tap into my 401K.”
“No! What I was going to say is that if I could spend that much on the apartment, then using it to get a baby…” for him “…is a no-brainer. What do we have to do?”
Wills and I flew into MacArthur Airport on Saturday, August 30. The temperature was in the high eighties, and I hoped the next day would be cooler.
We rented a Corvette Stingray and drove to the Terryville Inn, where we’d booked a suite. We’d have our ceremony and reception there, and its location, about five miles away from his Uncle Jake’s place in Port Jefferson, made it convenient for family and friends.
Ma, Poppa, and Casey had also flown up that day, but Jack and Jill had arrived a few days earlier with JR, Marti, and Pat, and to our surprise, Alice was with them also. They were staying in Seaford, with Jack’s parents. I’d liked the older Mathesons a lot when I’d met them.
Better than his other grandparents as it turned out.
The Inn’s wedding organizer walked us through what we’d do. There was a pretty little gazebo on the grounds, with bricked walkways that entered from three sides. Wills would come in from the left, and I would come in from the right. Brynn’s mom, the Unitarian minister, would be waiting for us.
Once we’d exchanged rings and kissed, the ceremony would be complete, and we’d walk down the center aisle where family and friends would be seated outside. Only three people from my family would be there—Casey’s boyfriend Alexander canceled at the last minute—along with my friends, including Vince and the man he’d been with on New Year’s Eve, so the rest of the space on my side of the aisle would be filled in with Wills’s family.
When Ma realized that, she’d scowled at Poppa, but there wasn’t anything any of us could do at that point.
“All right, we’ll see you here tomorrow at four,” the organizer said. “Right now, we have hors d’oeuvres set out in one of the event rooms. Why don’t you sample them?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
So we went and we noshed and about seven p. m. the organizer’s assistant found us. It seemed the proprietors of the Inn had been kind enough to set up a dining room for immediate family, which numbered almost fifty.
“Y’know something, babe?” Wills asked around a mouthful of stuffed shrimp.
“What?”
“If tomorrow’s food is as good as tonight’s, we’re gonna have to make a point to come back here every year on our anniversary.”
I got a burning sensation in my nose, and I looked away and blinked. When I had myself under control, I cleared my throat and turned back to him. “I think that’s a great idea.”