I was sitting alone when I read it.
I did not celebrate.
There was nothing to celebrate.
A father discovering his sons almost a year late is not a miracle.
It is an accounting.
A list of everything he missed.
First breaths.
First nights home.
First smiles.
First fevers.
First time rolling over.
First laugh.
I printed the result.
Then I sat in my office for nearly an hour.
At 4:10 that afternoon, I called Serena.
“Come to the office.”
Her voice immediately brightened.
“Ooh. Serious tone. Am I in trouble?”
“Yes.”
Silence.
Then she laughed.
“I’ll be there in twenty.”
Serena entered my conference room wearing a cream dress and carrying the handbag I had bought her in Paris.
She kissed my cheek.
I didn’t move.
Marcus sat at one end of the table.
Two attorneys sat at the other.
Serena looked around.
“What is this?”
“Sit down.”
Her smile disappeared.
“Grant?”
“Sit.”
She did.
I placed the first document in front of her.