Chapter 4 - A Mother Who Knew More Than She Admitted
Bernadette drove to Shana's sister's townhouse in Wauwatosa the following morning because CPS had temporarily barred Shana and Colby from unsupervised contact with Milo.
Shana opened the door wearing sweatpants and no makeup.
She looked less cold than exhausted.
Bernadette did not sit.
“Who is the donor?”
Shana's face lost what little color it had.
“So Milo told you.”
“The cardiology office did.”
Shana pressed her lips together.
Bernadette waited.
Finally Shana said, “Milo wasn't conceived naturally.”
Bernadette stared at her.
“Colby is infertile.”
The word hung between them.
Nine years earlier, Colby and Shana had told the family they were undergoing fertility treatment. No one had asked for details because Colby had made it clear the subject was private.
Shana continued.
“They used donor sperm. Colby agreed to it.”
Bernadette sat down without meaning to.
“Then why did he say that yesterday?”
“Because he hates that it's true.”
“That isn't an answer.”
Shana looked toward the kitchen.
Bernadette followed her gaze and saw a cardboard folder on the counter bearing the logo of a Madison reproductive-medicine practice.
“You contacted the donor.”
Shana's shoulders tightened.
“Milo fainted twice. The cardiologist found a rhythm abnormality. The clinic contacted families conceived from the same donor because he'd reported a genetic finding.”
“So you met him?”
“He lives outside Milwaukee now.”
“And you brought Milo?”
Shana looked ashamed.
“He wanted to meet him once.”
“Did Colby know?”
“No.”
Bernadette stood.
“You made an eight-year-old keep that secret from his father?”
“I was going to tell Colby when I knew whether the gene mattered.”
“And when Milo talked?”
Shana looked away.
Bernadette's anger sharpened.
“You hit him because he exposed you.”
Shana's eyes filled, but she did not deny it.
Then Bernadette noticed something else.
The fertility folder was old.
The edge was worn.
“Why do you still have that out?”
Shana answered too quickly.
“Because I needed records.”
Bernadette opened the cover.
May you like
The first document was not Milo's recent medical report.
It was dated nine years earlier.
