Chương 9
His face folded.
He did not sob or make a sound. He simply closed his eyes, and two tears moved down without changing his expression.
Rebecca felt her anger shift, not lessen. It became heavier because it had to make room for his grief.
Julian opened his eyes.
“I missed everything.”
“Not everything.”
He looked at her.
“She is three months old,” Rebecca said. “Do not turn her life into a graveyard because you missed the beginning.”
He swallowed.
“All right.”
“You will not use guilt to rush me.”
“All right.”
“You will not bring Eleanor near her.”
His arms tightened slightly around Ivy.
“No.”
“You will not make decisions through assistants.”
“No.”
“You will complete a parenting course, infant CPR, and whatever the court evaluator recommends.”
“Yes.”
“You will not announce her publicly.”
“Yes.”
Rebecca stopped.
Julian waited.
It irritated her that he agreed so easily.
“You can ask questions,” she said.
“I’m afraid the wrong question will make you take her back.”
“She is not a test you pass by being obedient.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“No,” he said. “Not yet.”
The honesty disarmed her.
Ivy began to fuss. Julian looked alarmed.
“She does that,” Rebecca said.
“Why?”
“Because existence disappoints her.”
He smiled weakly. “What should I do?”
“Stand up.”
He stood.
“Hold her closer. Not that close. You are not restraining a witness.”
He adjusted his grip.
“Walk.”
He took two steps.
Ivy quieted.
Julian looked at Rebecca with astonishment.
“It worked.”
“For now.”
He walked the short length of the room, slow and awkward. Rebecca watched him learn the weight of his daughter.
The test result arrived the next afternoon, although neither of them needed it emotionally by then.
Probability of paternity: greater than 99.99 percent.
The legal effect was less immediate. Miriam filed a petition to establish parentage and requested temporary sole physical custody for Rebecca with supervised visitation for Julian until a parenting plan could be evaluated. Julian’s attorney accepted service without contest and proposed twice-weekly supervised visits.
Eleanor’s attorney filed an emergency motion seeking to prevent Rebecca from naming her publicly in connection with the clinic breach. The motion failed.
Summit announced an independent investigation into misuse of company resources. Eleanor resigned from the board “to avoid distraction,” a phrase that appeared in three newspapers and on countless financial websites. The company’s stock fell eleven percent over two days.
A photograph of Rebecca leaving Summit with Ivy appeared online.
The baby’s face had been blurred by the first publication and copied without blurring by several others.
By evening, strangers had begun debating whether Rebecca was a courageous mother, a calculating military spouse, a victim of wealthy manipulation, or an opportunist using a child to influence a corporate succession. One account claimed she had become pregnant during deployment. Another insisted Ivy had been conceived to secure inheritance rights. A retired officer who had never met Rebecca gave an interview about the pressures of military marriage.
Rebecca deleted every social media application from her phone.
The Navy did not care about gossip until gossip mentioned the Navy. Her commanding officer called from Washington.
“Are you safe?” Commander Alvarez asked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Is the child safe?”
“Yes.”
“Did you disclose any protected operational details to civilian counsel?”
“No.”
“Good. Public affairs will send guidance.”
“I’m on parental leave.”
“Public affairs has discovered that parental leave does not stop the internet.”
Rebecca pinched the bridge of her nose.
Alvarez’s voice softened. “You did not cause their misconduct.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
Rebecca looked through the window of the lodging facility. A groundskeeper was trying to restart a leaf blower, pulling the cord with growing personal resentment.
“Some days.”
“You have support?”
“My attorney says she is not a support system.”
“Your attorney is correct.”
“I dislike that consensus is forming around me.”
Alvarez laughed once. “I can assign a family readiness liaison.”
“No.”
“That was not a request.”
The liaison, Chief Petty Officer Lena Brooks, arrived the following morning with coffee, diapers, and no visible curiosity about the Prescotts. She was forty-two, broad-shouldered, and unimpressed by wealth.
“I was told you need practical support,” she said.
“I’m fine.”
Brooks looked at the stack of unopened mail, the unwashed bottle parts in the sink, and Rebecca’s sweatshirt worn inside out.
“Clearly.”
Rebecca took the coffee.
Brooks stayed.
She held Ivy while Rebecca showered. She assembled a secondhand bassinet someone from the command donated. She labeled bags of frozen milk with dates and criticized the lodging facility’s tiny refrigerator.
At noon, Julian arrived for his first supervised visit with a court-approved social worker.
Brooks opened the door.
He blinked at her.
“You the father?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“You know infant CPR?”
“Class is Friday.”
“Then today you are decorative.”
Rebecca called from the bedroom, “Chief.”
“What? I said today.”
The social worker, Ms. Patel, hid a smile.
Julian entered carrying two bags.
Rebecca looked at them. “What is that?”
“Supplies.”
“I have supplies.”
“I know.”
“Then why did you bring supplies?”
He glanced at Ms. Patel. “Was I not supposed to?”
The bags contained diapers in the wrong size, six bottles of a brand Ivy rejected, three blankets, a stuffed elephant marked for children over twelve months, and enough baby wipes for a small institution.
Rebecca lifted the elephant.
“She cannot have this in the crib.”
“I know.”
“You bought it.”
“I panicked in the store.”
Brooks nodded. “Reasonable.”
Rebecca gave her a look.
The visit lasted ninety minutes. Julian learned to warm a bottle, though he tested the milk temperature so often it became cold. He changed a diaper under Rebecca’s supervision and used seven wipes.
“That seems excessive,” he said afterward.
“It was,” Rebecca replied.
Ivy spit up on his sweater.
Julian looked down at the white stain.
May you like
Brooks handed him a cloth. “Congratulations. You have been accepted.”
The second visit went more smoothly. By the fourth, Ivy recognized his voice. Rebecca could see it in the way the baby turned her head when he entered.
