Barbara Delinsky - The Family Tree

He started to say something to her, but saw that her eyes were closed. Choosing to believe she had fallen asleep, he left the room and took the elevator to the ground floor. He was looking around for a quiet place to use his phone when someone called his name.

David Johnson strode toward him, lab coat open over deep blue scrubs, shaved head gleaming. David wasn’t only a neigh bor; he was a close friend. They had first met five years ago, when the acre of waterfront land Hugh bought was nothing but clumps of beach grass and heather. David’s house had become Hugh’s emergency outpost during a long year of building, with access to beer in the fridge and a list of resources that had saved Hugh inestimable effort and time.

One of those resources was Dana. If Hugh owed David for any one thing, it was that.

‘Hey, man,’ David exclaimed now, grinning broadly as he clapped Hugh on the back. ‘How’s the new dad?’

Hugh shook his hand. ‘Shell-shocked.’

‘Quick delivery, Hugh. Can’t complain about that. Is the little one adorable?’

‘Absolutely. Hey,’ Hugh said, needing David’s help again, ‘are you coming or going?’

‘Coming from OR, going to office. I have three minutes to run up and take a peek. How about you?’ David asked with a glance at the opening elevator.

‘I have to get messages and make some calls. Will you be around later?’

‘I’m done at six, but I have meetings at Harvard after that, so it’s either see your girls now or tomorrow.’

‘See them now,’ said Hugh. ‘Dana’ll appreciate it.’

David moved into the elevator seconds before the door closed. He turned and shot Hugh a smile. Bright white, it lit his handsome dark face.

Oh, yeah, they had to talk. David would understand the problem. Not only had he grown up black, but after marrying a white woman, he had fathered a daughter whose skin was the same shade as Lizzie’s.

David’s daughter was well adjusted. She was happy. Holding tight to that thought, Hugh found a quiet corner near the hospital’s front entrance and accessed his phone messages.

From his law partner Jim Calli came an exuberant ‘Great news about the baby, Hugh. Rita and I want to stop over as soon as they get home. And don’t worry about things here. Julian and I will cover.’

From Melissa Dubin, one of the associates who worked for him, came a victorious ‘Congratulations, Hugh! One baby and one legal coup! The prosecutor of the Hassler case just called to say he’s dropping the worst three charges against our man. He made it clear that the misdemeanor charge still stands, but we all know Hassler won’t do time for that. This is good .’

The next message wasn’t as happy. ‘Hey, man,’ said Henderson Walker in a low, urgent tone, ‘we gotta talk. There’s guys here lookin’ to hurt me. I already got two threats. And don’t tell me to tell it to a guard, because the guards are in on it. I need to be transferred. You gotta tell them that.’

Hugh had known trouble was brewing with Henderson, and while he wasn’t sure that the danger was as great as Henderson feared, he had been planning to stop at the jail that afternoon. Using his BlackBerry, he e-mailed the associate who worked with him. ‘HW feels threatened. Call him.’

The next message was from his brother. Three years Hugh’s junior, Robert was an executive vice-president in the company begun with a single hotel six generations earlier. One hotel had become six, then a dozen. Succeeding generations of Clarkes had expanded the business into banking, venture capitalism, and entertainment. The conglomerate was successful enough to regularly replenish the family wealth. It was currently headed by Hugh’s uncle, the eighth Bradley Clarke.

Never eager to branch out as Hugh and his father had done, Robert was a blunt-talking businessman. ‘Dad’s incoherent,’ was his message. ‘Gimme a call.’

With a feeling of dread, Hugh tapped in his brother’s private line. ‘Incoherent how?’ he asked without preamble.

‘Hold on.’ Robert’s voice faded. ‘Can we finish up later? Great. Close the door on your way out, will you?’ There was a pause, a distant click. Hugh pictured Robert swiveling in his high-back chair to look out floor-to-ceiling windows at the Boston skyline. When he spoke again, his voice was clear. ‘Dad says the baby is black. What’s he talking about?’

‘Her skin isn’t exactly white.’

‘What color is it?’

‘Light brown.’

‘That’s impossible,’ Robert argued. ‘She has two white parents.’

‘One of us must have an African ancestor.’

‘Well, it isn’t you, so it has to be Dana. Does she have a clue who it is?’

‘I wish she did. It’d shut Dad up.’

‘He’s saying she may have kept it a secret from you.’

‘She doesn’t know .’

‘Dad says that if she doesn’t have an African-American relative, she had an affair.’

Hugh felt a headache starting. Closing his eyes, he pinched the bridge of his nose.

‘Did she?’ Robert asked.

‘Hell, no.’

‘Are you sure?’

Hugh opened his eyes. ‘Dana is my wife . I know her. Come on, Rob, support me in this. Dana did not have an affair. Tell Dad that. I don’t want him starting rumors.’

‘Then you’d better find Dana’s relative. See, as far as Dad’s concerned, of the two possibilities – a black relative or infidelity – infidelity is the more palatable to him.’

Hugh could guess why. ‘Does he dislike Dana that much?’

‘He always felt you married beneath you, but there’s another reason he’d prefer infidelity. If the baby isn’t yours, Dad can say it isn’t his grandchild.’

Hugh was sick. ‘That’s pathetic.’

‘He is who he is.’

‘Yeah? So who is he? To read his books, you’d take him for a man who thinks minorities have been wrongly victimized for years. But now he doesn’t want to be related to one? What does that say about him ?’

‘It says he’s a closet bigot,’ Robert replied calmly. ‘Want to know what else he says?’

Hugh didn’t have to reply. He knew nothing would keep Robert from telling him. Robert had competed with him from the time they were kids. He still loved one-upping Hugh, know ing something Hugh didn’t.

What was amazing, Hugh realized, was that even though his brother was now more important than Hugh, if power and money were the measure, Robert still felt that competitive childhood need.

‘He believes that you either truly didn’t know she had an affair, or that you did know but refuse to admit how wrong you were in marrying her. He says that there certainly won’t be any big baptism, not with so many questions about the parentage of this child.’

‘The baptism isn’t his affair. It’s Dana’s and mine.’

‘One word from him, and half the guests will stay away.’

‘Let them,’ Hugh declared, but he had heard enough. ‘Hey, Robert, I have to go. Do me a favor, though? Call Dad and tell him he’s wrong about Dana. She didn’t have an affair, and if he raises the subject with his buddies at the club, he’ll end up with egg on his face. Dana and I will sort things out, but we’ll do it in our own good time.’

‘He thinks it was your neighbor, by the way.’

‘David?’

‘He’s African American.’

‘He’s one of my closest friends! You’re nuts.’

‘Not me. Dad. But you may want to check it out. I know a good detective—’

‘Got my own, thanks,’ Hugh said and quickly ended the call. He did have his own detective and would be calling him to try to track down Dana’s father. First, though, he wanted to contact the geneticist who did most of his DNA work.