“Ha,” I said. “Don’t feel bad. The kids get their body parts mixed up sometimes, too.”

“He’s like this big, beautiful spider who keeps weaving everyone into his web with flattery. We worked together. He was married. I knew better, but I got pulled in anyway. And then he did the same thing to me with wife number three. People, even strangers, have been falling all over him his whole life. I mean, you have to stand in line to have a crush on him. When he has us, he doesn’t want us anymore, and we’re just another one of the long trail of crazy bitches trying to get him back. But once we lose interest, he always knows. And then he wants us back.”

“Wow,” I said. “I just remembered when you told me who the father was, you said something like he’s an asshole, but he’s got great genes.”

Polly shook her head. “Pretty superficial, huh? I guess I thought he might be a better risk than the luck of the draw at the sperm bank. And maybe a part of me thought I deserved something after all the years I spent being sucked in to his relentless need for attention and drama.”

I globbed some hot glue on a dog bone. “You might not want to hear this, but you said you wanted a family for your baby, and it occurs to me that you’ve already got one. Didn’t you say your ex has three kids with his first wife, and one with the second?”

“At last count,” Polly said. “But, no way. My baby will have unconditional love and stability and absolutely no drama. Which by definition means no Galen.”

“So you don’t think he even has the right to know?”

Polly shook her head. “Galen only cares about Galen. His only interest in this baby would be as leverage over me. He’s a bad idea that feels good for a while, but he always, always lets you down. You can’t hang your heart on charm, you know?”

“At some point,” I said, “you might have to face the fact that you’re depriving your child of not just a father but some pretty exotic step siblings.”

“Maybe way, way down the road,” Polly said. “When and if I’m sure she or he is old enough to handle it.”

“Maybe that makes sense,” I said. “Like how old?”

“I don’t know,” Polly said. “But at least thirty-one.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

It was long past sunset and the last light had disappeared, but because it was New England in December, it wasn’t even 5 P.M. yet. Ethan, Polly and I walked out to the parking lot under the yellow glow of the outdoor lights. Crispy leaves swirled around our feet. I shivered in the cold air, wrapped my suede jacket around me tighter.