I’m lying flat on my back on a full-length deck chair, catching some rays by the pool.

It’s a sunny Saturday morning, blue skies and sunshine, hot for Ohio but not too hot.

The twenty-first of June, the first day of summer, perfect for working on my tan.

I feel great! I have the whole summer off; twelve long, glorious weeks stretching before me like a golden road… paved with party possibilities. All that free time with nothing to do but chill and hang out.

Yeah, baby!

Last week, I got my first-ever Brazilian. Yeah, it hurt some, but it was worth it.

Yesterday, I got a mani-pedi followed by a cut and style at the hair salon. I wanna look good for tonight. I’m going to my friend Marie’s barn party, which some of her smokin’ hot brothers are sure to attend.

And now, I’m wearing my new string bikini and my new Ray Bans and feeling like a million bucks.

Things are going awesome. I’m lying here in a glow of happy self-satisfaction, in a fabulous mood and counting the ways in which my life totally fucking rocks right now.

First, I just turned twenty-one, old enough to drink and be treated like an adult.

Second, I am done with my first year of college, two semesters into my pursuit of an M.A in Women’s Studies.

Third, I have nearly five thousand dollars in the bank. Ka-ching! Way more money than I could ever make babysitting! I just finished six weeks of temporary, high-paying work, planting trees at a tree farm up in Vermont.

I planted so many fir trees I can still smell their sap in my sleep.

That job was more fun that I thought it’d be, and I saved about every penny I made.

Not that I can take much credit for that, since the place is in the middle of nowhere. Apart from a small fee for room and board, there’s nothing to spend all that nice cash on.

No booze, no cable, only whatever DVDs you bring yourself, and a slow, unreliable internet connection.

At first, I thought it was going to be a total bore.

But it was surprisingly satisfying. A lot of walking, kneeling, bending. A lot. All day, every day, rain or shine, spent in the great outdoors. Thankfully there was more shine than rain, but even on those rainy cold days, I was out there, in rainwear and galoshes, dragging a cart full of seedlings up and down the prepared fields.

Which brings me to the fourth but equally-most awesome thing: I lost the last fifteen pounds of stubborn baby fat I had still clinging to my waistline.

Now, I have a slender, toned body to boot.

Buh-bye, spare tire! Hello, tall and sex-ay! Hah!

Up at dawn and working ’til dusk, all of us on the crew were so worn out, we were glad to fall into bed by ten o’clock. Nobody complained about not getting to party or stay up late drinking.

There was nobody interesting to hang out with anyway. I was one of only three girls on the crew this year, and I could have had my pick of all the single young guys who were there. None of them were my type, though. They were all…what’s that saying?

Young, dumb and full of cum.

Yeah. No thanks.

Not that I’m pure as the driven snow or anything. I was sexually active with my high school boyfriend, Nate. But he moved out west with his family and I haven’t met anyone interesting yet.

I sure as hell have more standards than to hook up with just any hick who bats his eyelashes at me.

The one other girl who was there is already engaged, even though she’s only my age. Already engaged! She’s not even going to college. Nope, just, marriage and start popping out kids. Her fiancé, who was also on the crew, is a third-generation farmer from the area.

Their lives are already all mapped out and planned. After they get married, she’s moving to his family’s farm and they’ll eventually take that over.

That’s all they talked about. Their farm, their families, their future passel of kids.

Geez!

I love babies and kids, but I have some party years left in me before I wanna be tied down to a house and kids and all that.

As a certified babysitter, I’ve done a lot of babysitting. Enough to be well aware how hard it is to have kids.

It’s hard being married, too. Definitely, I’m not ready for all that cooking and cleaning and honoring and obey-ing just yet.

My dad’s a lawyer and my mom stays home, but I don’t know who works harder. My mom does everything for me and my brother. And everything for my dad, too.

He makes the money, but he gets to come home from work. Whereas, her job never ends.

Seems like, as soon as you marry a guy, you become his maid, his mother, and his slave, all rolled into one.

Nope. It’s the single life for me. For now, anyway.

Unless…unless, by some miracle, I meet someone special. I mean, I don’t want to rule anything out completely. Maybe…just maybe…well, don’t they say that anything could happen if you keep your options open?

But never mind that. Right now, I’m foot-loose, fancy-free and loving it.

Yep. I’ve been a very good girl. I’m happy and my parents are happy with me. My reward is having this time off before my next semester of school.

I don’t have to decide what to do with the rest of my life until school’s over. Which means, I get to fend off responsibility for another year.

The thought makes me so happy, my whole body feels smug.

Yep. It’s time to Zen out and relax.

I turn over onto my stomach and let the warm morning sun toast my back for a while.

* * *

Sometime later I hear the doorbell, chiming inside the house. My dad answers it, then, masculine voices follow, becoming clearer as their footfalls come down the hallway towards the kitchen.

When the big sliding glass door is open, leaving only the screen door closed, you can hear everything going on in the kitchen from the patio chairs.

Now comes the scrape of chairs being moved around, the sound echoing loudly in the cavernous kitchen.

“Thanks for getting this done so quick, and inviting me over. You sure it’s no trouble finishing the paperwork off here?”

“‘Course not. It’s a lot closer anyway, and more private for you here. The press has been hanging around the office since the Delcroft case blew open, so this is just a better idea right now. Plus, Alice wants to see the baby.”

“Sure. And it was good of you two to offer to come to my place, too. But I needed to get out. The last month has been crazy. The last week, especially, I don’t even know my name. I’ve been spending too much time alone, trying to cope with the little guy.”

Whoever it is, has a deep, resonant voice. He sounds sleepy. Kind of sexy.

“No problem. I’d say you’re coping damn well for a guy who became a father overnight.”

Father overnight? Huh. Sounds kind of interesting.

Impossible, but interesting.

“Thanks. And thank you for doing all this on such short notice, too.”

“You’re welcome, Mason. You’re paying for it all, including my time, so…it’s no skin off my nose, as they say. It’s your life that’s been turned upside down. So…um, you holding up okay?”

Mason…Mason…nope. The name doesn’t ring a bell. But it’s obviously someone my parents know pretty well.

I do know they’re talking about Dad’s work, which means, confidential stuff that I shouldn’t be hearing. But maybe they’ll move to Dad’s office in a minute, and if I just stay quiet, they’ll never know I’m here.

“Yes, I think so. Upside-down? That’s an understatement. Upside-down, sideways, inside-out, six ways from Sunday. My life’s changed forever.”

“Yeah. I still can’t believe the mother told you to come get your kid or he’ll be going up for adoption.”

“Not quite like that. She had health issues and didn’t know she was pregnant until the second trimester. Didn’t know she could get pregnant. She said she wasn’t sure who the father was…could’ve been some other guy. I know how that sounds but…meh. I don’t care. It was a one-night stand. Anyway, she said that’s why it took so long to contact me.”

“Okay, but…two weeks before the kid is born is cutting it pretty close. Things would’ve gone a lot differently if she knew who you are.”

“Probably. All that matters is that the paternity test was positive. She relinquished her rights. He’s my son and I’m glad she gave me a chance to raise him instead of putting him up for adoption or…worse.

Wow…relinquished her rights? Must’ve been a tough situation.

Idly, I wonder who these people are, what happened. And, what they’ll tell the poor little baby when he gets older.

But I’ll probably never know. My dad has a lot of rich clients and I’m used to minding my business when they’re around. Often, I don’t know who they are and I’m never introduced, which is fine. That’s the way it goes.

But usually, at least they’re aware I’m in earshot…and this is very definitely none of my business. I feel kind of guilty now. I should get up and leave. But they’ll hear me if I do, and my dad knows you can hear everything in the kitchen from these deck chairs outside.

So I don’t move.

“Looks like you’re making a good start as a new dad. Have you found anyone to help you yet?”

“No, I haven’t found a nanny yet. There’s been no time to look.”

“I know you won’t mind me saying, but man…it sucks that you have no family, Mace. This is the time when you really need to have family around.”

“I’ve never been more aware of that.”

“I’m sorry, pal. There’s not a single friend you could ask to help you?”

“Nah. I mean, who? You can’t ask friends to do midnight feedings with a newborn.”

“Guess not. This is none of my business either, but, you’re not seeing anyone…like, a girlfriend, who could help you out?”

“No one special since the divorce.”

“Nothing? That was two years ago. Not that it’s my business.”

“You keep saying it’s none of your business, but you keep asking personal questions anyway.”

I can hear the smile in his voice.

“I’m just curious. You can tell me to stuff it whenever you want.”

“Naw. You know it’s cool. I’ve been busy with projects. I haven’t exactly been in the mood to jump back into a relationship.”

“Understood. Hey…at least, the baby seems like a quiet, contented newborn. We’ve been talking normally, making noise, and he’s sleeping like the…ah…proverbial baby. Heh.”

“He is right now. I fed him about a couple hours ago. He’ll be awake soon enough.”

“How’s the feeding and care going?”

“Okay, I think. I’m reading and researching as fast as I can. It sucks that he has no mother, so I’m trying to be both. That’s what I’m concentrating on.”

“Ah. Is that why you have him in that, um, sling? Simulating carrying him in, your…ah…womb?”

“What? No.” They chuckle. “It holds the baby against your body so that they’re comforted, allowing you keep your hands free.”

“I see. It’s been a while since I’ve had any newborns in the house. But that makes sense. Oh…is he waking up?”

They fall silent, and for the first time, I hear those soft, sweet, grunts that newborns make.

Then, nothing.

“Guess not.” Dad sounds relieved. “And can I ask…when you went to see the mother in the hospital and had the paternity test, did she seem…okay? Mentally?”

“Not really. She was distraught about giving the baby up. Apart from that, it’s hard to tell. I feel bad, but, I really don’t know her. We didn’t stay in touch after we, uh, met that one night.”

“Right. Okay. Well, it’s a sad situation but at least the child has a good father.”

“Thanks. Anyway, when I met with her, I followed your instructions about the paternity testing, and she co-operated fully. Now, I just want to sign the custody papers and have everything made official in case she changes her mind.”

“I doubt she will, now. Everything came back by return courier yesterday. She moved quickly. She seems to want to put it behind her.”

“That’s what she said.”

“One thing, though, I forgot to mention… Alice, who’s going to stand as our witness for your signature, had to take our son to soccer practice this morning. She’s on her way back, she’ll be here any minute.”

“Oh…well, that’s okay. I can wait.”

Uh oh. I thought mom took Stevie out for the whole day. If they’re coming back, I should sneak off the patio and back into my room before they get here.

My curiosity is piqued, though. Too bad there’s no way to slide in there and get a look at this guy without them knowing I’ve been here the whole time.

I feel sorry for this new father and child, whoever they are. No family, no nanny, not even a girlfriend.

He’s a new dad. A surprise dad, by the sounds of it.

And he has no help with that baby.

I’ve babysat my share of newborns and all they do is eat, sleep, cry and poop. You’d think dealing with that would be a cinch, but, it’s not. It’s exhausting.

“You want a coffee?”

“Sure, thank you.”

“Hey, we can ask Alice if she knows any reputable nanny services. Many of our friends have grandchildren, she could ask for recommendations.”

The sounds of a chair scraping, followed by cabinet doors opening and mugs clanking. Coffee prep.

“Thank you, yes. I appreciate all the help I can get.”

“You’re welcome.” Pause. “The baby kind of looks like you, Mace. He’s cute though.” They both chuckle. “Course, he’s sleeping, not crying, so that helps, too.”

“So far, he sleeps well. Just...not through the night yet. But he eats and goes right back to sleep. He even poops in his sleep.”

Now, I hear the front door open and close and the sound of footsteps coming down the hall towards the kitchen.

“Hi, hello, sorry sorry!” Mom’s cheerful voice sings out. “We had to pick up Stevie’s friend. I completely forgot, I promised Derek could spend the day and stay overnight. Now, lemme just use the little girls room, and…” her voice trails away as she presumably goes into the powder room.

I sit up. I’d better make a break for it. If I’m quiet, maybe I can make my way around to the side door and…

“Ewww, gross!” Stevie’s shrill, outraged little-kid voice sinks into my ear like a dagger.

Shit!

He’s standing there in his soccer uniform, holding a soccer ball and gawping like a dork. His friend Derek is with him, holding a beach bag, no doubt containing his swim trunks and towel.

They must’ve come around the outside of the house from the driveway.

“She’s wearing a buh-KEE-nee! Haw haw! You look gross, Samantha! Doesn’t she look gross, Derek? Haw!”