Immediate Family Read Free Page A

there’s always this one guy telling everyone not to panic. One of you has to be that guy.”
    “I guess it helps that I grew up on a farm,” he said.
    She rolled her eyes. “I’m looking for a husband and you’re talking animal husbandry.”
    “You’re in the right place, at least. There’s no shortage of candidates,” remarked Jay, his gaze falling on a group of men chatting nearby.
    “All married. Though from what I’ve seen,” she added, thinking of the family photos she’d dutifully oohed and ahhed over, “they’re plenty virile.”
    “I brought my turkey baster along just in case.” Jay’s blue eyes twinkled with merriment. All week he’d been teasing her about this reunion being a chance to scout for potential sperm donors.
    Franny shot him a dirty look. “Please. You make it sound like I’m shopping for a new car.”
    “All I’m saying is that there’s more than one way to skin a cat, as my ma would say. Anyway, here’s to finding Mr. Right.” Jay lifted the mimosa he’d snagged off a passing tray.
    “Make that Mr. Right on Time.” According to the experts, at thirty-six she was already approaching the outer edge of viability, her eggs shriveling as they spoke. If she didn’t get started soon, she’d be looking at the front end of baby strollers for the rest of her life.
    “What about Stu? Didn’t you used to date him in college?” Jay pointed out a stocky, dark-haired man in the requisite khakis and creased linen blazer pacing back and forth nearby, conducting what appeared to be urgent business over his cell phone.
    “For all of five minutes,” she reminded him. Her short-lived romance with Stu Felder had ended with her informing him, as he was groping her in the library late one night, that she wasn’t going to have sex with him, not then or ever. More puzzled than anything, he’d asked if she was into girls; naturally it wouldn’t have occured to Stu that it could have anything to do with him. “Anyway, if I asked, he’d think it was because I was gay and couldn’t have a baby the regular way. Either that, or he’d insist we forgo the turkey baster.”
    “Would that be so terrible?”
    She eyed Stu thoughtfully. “He’s okay looking, if that’s what you mean. Not my type, though.”
    “I thought we were talking about sperm donors, not potential partners.”
    “Yeah, well, shouldn’t I at least like the person?”
    Jay idly rolled his glass between his hands, sunlight sparking off its rim like in a “Diamonds Are Forever” commercial, as he sat leaning forward with elbows resting on his knees. He tilted his head to peer up at her, pushing back the lock of hair forever falling over his eyes—eyes the blue of a prairie sky in haying season, with tiny creases radiating from their corners like sunrays. “You could make it easier on yourself, you know. No hassle, no ties.”
    In other words, why not save herself a lot of grief by heading straight for the nearest sperm bank? The answer was simple: Bobby. Her brother, who’d jumped to his death on the tracks of a Brooklyn-bound D train, no doubt attempting to escape the imaginary government agents forever pursuing him. The memory brought a dull ache. Poor Bobby; he hadn’t asked to be born that way. And what if the same time bomb was lurking in her own DNA? How could she compound that risk with some anonymous donor who might have a family skeleton or two stashed in his own closet?
    “No one said it was supposed to be easy,” she replied, with an airiness that didn’t fool Jay for an instant, from the way he was eyeing her. “Look how long it took you.” When Jay finally tied the knot, she, Em, and Stevie had all breathed a sigh of relief. They’d been so sick of their girlfriends asking if he was up for grabs, Franny had been ready to marry him herself just to shut everyone up. Abruptly, she rose to her feet. “I have to pee. Why don’t you keep an eye out for Em and Stevie? They should be here any minute.”