13
Armand
I’m keeping a big secret now, to keep the peace while I figure out what to do. If my mother knows I’ve fathered a bastard, she’ll probably literally explode. Maybe I deserve that—but the fallout could reach Daniela or Laura, and that can’t happen.
For a few weeks after that first visit to the doctor, the deception works. Daniela is less sick, she’s taking care of herself, and my mother has stopped asking awkward questions. I still don’t know how we’re going to handle this long-term, but I’m confident that, given enough time, we’ll figure something out.
Then, one sleepy evening in mid-September, the roof falls in.
I’m with Daniela in Laura’s bedroom, the two of us reading Laura a bedtime story, when I hear running and shouting in the hallways. They both look up at me in alarm
