Take a Chance on Me (150 page)

"Oh, dear God."

"Look, T. You are technically, virtually, medically infertile. But you still produce sperm—and a couple of them still have some get-up-and-go. Maybe you had one real champ and he made the clutch play for you, man."

"Oh, dear God."

Rollo shrugged. "As your doctor—and as your friend—I've got to tell you that this isn't about numbers, it's about trust. You can always get an in vitro DNA workup if you have to, but you need to decide right now—you either trust the woman or you don't. Which is it?"

"Dear God in heaven."

Rollo reached over the desk and gave Thomas's cheek several quick, light slaps. "Are you hearing what I'm saying?"

Thomas looked at Rollo and swallowed. "That's my baby, isn't it?"

"I'm a doctor, not an odds maker, T." Rollo closed the file. "I've seen some strange things in my line of work, and I'll be the first person to tell you that bad shit happens all the time. But I think maybe there's room in the universe for really excellent shit to happen, too."

Rollo put his hand on Thomas's arm.

"Maybe this is one of those times—a time for excellent shit. A miracle even."

"Oh, Emma, baby. Oh, no." Thomas rolled his eyes to the ceiling, then looked down at his pager: six calls from her now.

He jumped up and Rollo followed him to the door. "What're you gonna do, man?"

Thomas wasn't sure what to do with his own face—should he be beaming with pride? Crying because he was such a moron? He ended up turning, throwing his arms around his best friend and squeezing as hard as he could.

Rollo stared at him in shock.

"I'll tell you what I'm gonna do, man." Thomas planted a big, smacking kiss on Rollo's cheek. "I'm going to get married—that is, if Emma can ever forgive me for what I just did to her—if she can still love me.

Then I'm going to be a husband and a father."

Thomas reached for the doorknob and turned back to Rollo. "Score a few more Cohibas in the meantime, all right? We're gonna need 'em."

He shut the door, leaving Rollo standing in the middle of his office, laughing, shaking his head, rubbing his cheek.