Author's Note: An earlier version of this story was removed from the archives some years ago. This is a new version, revised, edited, and expanded, with additional chapters.
[*]
Matt's blue-green eyes were clouded with concern. "Genealogical research?" he asked.
"That's what he said," Julie answered. She put her chin on her hands, which were folded on his bare chest.
Matt stared at the high ceiling of the loft. The moonlight hit some of his drawings on the opposite wall. The fan turned in rhythmic motion, letting a cool breeze fall on them. It was the height of July, and it was hot, but they couldn't afford air conditioning. They slept naked these days, and that was fine by Matt, for obvious reasons.
"And he wouldn't say how he thought he was related to you?" he asked.
"No, he said he wanted to talk to me in person. But he had all these details – he knew the name of my dad, where my parents lived two years before I was born - and he said he knew about some relatives I didn't know about, and that I might be interested."
"Sounds a little…suspect."
"You think he's some stalker dude?" She kissed his chest.
"Could be."
"But I'm totally curious."
"Well I'm totally suspicious." He rolled onto his side and she rolled with him. He kissed her. "I'll let you meet him – "
"Let me?" She pulled back.
"Julie – "
"Let me," she repeated. "Who do you think you are, anyway?"
"As of last month? Your husband."
The wedding had been small and had gone fairly smoothly, except the awkwardness of all that sniffling of the mother of the bride, and then the father of the bride getting slightly drunk at the reception and being a little too publicly affectionate with his wife on the dance floor.
Julie threw herself on her back and grunted. "So this is what happens when you get married, huh? Suddenly you're all Mr. Possessive. Mr. Macho Protective – "
"Shut up," said Matt, propping himself up on his elbow. He kissed her until she was at least smiling. "You want someone who doesn't look out for you? Someone who doesn't care if you meet creepy stalker guy who knows too much about your family?"
"No. But you could consider your word choice next time."
"Noted." He snuck an arm around her. "You can meet him, but I'm coming with you."
"I can meet him? I can? Was that your idea of better word choice?"
"You told me last week you like that I've gotten more self-confident since selling those pieces." His tongue protruded between his lips, unintentionally, with his smile. "You like my swagger."
She laughed. "Yeah, confident can be sexy," she said, "but, look, I wanted you to come with me anyway. That's why I was telling you about it. I was going to ask you to come with me. I'm not stupid you know."
"Then what's with the whining?"
"I wanted to ask you to come. I didn't want you to tell me I had to let you come." He smiled, the half smile, the one she loved, the curve, the dimple.
"I'm sorry." He slid a knee in between her legs and spread them a little apart. "So ask."
"Will you come with me? You know, since it's my idea and all."
"Yeah, yeah, I'll come." He shifted on top of her. His lips were on hers, and - soon enough - her legs were wrapped around him, and Mr. Potential Creepy Stalker Guy was long forgotten.
[*]
The next morning Matt took off work and accompanied Julie to the coffee shop, where she was approached by the young man who had contacted her about his genealogical research. He'd found her on Facebook and sent her a message.
"Are you Julie Taylor?" he asked as he approached. Matt thought he looked to be about his own age, give or take a year or two, but he was dressed like he was a businessman with a twenty-year career behind him. He had on a dark suit and a dark red tie and very well shined shoes. Matt judged him to be about two inches taller than himself, and no less muscular. The guy's medium brown hair curled slightly in the back just above his neck. It was thick hair, and a little unruly. His eyes were a nice shade of brown, not that Matt noticed dude's eyes, he certainly didn't, he couldn't tell you what color Landry's eyes were if you asked him, it was just that this guy's eyes were almost the same shade as Julie's, and Matt had spent a lot of time gazing into that color.
"I'm Nathan," the guy said. "Nate." He sounded a little nervous. He glanced at Matt, who maintained a rigid, protective pose. Then he looked back at Julie. "You are Julie Taylor?"
"Yes," Julie said. It was almost a whisper. She was clearly nervous too.
"Julie Saracen," Matt said, his eyes holding Nate's closely.
"I was Julie Taylor," she clarified, "before I got married. This is my husband Matt."
Nate extended his hand, and Matt shook it cautiously. Nate held a hand toward the chair. "May I?"
If Matt wasn't suspicious before, he was now. Who in his generation said, "May I?" before sitting in a chair?
When Julie nodded Nate sat down.
"So where's your genealogical research?" Matt asked. The guy didn't have anything with him. No folder. Not even a briefcase, despite the suit.
Nate rested his fingertips on the table. "I didn't really do any genealogical research per se."
Matt tensed. Liar. He knew it.
"It's just that my mother died recently –"
"- Oh, I'm so sorry," Julie said. Instinctive sympathy, Matt thought. He himself remained silent and suspicious.
"Thanks," Nate said. "Cancer. Anyway, before she died, she decided to tell me some things. Like where I came from."
A puff of air escaped Matt's nostrils. "Wow. I got the birds and the bees conversation when I was nine."
"Ha ha ha." Nate flashed a row of even, white teeth. His laugh reminded Matt of the way Coach Taylor laughed when he was just a little ticked off. "I mean," Nate said, "my mother was a single mom my whole life, and she had told me my father died. But on her death bed, she said that my dad is actually still alive. She told me his name and where they met and what she thought happened to him, and I did some research, and I couldn't find any contact information for him, but I found you," he looked at Julie "and I hoped you'd give me his number. I didn't want to tell you all this in a Facebook message. It seemed…too much. So I asked you to meet me here."
What he said next had Julie shaking her head and saying, "No, it can't be. It can't be. You've made a mistake. It must have been another Eric Taylor. Taylor's a common name. So's Eric. It must be some other Eric Taylor."
"I don't think so. I'm pretty sure you're my younger half-sister," Nate told her.
She just kept shaking her head. "No, see, my dad would have already been married when your mom got pregnant…so, it's not possible."
"Well," Nate said. "It's possible. My mom wasn't on birth control. She told him she was. And it was a brief fling. And she didn't tell him about me, so I can't really blame him for not knowing I existed."
"No. My dad can't possibly be your dad."
"Well, he can be."
"I just told you," Julie said, her hands gripping the sides of the table tensely, "I just told you - he was already married to my mom at that time. So you must have the wrong Eric Taylor."
When Nate began to spell out to her how it was still possible, she shouted, "No!"
A dozen faces turned and looked at their table. Matt reached out and grabbed Julie's hand and told Nate to go. "Now."
Nate slid a business card across the table to Julie. From a glance, Matt saw that it had only his contact information and the word Investments. "Sorry I upset you," Nate said. "I'd like to meet him. Think about giving me his number. Please call me later." Nate stood and left the café.
Matt led a numb Julie back to the loft, and it wasn't until the front door was closed that she spoke again. "Lying piece of shit! What do you think he really wanted?"
Matt put a hand on both of her shoulders. "Julie, maybe he's telling the truth. He looks a lot like your dad."
"- NO! My dad would have already been married when that guy's mom got pregnant. So it isn't possible."
"It's possible…" Matt swallowed. He had to say this to her, didn't he? She wasn't going to hear it if it didn't come from him. "It's possible if he had an affair."
"Well that's not possible," she spat, and jerked away from him and sat at a stool by the kitchen bar. She quivered. Tears were in her eyes. "It's just not possible."
Matt came close and put a hand gently on her back and rubbed lightly. "He looked a lot like your dad, Julie. A lot."
"No…no…no…" She wasn't yelling it anymore, she was sobbing it. "It can't be. He couldn't have had an affair. He couldn't have. If he could…anyone could… you could…"
"I won't."
"No." It was a whisper this time. Her lip was sucked under her teeth. "No. Not my dad. No." Matt drew her into his arms and held her close. After a while, he carried her to bed, and they curled up on top of the still rumpled sheets, where he held her until she had cried herself to sleep.
