The Clone's Mother Read Online Free Page A

possibilities for Anna. My fingers trembled as I punched in his number and I had to redial when I hit the wrong key. Twice. After five rings, he answered with a frog croak.
    “Hi, Uncle Howard.” He was my mom’s step-brother. “It’s Kate. Sorry to call so late.” I sounded strange.
    He cleared the frog from his voice. “Never too late for a call from you, Katy-pie. Everything okay?” His warm, jolly voice reassured me.
    “I’m fine. I’m at work and I’ve run into a unique situation. I thought I should check with you about what to do.”
    “What have you got?” he said, instant attorney.
    “There’s a mom here ready to have a baby, and she wants me to help her adopt it out.”
    He said, “Be careful, Katy. Sometimes these things can get sticky. You should get her legal representation so anything done is kosher.”
    “That’s what I thought.”
    “I’d be glad to help you if you want. If the mom needs it, I can work for her pro-bono.”
    “I was hoping you’d say that. I’ve got my cousin, Anna, in mind. They’re ready to adopt, and they have their own lawyer. They might even be able to pay your fees too.”
    “Let me talk to the mom before you call Anna. We don’t want to get hopes up and then have this turn sour. Can I come see her now?”
    “Really? I’ll ask her. Her labor is progressing, but slowly so you should be able to spend some time with her before she gets too busy having the baby.”
    “Okay, Katy-pie. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
    We hung up and I returned to Nikki’s room.
    “Nikki?” I pressed her shoulder. Her eyes opened. “How you feeling?”
    “The pain’s worse, but I can handle it. Did you call?”
    “Yeah. Can my uncle come to see you? His name is Howard Kensler. He’s wondering if he can talk to you for a few minutes.”
    “If he doesn’t take too long to get here.”
    I took off the monitor belts then checked her cervix to see how many centimeters she was dilated. She was only at Three. “You’ve got time. It will be a little while yet before things get hopping. You’re doing great. Just keep relaxing as best you can through each pain.”
    I got another set of vitals and filled her Styrofoam cup with ice chips. When I left her room and walked down the hallway, Uncle Howard came hustling onto the unit. He’d said twenty minutes, but he’d made it in twelve.
    Uncle Howard’s hair—what was left of it—stuck straight out at the sides like Einstein’s. His oversized belly strained the wooden buttons of his worn cotton vest, which he’d had as long as I could remember, even back when he picked me up in his beat-up old Subaru to take me on outings to the zoo or an ice cream shop.
    When I said hi, he grinned like I’d just offered him a cone of his favorite cherry chip swirl. Two scoops of it. He enveloped me in a soft, mushy hug and I breathed in his familiar scent, mothballs mixed with Old Spice. I walked him to Nikki’s room and he told me that he’d been working on several private adoptions lately and was thinking of specializing in them, he enjoyed doing it so much.
    Once I introduced Uncle Howard to Nikki and we talked a few minutes, I let myself out. Howard wanted to speak to her alone and I had charting to catch up on. He stayed with her nearly thirty minutes before he found me at the nurses’ station.
    “We’re all set.” He tapped his briefcase. “She wants to keep this very private. She doesn’t want to see the baby after it’s born. Once it’s officially discharged from the hospital, we’ll do the transfer. I’ll need to talk to their lawyer. When you call Anna, tell her only that you’ve made a contact and you have a prospective baby for them. Confirm they’re interested and prepared, then have their attorney call me. Anytime is fine. Okay, Katy-pie? You clear on this?”
    I nodded, hoping I wouldn’t forget anything. “All clear, I think.” I walked him to the elevator. “I guess I’d better let the charge nurse know