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her door years before.
    * * *
    As she was dressing for bed, her phone rang a
familiar tone.
    “Nikki.” She groaned. She’d have to answer
her sometime. This was as good a time as any, and hadn’t she
already made the move to give her the answer she wanted? “Hi.”
    “Is this Sondra?” Nikki asked.
    “Who else?” Sondra walked over to the window,
moved the drapes aside, and stared out over the city.
    “You don’t sound like yourself.”
    Sondra’s answer was wry. “I don’t feel like
myself.”
    “I’m sorry you’re upset.” Nikki’s voice shook
with what sounded like unshed tears. “I shouldn’t have asked.”
    “I don’t see you have many options.”
    The air between them was silent a few
moments. Nikki broke the silence, her voice barely a whisper. “You
already turned me down. Have you changed your mind?”
    “You know I couldn’t say no.” Sondra let the
curtains fall and moved to sit on the bed.
    “Oh, Sondra. Do you really mean it?”
    “Of course I do. Tell me what I need to
do.”
    The next several minutes were spent with
Nikki going into details involving an embryo transplant. When the
conversation ended, Sondra fell back, her mind swimming with the
idea of doctor visits, immunization booster shots, blood tests,
possible hormonal injections, invasive procedures, with the end
result one she could only enjoy as an aunt.
    What had she agreed to?

Chapter Four, Small Lies
    Sondra’s ringing alarm woke her at 6:30 a.m.
The phone had switched to the new time zone. Sondra’s body didn’t
switch so easily. It was still 4:30 as far as it was concerned.
    She shut off the insistent alarm and buried
herself in her warm bedding. She wasn’t ready to move. After a few
minutes, she rolled out of bed and opened the heavy drapes.
    The sun hadn’t yet risen, but the glow of
city lights sparkled in the falling snow. The city was a
wonderland. Despite her experience with the muggers the night
before, the world looked like a new, vibrant place, and she was
anxious to start the day.
    She’d picked out a white cashmere sweater to
go with a simple winter white suit she’d bought the night before.
Even though the ceremony wasn’t meant to be a lasting one, she
couldn’t bring herself to treat the occasion with indifference.
    When she was showered and dressed, she called
the number she’d added the day before. A groggy male voice
answered. “Whassup?”
    “It’s our wedding day. I thought it should
start early.”
    “Can’t it wait until a more reasonable hour?”
Irritated. He definitely sounded irritated.
    Sondra swallowed a nervous chuckle. “It’s
nearly 7:00. I’ve already found the closest county clerk’s
office.”
    He was silent a moment, and then growled.
“All right. All right. Give me a few minutes.”
    “I’ll order breakfast. Was there anything you
wanted?”
    The mention of food woke him up. “Bacon,
eggs, and pancakes sound good. I’d like orange juice as well. Bill
it to the room. I have an account.”
    Sondra shut the phone without saying
good-bye. This time, she was paying, and he wouldn’t be there to
argue.
    When breakfast arrived, Sondra paid for the
food and included a generous tip. This trip was meant to be on her
dime. The whole marriage thing had been her idea. She didn’t want
to add the guilt of the trip expenses to the package.
    Zack knocked on her door a couple of minutes
after breakfast arrived, his hair still wet from a shower. The
swelling around his eye was down, but the surrounding tissue was
definitely the wrong color. His lip looked almost normal.
    Like her, he’d dressed for the occasion. The
suit he was wearing looked different from the one he’d worn the day
before, and Sondra wondered how he’d kept it immaculate in the
suitcase he’d carried.
    “Did I pass?” Zack’s voice broke into her
thoughts.
    “Was I obvious?”
    “I’m afraid so.”
    “I was thinking you look remarkably undamaged
for taking out three thugs last