“Good. We’ve got another new OBGYN, she just started two weeks ago, so I’m finally starting to feel like I can lift my head above the water. Work days aren’t as long and now with four of us, I’m down to one on-call weekend a month.”
“That’s great, son. Those long hours take a toll. I’m glad you’ve been able to find a balance.”
Annie chews a bite of lasagna, then turns to me.
“Daddy said you were a v-v-agina doctor. Do vaginas get sick?” She looks really concerned.
Her mother’s eyes go wide and it’s all I can do to hold back a laugh.
“Fagina! Fagina!” Sophia chimes into the conversation.
“Seriously, Kyle?” Carrie shoots daggers toward her husband, but he just shrugs.
“She asked what kind of doctor he was. I was looking for a simple response.”
My mom perks up with a sly grin. “Do any of those vaginas have potential to give me more grandchildren?”
Carrie just about falls out of her chair, “Mom! This is not appropriate conversation for the dinner table.”
My mom just shrugs. “I just thought since we were on the topic.”
When I meet Carrie’s horrified eyes, I can’t help but laugh out loud.
My dad takes a sip of his wine, trying to take the conversation in a different direction, “Anybody catch the Rockies game last night?”
My mom starts gathering plates up. “I’m going to go put on a pot of decaf.”
6
Brooke
I’m only a few chapters in to theWhat to Expect When You’re Expectingbook and to say I’m a little freaked out is an understatement. I’m actually on chapter four because the first two were about conceiving and I don’t need to know anything about that. That’s what the turkey baster is for.
I’m pretty fascinated by a woman’s body, and what it can do. But it’s also a lot of weird science stuff that just sounds a bit scary. The surrogacy book I ordered arrived on Tuesday. It talks about the process, hormones that are used to prepare the surrogate for implantation and the emotional impact of surrogacy, like growing a baby in your body that isn’t yours and how that can cause attachment to the child. This is all natural, cause and effect, and at first, I’m bothered by that but then I think I’m going to rock this surrogacy thing because I will be more than happy to hand over the baby to Ellie and Josh. And it’s not like I’ll never see the kid again, I mean I’ll be his or her aunt…
On Wednesday night I made dinner at Ellie and Josh’s house. I brought groceries and made taco salad, the one of the few things I know how to make that doesn’t come out of a box or the frozen food section. Ellie seemed to be in good spirits, she drank a margarita and we played Uno.
The three of us talked about exploring the option of me as their surrogate. She’d filled in Josh this weekend and he seemed kind of unsure about it all but as usual, if Ellie is into it then he’ll support her. That’s just the kind of guy he is.
Turns out Ellie had talked with her fertility specialist and set up an appointment for next week to see if I would be a good candidate. Things are getting real and I can tell Ellie is excited, but also trying to not get her hopes up. I mean, things may not work for me either—I could have the same poor plumbing as my twin and I’m afraid I’ll disappoint her. They’ve been going through this process for so long, I can’t imagine what it would be like if it doesn’t work out.
But it feels like this is the last option for them to have a biological child. It’s exciting and stressful, so I’m trying to not think too much about the appointment and enjoy the weekend. After we finish the last game of Uno, I get up to say bye to Josh and head home. I can see he’s still rebounding from all they’ve been through. He’s sitting in front of the TV, beer in hand, eyes unfocused, obviously in deep thought. Once again, I assure myself that I’m doing the right thing.
Saturday morning, I pick up bagel sandwiches and coffee from Leroy’s then meet Sam at her boutique to check out the progress. I’ve seen the space mock-ups, and we’ve been working on the interior design together, so I know her vision. Sam is right, Luke’s craftmanship is flawless. He’s building most of the retail displays from scratch. Everything is turning out great. When I ask where Luke is, because of course I want to meet the man that is making my best friend come unhinged, she tells me he’ll be there later. I’m disappointed that I didn’t get to meet Luke, so of course I threaten to show up unannounced sometime this week. She just shakes her head and laughs at me.
We part ways so we can shower and get ready for the Rockies game we’re attending this afternoon. Sam loves baseball, and she typically drags me to a few games each summer. She grew up with two brothers who played baseball all the way through college, her family basically lived at the ball park when she was growing up, and I go because I like to look at men’s butts in their tight baseball pants and work on my tan.
When I get home, I’m excited to see the Amazon package waiting for me. The other night I was doing more research on surrogacy, and stumbled onto an advertisement for a fake pregnancy belly. I’m having the most anxiety about my body changing with the surrogacy and thought it would be a good way to give myself a glimpse of what it will be like to have a baby bump.
I hear Sam call out as she enters my apartment.
“I’m in my bedroom,” I respond. A moment later she’s in my doorway.
“I got the low-sodium seeds because I know you don’t like—” Sam stops midsentence when I turn sideways.
“What the hell is that?” She points at my midsection, where I am now, according to the size chart in the prosthesis box, four to six months pregnant.
“A baby bump. I thought I’d try it out for a day. You know, research.”
