“Can you come to the clinic later this afternoon to meet and discuss things?” she asked. Whoa, already?
“Meet the client?” I squeaked.
“Yes. They want to expedite the process as much as possible.” I wasn’t expecting it to happen that fast. It was just after lunch but I could probably get Jameson to let me out early. I was not risking the chance to make fifty thousand dollars.
“Uh, sure, definitely. I’ll come by.”
“Great. We’ll see you at three,” the woman said. She read the address out to me and I took it down. When she hung up, I realized that I hadn’t asked her just how one of these meetings went. I didn’t know what to expect. She didn’t really give me a lot to work with. She didn’t mention whether it was a couple looking for a surrogate or a single woman trying to have a baby. Even single men used surrogates sometimes. I didn’t have the option to be picky with whose baby I was going to be carrying but it would have been nice to know. Was I nervous?
I was nervous. What if they didn’t like me? What if I didn’t like them? What if I met them and they were assholes and I didn’t want to have the baby for them anymore?
Fifty thousand dollars Brenna. Fifty thousand dollars.
I got up and walked to Jameson’s office. He’d understand. He was a reasonable and flexible guy and I had never given him a reason to think I was unreliable. I had only made requests like this about my mother in the past and this one was about my mother too in a round-about way. He’d understand. I knocked. He told me to come inside. He was at his desk as usual.
“Hi, Mr. Jackson,” I said, coming in.
“Brenna,” he said. “What brings you here today?”
“I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to be heading out of the office a little early today. Medical appointment,” I said.
“O
h. You didn’t mention anything like that earlier,” he said. “Feeling sick?”
“It was sudden. Just a follow up on some tests I had done,” I said. There was enough of the truth in there to make me feel like I wasn’t lying. It was a follow up but of a different kind. I was sort of telling my current boss to let me leave work early to go and interview for a new one.
“Oh, well that’s okay. No problem. You can head out whenever you need to. I’m glad you’re here though. I found a project that I think you would be perfect for. You said you were interested in getting a raise. Working on this would definitely help my case when I talk to the higher-ups.”
“That’s great, Jameson. Thank you,” I said.
“We’ll be working closely together. I’m looking forward to it,” he said.
“Thank you,” I said. “I’m looking forward to working with you too.” His eyes moved down my body, stopping at my breasts again on the way back up. It made me a little ill but that was the extent of his attention. In addition to that, he seemed to be trying to get me the raise I asked for. He was on my side. I just hoped that he never made me regret trusting him.
I left work a little under an hour later. I was going to Tribeca. I didn’t want to leave fate up to the MTA so I splurged on a cab and told my driver the address.
“Expecting a baby?” he asked. Wasn’t it rude to ask women whether they were expecting? More importantly, was that a dig at my weight?
“Not yet,” I said.
“I've heard about this place you’re going to. I heard it was where Brad and Angelina had the procedure to have the twins.”
“Sounds like I’m in good hands then.”
“No man on the scene?” he asked. I pursed my lips. Nothing wrong with a little curiosity but it was none of his business and I told him so. “Hey, I don’t mean any offense. My brother’s gay and he and his husband had a lady carry their baby for them. I think it’s a beautiful thing.”
How much did they pay her, I wondered. A beautiful thing? Sure, but I had slightly more practical reasons for doing it. We arrived and I walked into the building. The outside didn’t prepare me for what was inside. I walked into the cool, beautifully decorated reception and waiting area. It looked nothing like any medical center I had been to. Throw a couple of racks with some wedding dresses in there and it would pass for a bridal boutique. It was all white and light blue and the woman behind the desk looked like an Instagram model.
“Hello? Hi, I’m Brenna Andrews. I’m here for a meeting with a client?” I said to her. She smiled and told me to wait one moment after giving me a number. I settled into one of the plush white couches. I was sitting there just long enough for my initial, very minor nerves to expand tenfold. This was it. I was about to look fifty thousand dollars in the face. Who was the person standing between me and the money? Like some sort of belated realization, a montage of me actually getting pregnant and carrying a baby to term played through in my mind.
This wasn’t a joke. I was going to have a baby. I was going to have a baby for a stranger.
“Number 17?”
That was me. I got up and followed the beautiful nurse to a door. She opened it and let me through. It wasn’t an office. It looked like a small conference room. There was a large table with chairs arranged on three sides of it. At one end was an older woman in a suit, the man next to her was also in a suit. Blue eyes, blond hair, a light tan. I could have sworn it was…
Oh my god.