Chapter 3
Ettie took a deep breath and opened the door to Bloomfield Fertility. Once she had done her research and made her decision there really was no way of stopping her. It wouldn’t be so bad would it? Helping someone else achieve their dreams of having a family. And it wasn’t like she would be sad turning the baby over at the end of nine months. It wouldn’t even technically be her child. She would deal with Lily’s questions when they came. She was nervous about Andrea’s reaction but she couldn’t think about that right now. She knew what she had to do and as nervous as she was, she also felt like she was doing the right thing. Not only would becoming a surrogate bring someone else joy but it would help her solidify Lily’s future. As she approached the desk the receptionist smiled and came out to greet her.
“Hello. I’m Allison Hughes. You must be Henrietta Fraser,” she smiled holding out a hand.
“Yes. How did you know that?” Ettie asked slightly startled.
“Here at Bloomfield we only see one client per doctor at a time. You are our first appointment with Dr. Klein today. We know what an important decision this is,” Allison beamed.
Ettie felt better about her choice already. The doctor already had her medical files which had been sent over the day before. They drew blood and performed an examination. She was asked about any sexually transmitted diseases and was screened for everything, including if she carried the gene for the RH factor. Next they sent off labs to determine her blood group. She was asked about any medications and allergies. A urine test was done to determine the presence of any illegal substances. They asked if she smoked or drank alcohol. It was like they stripped Ettie down to the very core. Next was the paperwork and an overwhelming amount of questions including a psychological exam. Finally they performed two slightly invasive procedures, a normal pap smear and a hysteroscopy, which checked how clear her fallopian tube passages were.
Four hours later, Ettie Fraser was registered as a surrogate with Bloomfield Fertility, pending her lab results. She knew she had a clean bill of health despite her mother being diagnosed with cancer, one of the intrusive questions. Now all she had to do was wait for clearance and for someone to choose her. Allison had told her that her file would need to be updated every six months and that it could be some time if at all before she was chosen. The hardest part was over. Allison also suggested that she improve her diet, adding folic acid and iron, basically making her womb a welcoming environment. The doctor also prescribed Ettie prenatal vitamins which she thought was premature, but decided to take anyway.
Three weeks later, Ettie was given the all clear. She had only seven months to be chosen. Lily’s school started in September. It was already February and the balance was due by September 1st. She couldn’t worry about that right now.
*****
Melissa was nervous as they looked over the files. Should they really be doing this? Renting an egg for an instant family? And what made these women okay to do this? Roy seemed generally interested in the thick manila folders before them but all Melissa saw were smiling faces that all melded together into one. They had decided to try and find someone who had the same characteristics as Melissa so that raising the baby would be easier. Less questions. But of course there would be questions. That was just the world they lived in. Endless questions by family and friends.
“When are you having a baby?” the most popular these days.
Roy was ecstatic. Melissa had agreed to finding a surrogate and here they were in Dr. Klein’s office, one of the top fertility specialists in Texas. They were led to a small but comfortable room with cushy chairs, coffee and cookies and two computers side by side. They had decided that to get through all of the files they would peruse them separately and then save the ones they were interested in. The friendly receptionist had given them instructions and assured them that she would be able to answer any questions.
There were several questions asked before they had access to the files. Education level, height, race, eye color. Roy noticed that Melissa had selected several filters while he had kept all options open. Whatever it took, he would make sure that they found some candidates they could agree on.
Two hours later and Melissa was tired. She couldn’t find a single woman that she wanted carrying her child. Roy had chosen six, all of which she vetoed for some reason or another. Roy wanted to have lunch and then come back with a fresh pair of eyes. Dr. Klein said the process of choosing could take weeks but Roy was insistent they find the right woman sooner than later.
They had a light lunch. Roy tried his best to make Melissa feel at ease. He wasn’t sure she was completely on board and that worried him.
“Can’t we just do this another day?” Melissa asked toying with the straw in her drink.
“We took the day off. I was hoping we could look at more files,” Roy said.
“It’s just so tiring. They all start looking the same after a while.”
“You know Mel, when we find her we will just know,” he said thoughtfully.
“I don’t even know what criteria we should be looking at,” Melissa shot back.
“Well, we want her to be healthy obviously. I was thinking African American so the baby looks more like us,” Roy said.
“Maybe we should look for someone biracial,” Melissa said sarcastically.
“You know what I meant Mel. You know this is our baby right? The surrogate is just that. A surrogate. I want us completely involved.”
“That’s just it Roy. This is not our baby. This is your baby, with another woman.”
Roy didn’t know how to respond at first so he just remained quiet.
“Mel, we don't have to do this,” he said finally. “Do you want this? We have to be sure.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to say that she didn’t but when she looked up and saw the hurt written all over his face she couldn’t bring herself to say it.
“Roy,” she said instead. “Can we just come back on Saturday? I’m just so drained. I can’t do this today.”
“Yes. Of course. I’ll call the clinic,” Roy said.
Everything would have been fine if Roy didn’t get that call the next day. It was from his sister Kate.
“Hey little brother,” Kate said.
“Hey. How are you?” Roy said into the phone.
“We’re good. How’s Melissa?” Kate asked.
“Good, good. Her business is taking off.”
“That’s good. I just spoke to grand-dad. He’s going crazy since he retired. You really need to go and see him,” Kate chided.
“I see him when I can. I keep him updated every day. Don’t let the old man fool you. I’m surprised he hasn’t tried to sneak in. Probably would if I didn’t take his office,” Roy laughed.
“Must be great. I always loved the view. I can’t believe dad and Mark just let you take it.”
“As do I Katie. Besides dad’s office is three times as big. He’s not going anywhere. And I have seniority over Mark,” Roy joked.
“You know he misses grandma. It’s only been two years. Go see him.”
“I will,” Roy sighed.
“The children and I will be coming to visit over spring break. Will we get to see you?” Kate asked.
“Yeah of course.”
“You know Roy, Mark is only twenty-two. From the looks of it he’s not settling down anytime soon. Grand-dad won’t be around forever and with me in Maine, he needs some great grandkids to keep him busy. You and Melissa should really start trying again. At least look into adoption.”
“Kate don’t start that again. I already told you how she feels,” Roy said rubbing his jaw.
“Yes. I’ve heard. I don’t understand it though. You’re the oldest son. Who is going to carry on our family name? My children are Vaughns. Think about it. And what about how you feel? I think Melissa is being very self centered. Do you know how many children need a good home? I was just telling Paul…”
“Hey Katie. Sorry, I have a client coming in. I’ll call you this week okay? Love you sis,” Roy said quickly, hanging up.
He'd had this conversation with both Kate and his mother numerous times. His sister and Melissa didn’t really get along that well. They were cordial to one another for the sake of Roy. Kate who had grown up as a southern belle could not understand why Melissa would ever want to run her own business. He loved his sister dearly but she was old fashioned. Kate Gardner had attended college with one goal. To find a suitable husband. She had found that in her freshman year when she started dating senior Paul Vaughn, from a well connected family of lawyers. They were engaged Kate’s sophomore year and married the next spring. Kate adored Paul but they did as was expected of them both. She would never understand the relationship between him and Melissa. How he loved her for her ambition. How he was the one who had encouraged her to open her company. Kate and his mother for that matter, couldn’t understand why Roy, who had wanted a houseful of children, would let a simple thing like infertility get in his way. He didn’t like to dwell on it but sometimes he hated how his mother looked at Melissa, something like disappointment in her eyes that she couldn’t get pregnant.
Melissa’s family was no different. Her older sister had the perfect two children that were the apple of their grandfather’s eye. Her younger brother’s wife was five months pregnant. Sometimes Roy wondered what they could have done wrong to deserve this. He didn’t blame Melissa, not in the least, but it made zero sense to him that her siblings obviously had no problem procreating.
And so with Kate’s nagging voice occupying his mind for the rest of the morning, Roy decided that he would take matters into his own hands. It wasn’t like Melissa hadn’t already agreed, he would just speed up the process a bit. He picked up his phone and dialed his secretary.
“Carolyn, I need to take care of something personal. I’ll be taking the rest of the day. Transfer all my calls to my brother.”
His next call was to the clinic. Thirty minutes later Roy pulled up to the clinic and was shown to the same room where he began to view the files. Part of him knew he should really tell Melissa what he was up to but another part of him thought she would go nuts if she knew. One thing was certain in Roy’s mind, if he found the perfect woman Melissa would be ready to start the process.
It was almost three hours later when Roy came across a profile. Henrietta Fraser. She was beautiful. Roy clicked on her case number and scanned her file. She was perfect. Mixed heritage just like Melissa, twenty eight, perfect health profile, non-smoker, social drinker. Best of all she was already a mother which meant she had successfully brought a pregnancy to term. He hit the intercom for Allison.
Allison came into the room with a bright smile.
“May I help you with something Mr. Gardner?” she asked pleasantly.
“Allison. I think I found our surrogate. What is the next step?” Roy asked eagerly.
Allison was surprised. She didn’t know what to make of it that Mr. Gardner had wanted to view profiles without his wife. Now it seemed he had chosen one without her. When she had met the Gardners she had liked Mr. Gardner right away. He seemed to be excited to embark on this journey. Mrs. Gardner, she seemed a bit distant. Not exactly cold but not welcoming either. Maybe she preferred to not be a part of the process. In either case, it wasn’t Allison’s place to judge.
“Well the next step is forwarding the file to Dr. Klein. Then allowing the potential surrogate to view your profile and determine if she would like to work with you. In your case, where a donor egg is used we don’t need to worry about blood type match so she can view your profile as early as tomorrow. After that we set up a meeting here at the clinic before any final decisions are made. Finally, you bring in your legal team to work out the contract.”
Allison must have seen the look on Roy's face because she added, “I know it must be so overwhelming.
“Very. Can I take this file home to my wife?” Roy asked.
“For privacy reasons, you cannot. But I can set up a time for you both to come in tomorrow to review it.”
“That’s perfect. We’ll be here.”
*****
Roy didn’t know what to make of it. He didn’t expect Melissa to respond this way.
“So you went. Without me?” she hissed.
“Mel I don’t understand why you are so angry. You said reviewing the files made you exhausted. I just wanted to make things easier.”
“Maybe it would just be easier if you did this on your own. How about that?” Melissa shot back.
“How can you say that? I want this family with you,” Roy responded.
“Then why did you go without me?” Melissa asked, clearly hurt.
“I was talking to Kate and…” Roy trailed off.
“Of course you were,” Melissa fumed. “And I’m sure she had another opinion about our life.”
“Mel. I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. It was stupid of me. Please forgive me.”
“Fine. It’s done. So this woman...does it look like she’ll be a good fit?” Melissa asked.
“I think she is just who we are looking for.”
Melissa took a moment to reflect on his words. In her heart, she knew Roy wasn’t trying to be malicious and honestly she was relieved to not have to pour over profiles, trying to find the mother of her child. She tested that phrase in her mind. Her child. She had to admit she liked the sound of that. Her child. Their baby. It had seemed impossible before. She had wanted to give up, but now that they might have found their surrogate it seemed real to her. Was this woman the key? Could they have a family?
What time do we have to be there tomorrow?”
“At ten. I love you Melissa.”
“I love you too,” Melissa replied.
The next morning Roy and Melissa made their way to the clinic to review Henrietta Fraser’s file. Melissa agreed on paper Henrietta Fraser seemed perfect. The next step was meeting with Dr. Klein. Roy was excited and nervous all at the same time. Even Melissa beamed in the chair next to him. He held her hand tightly. Everything was falling into place.
“Roy. Melissa.” Dr. Klein said entering the room and taking a seat at his desk.
“Dr. Klein,” they said in unison.
“Congratulations you two. You have made the first step into becoming parents. We will contact the surrogate and set up a meeting as soon as it's convenient for the three of you.”
They discussed legal matters and Dr. Klein answered their many questions. By the time Roy kissed Melissa goodbye and drove away from the clinic, he was on an emotional high. Melissa seemed happy and that was all that mattered.
*****
When her cellphone rang on Thursday morning, Ettie was surprised to see that it was the fertility clinic calling. It was Allison the receptionist.
“Hello,” she answered.
“Ms. Fraser. Hello this is Allison from Bloomfield Fertility. I’m sorry to disturb you but I was wondering if you could possibly come into our office tomorrow?”
“Is everything okay?” Ettie asked, hearing tension in the receptionist’s voice.
“Everything is fine Ms. Fraser. It is a private matter that the doctor would like to discuss in person at the office. Are you able to make it?” Allison questioned.
“Yes of course, I will be there first thing,” Ettie responded.
Ettie was terrified. Allison had sounded strained. She had gotten the all clear from the clinic. Had something happened? Did they find an abnormality in her tests? Thinking of her mother the first thought that entered her mind was cancer. But then why was she worrying. Allison hadn’t said anything was wrong. She was simply being paranoid. Maybe they had found a match and this was simply their standard procedure. She was being silly. If she was telling the truth the thought of being matched was even more terrifying. Then she would have to talk to Andrea.
When she arrived at the clinic a little after nine am the next morning Allison was waiting to greet her.
“Welcome Ms. Fraser,” she said with a bright smile. “Dr. Klein will see you now.”
Allison was shown to the office where Dr. Klein stood to greet her warmly.
“Ms. Fraser. Wonderful to see you again,” he said extending his hand.
“Dr. Klein. Please call me Henrietta,” Ettie said shaking his hand.
He indicated for her to have a seat which Ettie took gratefully. The uncertainty was killing her and her legs felt heavy.
“Henrietta. There is a couple who is interested in you becoming their surrogate. There is just one thing we need to discuss,” Dr. Klein stated.
“Is there a problem?” Ettie frowned.
“No. Not a problem. During the screening process you indicated that your preference was as a gestational surrogate. This particular couple are looking for a traditional surrogate.”
“I see. I don’t know what to say Dr. Klein. I really had not thought of that as an option,” Ettie said, surprised.
“That is completely understandable. I know that it is a big decision.”
“So essentially they would be using my egg?” Ettie asked.
“Yes. You would provide a donor egg.”
“And the father?”
“In certain instances donor sperm would also be used. In this particular case the client would be the biological father.”
“And what about the baby? I would be the biological mother. What role would I play in this child’s life?”
“Henrietta, I realize this is a very complicated situation. They would want you to terminate all rights to the child.”
“I...I don’t know what to say. I have to think about this Dr. Klein,” Ettie said, her mind already working.
“I understand. Please take your time. If you would like you can take a look at their profile before you leave.”
“Yes,” Ettie heard herself saying. “I think I would like that.”
Minutes later, Ettie was looking at the profile of Roy and Melissa Gardner. They were a lovely couple. They were young, well educated and both owned successful businesses. Obviously they could provide a child a wonderful life. But could she really walk away from a child that was part her? She couldn’t do it with Lily, was against putting her up for adoption. Wasn’t this essentially the same thing? No. It wasn’t she thought. This child would be guaranteed two loving parents, an uncertainty with her first pregnancy. Ettie decided to meet them. She called for Allison and asked her to arrange the meeting.
*****
That Friday, Ettie waited nervously in the conference room. She smoothed her hair down and checked her appearance in her mirror for the third time. She didn’t know why she was so anxious. A few minutes later Allison appeared followed by Roy and Melissa Gardner. They both smiled shyly and she smiled shyly back at them.
“Thank you for meeting with us,” Roy said his hand extended.
Ettie shook their hands and they took seats around the small table.
“I’m Roy and this is my wife Melissa,” Roy said.
“I’m Henrietta,” Ettie said her voice catching. She took a sip of her water.
“We are so honored to meet you Henrietta,” Melissa replied. “My, but you are gorgeous,” she added nervously.
“I’ll leave you three to get acquainted,” Allison said pulling the door shut behind her.
“Henrietta I just want to thank you again. What you are agreeing to do, hopefully for us but whatever you decide, this is the most incredible, generous thing anyone could ever do,” Roy said.
Ettie smiled reassuringly at Roy and Melissa. Her emotions were all over the place and she wasn’t sure what to say next.
“Are there any questions that you wanted to ask me?” she said finally.
“What made you decide to become a surrogate? If that’s not too personal,” Roy asked.
Ettie thought about that. Sure it would help secure Lily’s future but that wasn’t the only reason that she had made her final decision. It was Gina, Abbie and Jordan. She took a deep breath.
“My best friend wanted to start a family. Unfortunately, she couldn’t go about that in a traditional way. But when I see the joy her son has brought to her life. The way she loves that little boy. She may not be his biological mother but she is most definitely his mom. If I could do that for someone, I would feel incredibly blessed.”
“We saw in your file that you have a child. How was your pregnancy?” Melissa inquired.
Ettie remembered that Melissa was not able to have a child at the last moment so instead of gushing about what a gift it was to have Lily and how she loved being pregnant, she thought carefully about her answer.
“It was a smooth pregnancy,” she began. “My daughter was very active, and fortunately not a very long birth, she came fairly quickly.”
“Did you have any cravings?” Roy asked. “Melissa loved strawberries…” Melissa stiffened slightly next to him. “Sorry honey,” he said taking her hand. “I didn’t mean to.”
“No. I’m fine,” Melissa said quickly flashing a forced smile.
“Well with my daughter, I really craved coconut. Coconut everything, water, candy, bread, cookies. I even liked the scent. I bought candles, air fresheners. They funny thing is it went away after she was born and she hates it,” Ettie said trying to ease the tension.
“What do your friends and family think about you becoming a surrogate?” Melissa questioned.
“Well to be honest it’s just my mother, my daughter and I. But my friends have been really supportive. Especially my best friend, I mentioned her before.”
“That’s great that you have a good support system. Melissa and I will be there for you as well, not to be presumptuous. I mean if this works for you we’d like to be there. Doctor appointments, ultrasounds. We would like to be as involved as possible.”
“That’s good. I like that. I want you to be involved,” Ettie said. She was warming up to the two. They seemed to really want this baby, which made her decision easier.
“I hate to ask,” Melissa said slowly. “But are you really okay with just handing the baby to us at the end of this? What about your daughter? Will she have questions? I just need to know how you feel.”
To be perfectly honest this was something Ettie had struggled with as well. It was one thing when she was just renting out womb space, it was a completely different matter when she was biologically the child’s mother.
“I’m not sure if there is a correct way to answer that. I guess I feel positive that this child will be loved and have two great parents. It makes it easier but I would be lying if I say it won’t be hard. Ideally, I would like updates. Maybe a yearly picture but I will be involved as little as you need me to be. This will be your child. You don’t have to worry about that. I wouldn’t have signed up for this if I couldn’t handle it.”
“That wouldn’t be a problem. We would want you to be as involved as you would like,” Roy replied.
Melissa tensed up. They hadn’t discussed that. She wasn’t sure if that’s what she wanted but she didn’t want to disagree with Roy in front of Henrietta, so instead she stayed silent and steered the conversation in a different direction.
“Was there anything you wanted to ask us Henrietta? I feel like we’ve been giving you the third degree,” Melissa joked.
“I just want to make sure that you are okay with this process. Although this wouldn’t be my child, I want to know that he or she will be well loved and cared for,” Ettie said quietly.
“Henrietta,” Roy said grabbing her hand, “we want this child more than you know. We have such a wonderful life, we just want the chance to share that. You would help make our family complete.”
They talked for a while longer, touching on sensitive subjects like what Henrietta would be comfortable with in the case of multiples and selective reduction, and if she would allow them in the delivery room when it was time. At the end of the meeting, Henrietta’s mind was made up, though she did ask for a few days to reflect on everything.
Ettie had decided she would be the Gardner’s surrogate.