Chapter 15

Grandma Lou left on her long-awaited trip to China with her friend Frances on the first of August. Their first stop was to be Hong Kong. Kate and Julie took them to the airport, and Louise was so excited she could hardly contain herself, while Frances was as calm and passive as ever, and might have been going to Boston for the weekend. They took one suitcase each, and each of them carried a backpack with what they needed on the plane. Kate knew that Frances always took an extensive supply of medicines with her, in case one of them got sick. Louise thought it was unnecessary and ridiculous. But they both looked spry as they strode toward the plane after they went through security.

“Grandma really is brave, isn’t she?” Julie commented admiringly. She wouldn’t have had the courage to travel so far away at that age, and Kate said she wouldn’t either, but these trips were the greatest joy in her mother’s life.

Julie and Kate chatted on the ride back into the city, and Julie said that she and Peter were going to Maine for the weekend to stay with friends of his who had a sailboat. She was sorry they weren’t driving, but were flying to Bangor. She would have liked to stop and see Justin on the way. The baby was due in less than four weeks.

“How’s she doing?” Kate asked, referring to the surrogate.

“Justin says she’s huge, and can’t wait to have it. This one is bigger than all her other babies.”

“I still can’t understand how a woman can do that,” Kate said with a stern look. “Rent her body out to have someone’s baby, for money, and just hand it over when it’s born.”

“I guess the money she gets makes a big difference for her own kids.” Julie thought it was strange too, but she was happy for her brother that it was working out so far. The two boys were wildly excited, and had been decorating the nursery for weeks. Richard had painted it three shades of pink. Justin and Richard had found out at the five-month sonogram that it was a girl, and they were thrilled. Neither of them was into ball sports or rugged activities and they had said they didn’t know what they’d do if it was a boy.

“How’s Peter?” Kate asked her.

“He’s fine, busy, he just got a big promotion, so he’s happy.” She looked peaceful and content in the relationship. They had been going away on weekends since the beginning of the summer. Julie’s whole life had changed because of him. She was much more open and social, willing to meet new people and do new things, and she wasn’t constantly at work or isolated in her apartment.

“How’s your French friend?” she asked her mother. She hadn’t heard Kate talk about him in weeks. And in fact, Kate hadn’t seen him in just over two months. They were both busy, and she was still angry about his summer vacation. He had planned to come to New York in June, but had to cancel at the last minute. She got the feeling he was avoiding her, and she needed a break, now that she realized he still spent his holidays with his wife.

“He’s fine.” But her jaw tensed as she said it and Julie noticed. “He’s on vacation in Italy with his kids for the month. The French take long vacations.”

“Are you going over to see him?” Julie asked hesitantly. Her mother didn’t say much about him, and she didn’t want to be nosy or rude.

“I’m too busy this month. We’re expanding the website again. I need to be here to work with the IT people and figure out what we want to put on it. And I’d like to be here when Justin has the baby,” she said quietly. Grandma Lou had been disappointed that she’d miss the baby’s birth, but planned to see the baby as soon as she got back.

Kate dropped Julie off at her apartment in the Bowery and headed to her store. Saturday was a busy day at Still Fabulous.

Justin and Richard were dropping by to check on Shirley every day. They brought her fruit and fresh vegetables when they went to farmers markets, fresh eggs, or treats for her kids. They couldn’t stay away and miss the thrill of watching their baby grow inside her day by day. They went to her weekly doctor’s appointments with her during the last month. They listened to the heartbeat and she let them touch her enormous belly so they could feel their daughter kick. She was an active baby, and Shirley admitted that she was ready to have her. She wanted her body back. She was hoping to deliver early, and went for long walks every afternoon. Her kids wanted their mom back too. Shirley said several times in the home stretch that she wasn’t sure if she’d do it again. Two of her own and two surrogate babies felt like enough to her. She had done her good deed for the world, and the two men were eternally grateful to her. No matter how much they had paid her, she was doing something unimaginably wonderful for them. They had already agreed to schedules as to who would get up with the baby on what nights. Justin was going to take care of the baby in the daytime while Richard was at work, and he’d do his writing at night when Richard got home. They had it all worked out.

Shirley’s due date was two days away, when one of her boys slipped on a dock at the lake at day camp and broke his arm. Day camp was one of the advantages she could provide for them as a result of what Justin and Richard were paying her. Jack was out with the truck, and she called Justin and asked for a ride to the hospital. He went to pick her up, and one of the counselors had already brought her son Billy in to the ER. He was crying and holding his arm when Justin and his mother got there. He stopped crying after the doctor set it, and they were walking across the parking lot when a gush of water splashed onto the ground and Shirley looked surprised when she looked down. She hadn’t felt anything before that, and it was totally unexpected at that moment. Her water had just broken.

“Oh my God, what is that?” Justin asked, suddenly panicked. “Is something wrong?”

“My water just broke.” It was still pouring down her legs and the asphalt around her was drenched.

“Should we go back inside?” Justin said, as Billy ran around them. He was feeling a lot better with his cast, and Justin had already signed it with a funny face in bright colors.

“No, I’ll go home for a while. It takes time to start after that.” It had taken hours before. “I’ll call the doctor when I get home. Labor probably won’t start till tonight, or tomorrow.” Justin looked dubious, and she had him put a towel on the seat before she got into his car. They were at her house five minutes later. She was talking and laughing as she got out of the car, and Billy ran ahead of her to show his father and brother his cast. Justin saw Shirley suddenly grip the door of the car, and she could no longer talk.

“What just happened?”

“Your daughter’s on her way.” She smiled at him. She was totally calm and had been through it three times before. She went inside to call the doctor and Justin called Richard to tell him that Shirley’s water had broken, and she was starting to have pains. He promised to call him back after she spoke to the doctor. Shirley was talking to her doctor and saying she’d only had one pain so far but it was a good one that felt like it was ripping her guts out, as she described it, and then she stopped talking suddenly, and had another one while the doctor waited. “They’re pretty strong,” she admitted, as Justin and Jack watched her and she sat down. She had two more in the next five minutes after she hung up. The doctor said she was at the hospital, and to come in any time to get checked if she wanted. But Shirley said she knew what was happening and didn’t need to.

“It’s starting a lot faster than last time,” Jack commented, while Billy played in the front yard. She and Jack had already agreed that he would stay home with the boys when she delivered. Justin and Richard wanted to be at the birth, and she had told them they could. And Jack didn’t need to be there, this wasn’t their baby and it wasn’t a special moment for them. It was a job, albeit an unusual one, but she didn’t want too many people in the room, the doctor and a nurse and the baby’s two fathers were enough, and she knew she could get through it with them. She and Jack were comfortable with the plan.

Shirley told them she was going to take a shower and lie down for a while. She told Justin he could go home and she’d call him when she needed to go to the hospital, but he lingered after she went upstairs.

“Do you mind if I stick around for a while?” he asked Jack, who said not at all. He went outside to play ball with his sons, and Justin sat down at the kitchen table, wondering what would happen next and when. He and Richard had taken birthing classes so they could be helpful to Shirley at the delivery, but this was suddenly all so real. Their baby was finally on the way and would be in their arms within hours. He was thinking about it with a dazed look on his face as Shirley walked into the kitchen carrying a small tote bag. It had been ready for weeks. Her face looked pinched and she was having trouble walking and talking when he looked up in surprise and saw her.

“It’s really going fast,” she managed to choke out between pains. “I just called the doctor and she said to come in.” Justin took the bag from her, and called Richard as they walked to his car. And she waved at Jack and her boys, and slid into the front seat with a terrible grimace.

“Is it really bad?” Justin asked sympathetically, and she smiled.

“It’s the way it’s supposed to be. Your little girl is in a big hurry to come out and meet you,” she said, clutching the armrest as he drove as quickly as he dared to pick up Richard, who was waiting in the street outside their house and hopped in.

“Hi, Shirley, how’s it going?” Richard asked, looking nervous, and then panicked as he saw her face contort with the next pain.

“I think maybe we need to go a little faster,” she said to Justin. “I’m feeling a lot of pressure,” she said, but Justin was driving as fast as he could.

“We’re almost there,” he said, as they pulled into the parking lot of the hospital they had left a little while before. It was hard to believe she was already in such hard labor only an hour after her water had broken. Justin parked the car, and Richard ran to get a wheelchair and helped her into it, and then wheeled her inside, with Justin carrying her bag. The nurse at the desk looked up as they came in.

“Hello, everybody.” She smiled at the threesome and then focused on Shirley. “Didn’t I just see you here a couple of hours ago with your son?” Shirley nodded and panted through the next contraction. “Couldn’t stay away from us, could you?” she said, taking command of the wheelchair and steering her rapidly toward a room. “I’ll get you registered in a minute. Let’s get our OB on call to see you, or do you want me to call your own?”

“My own,” she said, and then gritted her teeth, and Justin helped the nurse lift Shirley onto the examining table. Shirley told her the doctor’s name, and the nurse picked up the phone, had someone at the front desk page her, and then asked for the OB in the house to come down immediately.

“It looks like things are going quickly,” she explained and then turned back to Shirley and helped her undress. She was wearing a cotton dress and it came off easily and revealed her enormous belly. “Would you like the gentlemen to step outside?” she said as she put a gown on Shirley and covered her with a drape. Shirley wriggled out of her underwear between pains, and dropped her bra on the bed.

“They’re the baby’s fathers,” she explained, through clenched teeth. “I want them here,” she said, and the nurse didn’t comment as a doctor in scrubs walked into the room. He told Shirley he was going to examine her, and the nurse pulled up stirrups that were attached to the bed for Shirley to put her feet in and indicated to the two men to stand up at her head. Shirley let out a scream when the doctor did an exam, as Justin instinctively reached for her hand and let her squeeze his as hard as she could. She was having one brutal pain after another, and the doctor said she was almost ready to push, as Shirley’s own doctor walked into the room. She took over and examined Shirley again, which made her cry, but she didn’t complain.

“I want to see where the baby’s head is,” she explained gently, as Shirley nodded, trying to be brave, still clutching Justin’s hand. “I’d offer you an epidural,” the doctor said sympathetically, “but it’s gone too fast, and you’re too far along. You’re at nine, Shirley. If you can hang in, I think you can push in a few minutes.” The baby was big, and had shifted since Shirley’s last visit, and her shoulder was in the way, which made it harder on Shirley. The doctor reached in and gently turned the baby as Shirley screamed, and Richard started to look pale and sat down.

“Do you want to go outside?” Justin whispered to him, and Richard shook his head but stayed in the chair, as Justin kept a grip on Shirley’s hand.

The doctor had a victorious look after she turned the baby, and told Shirley she could push, and suddenly everything was action in the room. The nurse was on Shirley’s other side, telling her to push, the doctor was watching the baby’s head come down, Justin was holding Shirley’s hand and talking to her, as Shirley’s face turned bright red as she pushed as hard as she could, and then suddenly they saw the top of the baby’s head appear and a little face was looking at them, as Shirley beamed and lay back against the pillows, while the doctor delivered the baby’s body easily. She was a beautiful little girl, and Justin and Richard both cried when they saw her. The doctor cut the cord, wrapped her in a blanket, and handed her to Justin. He turned to Shirley then as he held his daughter and thanked her for what she’d done. The whole delivery had taken half an hour, and their baby was healthy and normal, as Richard smiled at the sight of Justin holding the baby he had wanted so much. This was their dream come true, although a little more Justin’s dream than Richard’s. Justin had known he wanted children. Richard had had doubts at first, but he was sure now when he saw her. The baby looked like a little cherub.

And then the nurse took her to the nursery, to weigh her and clean her up, while Justin and Richard stood on either side of Shirley and thanked her again. She was shaking by then, under a thin blanket. It was a normal reaction after the birth.

They left Shirley to rest then. She called Jack to tell him the baby had been born, as the two men left the room. Watching their baby’s birth had been miraculous and awesome, and not as daunting as they had feared, and Shirley had done so well. She was going home the next day, and the baby was too. Justin and Richard’s life as a family had begun.

They went to admire their daughter through the nursery window. She had already been cleaned up and was swaddled in a blanket, with a little pink cap, sleeping peacefully. The card on her bassinet said she weighed nine pounds, fourteen ounces. She was huge. And they were naming her Milagra. It was Spanish for miracle. It was the perfect name for her.

Justin and Richard called Julie, Kate, and then Izzie, after they stood admiring her in the nursery for a while. They couldn’t wait to get her out of the hospital and home the next day. There was no reason to keep her there any longer. Shirley was anxious to get back to her family too. Her mission had been accomplished. Milagra had been safely delivered to her dads.

Kate congratulated them both warmly, Julie let out a squeal of delight at the news, and Izzie sounded pleased for both of them. She had stopped lecturing them about surrogacy several months before, and Shirley was due to sign the relinquishment papers the next day. There had been no problem, and they had the final check ready to deposit in her account.

They called Willie last. He didn’t answer, so they sent him a text, and then another announcing Milagra’s birth to all their friends. Their entire world had been waiting for her. And now she had arrived, and they had years ahead of them to enjoy her.

When they called Izzie to tell her about the baby, Zach was a week away from finishing his three months in rehab. He had done well, and had been allowed to come home often on weekends. His probation officer was pleased, and Zach had been looking for a job but hadn’t found one yet. His PO had recommended to the court that he be allowed to move home. Zach could hardly wait and Izzie had missed him too. She had been so worried about him that she had felt sick ever since his arrest. She could hardly eat, worked too hard, and had lost ten pounds in the past two months. She didn’t look well, and her associates at work had noticed it too. Zach felt guilty about what he had put her through, and all he wanted was to come home and take care of her.

And when he finally moved back after rehab, it felt like a honeymoon to both of them. The only reminder of the entire unfortunate episode was the electronic anklet he had to wear for another nine months. He was confined to the city, so his grandmother’s East Hampton house was off-limits, and they both missed going there. Izzie hated seeing the conspicuous anklet. It made him look like a criminal. He was wearing it for his court appearance, when Izzie asked for a continuance for another three months, and the judge granted it. Izzie knew that sooner or later, Zach would have to plead guilty to the charge of possession, but the DA had pleaded them down to a misdemeanor in exchange for Zach going to rehab. And if he got a job before they went back to court, that would help him too, but there was so little he was qualified for. All she wanted was to keep him out of jail, whatever it took. And even once he was home, she continued to feel sick. It never occurred to her until he’d been back for several days what it might be. She assumed it was all due to stress, but suddenly wondered if it was something more serious than that. Her body had been out of whack ever since Zach’s arrest.

She stopped at the drugstore one night on her way home from work, and bought a test. She locked herself in the bathroom and used it as soon she got home. Her worst fear had just come true, or her second worst fear. Her greatest terror was that Zach would go to prison, if he was arrested again or his probation got revoked. Her second worst was what she had just discovered. She was pregnant. In light of everything else going on, it was one more problem she didn’t need. She loved him, but she couldn’t deal with a baby on top of it. And Zach was a child himself. But it explained why she had felt so sick for the last two and a half months, and hadn’t had a period, which she had assumed was from stress too. She could guess now that she was probably close to three months pregnant, almost too late to do anything about it. But even if it wasn’t, how could she abort the baby of the man she was married to and loved? She sat in her bathroom for a while and didn’t say anything to Zach when she came out. She needed time to think about it, and decide what to do. She hadn’t expected this even though they had been careless once or twice. And now she was pregnant, and deeply upset by it.

She was still in a state of shock when the phone rang that night and it was Justin. He was calling to talk about the baby. He and Richard were ecstatic, and loving fatherhood. Shirley had signed the papers without a hitch. They had tremendous gratitude toward her.

“I’m sorry I gave you a hard time about it,” Izzie said, trying not to think of her own dilemma in light of her discovery that day. She wasn’t ready for a baby, Zach had just gotten out of rehab, he had a court case pending, and had been arrested on felony charges twice in the past year. He wasn’t prepared for fatherhood and still had some growing up to do first.

“I’m sorry I didn’t give you away at your wedding,” Justin said, out of the blue. It had bothered him ever since. “I want you to see our daughter, she’s gorgeous,” he said proudly.

“I can’t wait to meet her. I’ve been working like a lunatic here. I’ll try to come and see you in a couple of weeks.”

“We’re going to bring her down to see Grandma Lou. You can meet her then if you’re too busy to come up.”

“Thank you.” They talked for a few minutes and then hung up. She couldn’t imagine being that happy about a baby, or wanting one that badly. She didn’t. She had too much else on her mind, and didn’t feel ready for children yet. And now she was pregnant. It was terrible news to her, and equally bad timing.

“Who was that?” Zach asked as he walked back into the room. He had heard her talking.

“Justin. They’re in love with their baby,” she said, looking distracted and upset.

“That’s nice for them,” he said casually. “What are you so glum about?” He had picked up on her mood immediately. It was hard to miss.

She gazed at him with distress in her eyes. Nothing was turning out the way she had wanted, even though he was home now. But nothing was settled yet. “I’m having one too,” she said in a troubled voice as he stared at her.

“What?” He stood rooted to the spot, with his anklet in plain sight. It always was, since he was always barefoot at home, and never wore socks when he went out.

“You heard me. I’m pregnant.” She looked at him as though she had just told him she was dying.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he said, as he sat down next to her and put his arms around her, obviously pleased.

“I just found out about an hour ago.” Her eyes filled with tears as he held her. The timing was wrong even if they wanted children one day.

“Oh, baby, that’s such good news,” he said, beaming at her, as she looked at him in despair. He was thrilled, as she could feel his electronic anklet pressing against her foot. The reality of it was overwhelming, and now she was pregnant on top of everything else. She couldn’t even pretend that she was pleased.