Chapter2
Two days after having dinner with David and Marina, and stumbling upon the very best idea that any of them could have come up with to solve his problem, Henry sat at his desk and waited for his secretary Cara Landers to arrive. He tried to occupy himself with as much work as he could do at his desk without letting his mind wander too far into possibility.
When she arrived for work that day, he called her into his office to talk with her. She breezed through the door, her shapely legs thinly covered by a sweater dress that reached to a space a short distance above her knees. The material hugged her form from there to her shoulders where her red hair was curled under just at the ends. She smiled adoringly at him, her blue eyes wide and rimmed with dark lashes, setting off the paleness of her skin and making her cheeks look pink.
“Good morning, Henry!” she called out with a lilt in her voice, almost in a sing-song sort of way. She batted her eyelashes at him and her cheeks flushed a little more. She went to his desk and perched her body at the edge of one of the chairs before it. In her hands she held firmly to an electronic tablet that she began to swipe her finger over as they faced one another.
“Good morning, Cara,” he answered pleasantly. Leaning back in his chair, he folded his hands together and set his eyes on her seriously. She watched him as if he was the center of the universe and nothing else existed outside of him; it was as if he was powerful, holding her to him with an unbreakable gravitational force.
“I have something of the utmost importance to discuss with you,” he began, drawing in a deep breath, barely able to believe what he was about to tell her. He had gone over it in his mind until the words had left tracks in his thoughts, but he still was astounded that he was about to utter words that would change his entire life forever. It was one of the single most significant moments in his life.
“I have made a decision for myself and my life that will mean a profound and total change,” he said in a quiet and stoic tone. The edge of the chair that she seemed to already be teetering on looked as if it was sending her forward to him in slow motion. She drew nearer to him and her smile widened as an expression of joy began to form on her face.
“I never thought that these words would be spoken by me, or that if they were that they would be spoken to someone who isn’t my wife, but… life has a way of making us do what we didn’t know we could ever do.” He gave his head a shake and let his breath out in a gush.
“It’s time that I started a family,” he said, his hazel eyes locked on hers as he listened to himself saying the words.
She grinned and blinked repeatedly, “Oh… Henry, I’m so glad that you’re finally coming to this decision! I have believed for a long time that it’s exactly the right decision for you… for us! I’m so thrilled to hear it! I wasn’t sure when you’d finally admit it, or bring it up, but here you are, saying it, and now everything can finally change!” She looked as if someone had just handed her everything she had ever wanted.
“No one knows you better than me,” she continued to gush. “It’s so perfect. The time is right to make the change. Oh…. Henry, everything is going to be perfect. You’ll see. It’s exactly the right time for this change to come.” She set the tablet on the desk in front of her and was just about to stand up when Henry’s words stopped her, freezing her almost in midair.
“I’m glad you feel that way, because I’m going to need your help. It’s time I started a family. You couldn’t be more right about the time, and it’s unfortunate, but it really has to be now or never, I’m afraid. There’s no way I can put it off any longer. I’ll need you to do most of the work for me, if you don’t mind. At least initially.” He looked at her with humbled hope in his eyes.
Cara grinned. “Oh of course, you know I’d do anything for you. Anything in the world for you! I feel exactly the same as you do, and I have for so long, but we’ve just never talked about it. Now here we are, and you’re bringing it up out of the blue like this, helping us to make this change… this life altering change.” She sighed blissfully.
“I need you to find a fertility clinic for me and arrange to have a woman carry my children. I want to do an invitro fertilization procedure, and I want it to be a multiple birth if we can manage it. At least two children.” He felt as if the words were falling from his mouth like a waterfall, just tumbling out one after the other in a cascade of change.
Cara blinked and stared at him. “You… you want some strange woman to carry children for you?” she asked in disbelief. She blinked back tears and sat back at the edge of the seat she had begun to rise from.
“Yes, exactly. We need to find just the right woman to do this task. She must be intelligent, strong, reliable… healthy. Definitely healthy…” he added thoughtfully. “I want her to carry my seed and give birth to the children, and then I’d like her to live with me at the house for the first couple of years of their lives to help me raise them. It would be more like a job for her though, above the position of a nanny of course, but there to care for the children. When the little ones reach two years old, she would be able to leave. She could go and live her own life and be finished with this position. I’d be willing to compensate her generously for her work and time. Five hundred thousand for the pregnancy and for the birth of the babies, then five hundred thousand for each year she is helping to raise them. Can you do that? Can you help me find her?” he asked hopefully, leaning forward and resting his hands on the desk between them.
She sat silent and as still as a statue for a long moment, and finally she nodded her head and held the smile that was on her face. “Yes, of course. As I said, I’d always do anything for you. I’ll get to work on this right away. I’ll find her and get it all set up for you. It’s clear that you want these children right away, and I’m sure your mother would be glad to see some grandchildren while she can.”
Cara turned her head slightly, but kept her eyes locked on Henry’s eyes. “One thought however, if she’s going to leave at some point when the children are still young, you might not want her to live in the house with them and you, because she might become too attached to them. You might want her to live in her own house nearby, so that there is some distance, and then when it’s time for her to go, she doesn’t protest leaving the children or try to keep them at all. Letting her be too close to them in their first years might become a problem. I can arrange to have a house available to her near your home, where she can come in perhaps during the day… like a nanny almost, and then leave at night. We would want her there to help, but not to get too close to them, or to you.”
She gave him a serious look and he furrowed his brow a moment considering it. “Well, perhaps. That’s a fair point; I don’t want any entanglements later on of course, but if she has agreed to it, if she signs a contract that states she understands what we’re doing, and she takes the money, and there’s a clear negotiation, I don’t think we’ll have any trouble. We can discuss it when we get further along with it. For now, I want to find the right woman and get it started. I cannot begin to stress enough just how much time is truly of the essence with this situation. Specifically, regarding my mother. It has to be done as soon as possible.”
Henry was adamant, though not harsh in his point, and Cara understood him exactly right. Picking up her tablet, she traced her finger over the screen on it and raised her eyes from it to look at him. “I’ll do it right away. It will be my highest priority,” she said with determination. Standing, she looked down at him and gave a nod. “I’ll check back in with you as soon as I find a solution for you,” she told him.
Rising from the chair, she looked at him intently and her voice was steady as she spoke to him. “I want you to know that no matter what happens with this, no matter what happens with anything, I am here for you, always, and I will do everything that I can to ensure that you’re happy and that you have exactly what you need and want.”
He gave her a smile and a nod of comprehension. “Of course, and I’m grateful for it. I’m glad to have someone as supportive and dedicated as you are. Thank you, Cara. All of your hard work is greatly appreciated.”
She smiled at him adoringly and turned, walking out of the office with her chin held high and determination in her step. He turned his attention toward the files on his computer and went to work.
Cara sat at her desk and faced her own computer. Her mouth twitched at the corner as her fingers flew over the keyboard, brushing each key so swiftly and lightly that it was almost as if she wasn’t touching them at all. Images and lists showed up on her monitor and she went through them with a sharp eye, scanning as she read quickly, reviewing and studying the information about all of the sites.
She spent a good amount of time researching and finally picked up the phone on her desk and called one of the numbers on the website she liked best. A secretary answered, transferred her to a nurse, and the important conversation began. Cara was careful to familiarize herself with the woman at the other end of the line and make the beginnings of a good bond with her. Common ground, she had discovered, was one way to do that, and to give a sense of camaraderie between people who had either just met or would only know one another over the telephone or internet.
After speaking with her and making the connection that she wanted to, the nurse went over a list of potential mothers at the fertilization clinic where Cara had called. They discussed the merits and drawbacks of every possible candidate for motherhood, and spent a good amount of time on the call together.
At first the nurse had advised Cara that she would mail the list to her and she could take a look at a hard copy of it, and she also invited Cara to review the possible candidates online by looking at a private page of profiles for each one. Cara had talked her down from those two choices, and had persuaded the woman to discuss each of the best possible women for the job with her, rather than searching through profiles. She stressed just how much it meant to them to find exactly the right one, and how important it was to have her chosen during that phone call. Time was of the essence, and she made it crystal clear that there was a generous benefit awaiting the nurse, if she could help her in finding just the right woman at just that time. The nurse was no fool, and when she realized who it was that was looking for a surrogate mother, and how generous the client would be when he was able to get the procedure done, she became exponentially more friendly and willing to do whatever she could to help speed up the entire process.
They went through every possible young woman in the list of available surrogate mothers who would be willing to do an invitro fertilization process and carry a child, and then give it up, and as they spoke, Cara looked at the in-depth profile for each woman on the website for the company.
With each one that they examined, she seemed to find a flaw at some point or another. The nurse, knowing that she would benefit greatly no matter how long it took for Cara to find just the right candidate, became less concerned with the time that was spent, and was more inclined to help Cara in her quest for the right mother to her boss’ children.
Cara looked at one after another, after another, and with every one of them, there was one thing or another that was wrong. In truest honesty, most of them were young, beautiful, and single. She strayed from each one of those, and at long last the nurse began to grow concerned, worrying more with each declination that Cara gave.
When they came to the last candidate, the nurse was on the edge of her seat, worried that none would do for Cara’s choice and Henry’s need. Cara had grown slightly more frustrated as she had gone along, realizing that most of the women who were willing to be paid to have a strange man’s child were not the kind of women she would feel comfortable having around Henry long term in her near his house. They were single. They were young. They were beautiful or too sexy, and she had it in her head that she wanted someone who would be much more practical, and easily removed when the time came to send the woman away.
The nurse sighed as Cara said no to the final woman on this list of possibilities. It sounded as if the weight of the world might be on the nurse’s shoulders.
“Well, I’m really sorry to say it, but I think that’s the last of our candidates. Are you sure that there’s no one who you thought might work out? Perhaps if you met with one or two of them, or a few of them, and got to talk with them in person, you might find that they actually do fit your requirements,” the nurse suggested hopefully, though she sounded more crestfallen than anything else.
Cara replied quickly, “No, I’ve looked at each one that you’ve showed me, and not one of them will work for what we have in mind. There wasn’t one that I think could even change my mind in an in-person interview. I do want to thank you for your time. I wish we’d been able to use your facility; you have one of the best in the area.”
She had been about to thank the woman and hang up so that she could call the next fertility clinic, but the nurse stopped her almost breathlessly. “Wait! Wait… there’s one more. There’s a woman who is actually scheduled to be removed from the list this week. She’s been on our list of candidates for a few years now, and no one has ever selected her, so there have been no attempts at a live birth from her. She’s as healthy as can be, and she’s a fine candidate. If you’d go to the list and click on this name… let’s see, it’s Jamaica Franklin. Let’s give this last one a chance and see if she won’t work for you.” The nurse was grasping at straws, and Cara knew it. She could hear it in the woman’s voice. She knew that the nurse wanted the perks that Cara had offered to her if she could help her find a successful candidate that day. They were solid perks, and the nurse was quite keen on them.
With a sigh of resignation, and mostly because they had already exhausted the entire list of possible mothers, Cara clicked on the name and expected that she would be thanking the nurse once more and then saying goodbye to her a few moments after that.
Her computer screen illuminated with the profile of the woman the nurse had mentioned. Jamaica Franklin’s photograph appeared, and Cara stared at her, tilting her head to one side as she gazed at the photograph and considered the woman before her.
Jamaica was beautiful and she was young, like the other women that Cara had reviewed, but she was black. She had long, thick, wavy black hair that reached to just below her shoulders. Her skin was the color of hot coffee in the morning, with sunlight shining through it, giving it a golden-bronze glow. Her eyes were big and dark, fringed with thick lashes. Her lips were full and round, and her smile was sweet and kind. There was something about her that drew Cara in, making her curious about her, making her want to look at Jamaica a little longer, making her want to know all that she could about Jamaica, and she stopped and gazed at the image, and listened to the nurse, who hurriedly continued in her quick and passionate suggestion of the last of the possible women on the list of potential mothers for Henry’s children.
“So this one is first of all really healthy, and I know that’s a major consideration for you. She’s not only got a great physique, she works out all the time, and she’s active, but her family health history is also really good. There’s nothing in her or the history of her family that would be of any kind of medical concern to you or to Mr. Ellison. Now, I realize that she might be a little darker than any of the other women we’ve looked at, but I want you to really consider how this could be a good thing. She’s very intelligent. She’s got a master’s degree in art, and she teaches art at a private academy here in the city. She won a full scholarship for her entire way through college, and that in itself is quite a feat. She does a lot of volunteer work in the community, so we know she’s got a kind and compassionate heart, and she’s willing to work where work is needed. There’s a lot, if you look through her profile, that would indicate that she’s a good match for your needs. If you’d just take a look…” the nurse finished off with high hopes.
Cara nodded and read through the profile twice. “It doesn’t matter that she’s black,” she said quietly as she looked at the image and carefully considered the possibility of what she was doing. “In fact, in this particular case, I think that’s really a factor in her favor.”
She was being honest, though she stopped discussing it there. There were reasons in her mind why the color of Jamaica’s skin was of interest to her, and though those reasons would remain unspoken, they were the key variable in the decision that Cara made right there and then, on the spot.
“Why is she coming off the list this week?” Cara asked, beginning to worry that the young woman might not be interested in providing the service she needed so desperately.
The nurse explained offhandedly. “Well, it has to do with the fact that we set these young ladies up on a certain time frame. They are put into the system with a profile and an availability for a specific range of dates, and they can choose to be removed from the system at any time, but she hasn’t chosen to be taken off. It’s just that her time frame is running out. Some women will use their option to renew their time with us, and after we have reviewed their current health and suitability for the program, we put them back into the system again, but she hasn’t chosen to do that. From the looks of it here, she’s just going to let it run out. So, it’s possible that she might be open to agreeing to your contract and doing the work, and it’s also possible that she might turn you down and step away from the whole thing altogether, but as she is the last one on the list, and she is as of right now open and available for the service, I feel as though it might be in your best interest to choose her and hope for the best.” The nurse sounded ever hopeful, though her tone was laced with uncertainty and doubt.
“No one has ever chosen her to carry a child for them, so she hasn’t been through the process before, but it says here in the original notes that she was doing this for money as the main reason for her being in the program, so perhaps that might be a viable method of convincing her that she should take this position. Though I’ll be honest, I can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t want to take this job.” She laughed nervously. “Heck, if I was fifteen years younger and physically able to do it, I’d take the job.” She laughed again, and Cara was silent in response.
A moment later, she spoke with a friendly and almost coy tone. “You know what, she’s the best option we’ve come across so far. I’d be so grateful if you would be willing to give me her contact information. I’d like to give her a call and meet with her. I want to interview her for the position and see if we are both a good fit for each other. If we are, we will go through your company to do this procedure.”
The nurse’s tone brightened and she seemed to be immediately encouraged. “Yes! Goodness yes, of course I’d be so glad to help you and give you her information. You just call her; I’m emailing her info to you right now as I speak…” Her fingers tapped on the keyboard in front of her. “And then let me know how it works out. Let me know if there is anything at all that I can do to help you. I am here to help you and make this happen! I’m only a phone call away.”
There was the slightest tone of desperation in her voice and Cara heard it and knew exactly what it was. “Of course, and thank you so much. Oh! It looks like your email has come through, and yes, there’s Jamaica’s information. I’ll call her as soon as I hang up with you. Now, if this goes through and she’s the right one for this job, I’ll be sending you all of our thanks and a gift of gratitude for all of your time and efforts. I do appreciate all that you did, and I know you bent the rules for me a little. Henry and I appreciate that. We always show our gratitude generously when we are well served and supported.
The nurse thanked her and Cara got off the phone call quickly, and stared at the photograph of Jamaica as she dialed the young woman’s phone number, hoping that she would be the one to take the job.