by Cee, DW
It pissed me off to think what would have happened had we had kids. Would they have also been a second thought like I was? Life would revolve around poor Ben and poor Ali. Hell no. I was done being duped.
Chapter 9 - Marni
Live To Tell ~Madonna
“You have to do this for me, Marni. You can’t back out now. You promised to be a surrogate.”
“I promised to carry yours and Ben’s child, not mine and Ben’s child.”
“I’m infertile. My eggs are of no use to anyone. Don’t you think I want to be the mother of my own child? Do you think I come to you easily with this request?”
“I can’t do it and I don’t like lying to Ben. What will you do when he finds out?”
“He won’t find out and even if he does, he’ll be so in love with his baby, he won’t care. As long as I’m all right with this situation, he’ll eventually give me what I want.”
“Why, Melody? Why me? You yourself said that there are plenty of younger, healthier women out there who will help if you pay them. It can’t be an issue of money. Why me?”
“Because I want someone I can trust. I’ve known you all my life. I know you’re not reckless and I know you’ll do your best to bring a healthy baby into this world. I also know you love my husband enough to do this for him, if not for me.”
“I don’t love your husband, Melody. Those days are long gone. If anything, you’re both making me sick with all your selfish requests.”
“What I’m asking is really not any different than being a surrogate. I would think it might be easier for you to carry your own child than to carry mine. After the fights you’ve had with Noah, and the cautious victory you earned, don’t you want to be done? See this one last thing through for us, Marni. After this, I’ll never ask you for another favor.”
“I really can’t do this, Melody.”
“You truly are still in love with my husband, aren’t you? Shame on you for living with one man but desiring another. How could you covet your sister’s husband?”
“Damn you to hell, Melody. I don’t love your husband, and I sure as hell don’t love you. Go back to LA and tell your entire family I quit. I won’t be your surrogate.”
“Please, Marni. Please! You’re my only hope. I don’t want Ben’s seed mixing with another woman’s egg. You’re the only woman I can bear to carry my husband’s child. Can’t you understand how hard this is for me? Help me just once. I promise you I’ll never cause an issue for you, ever again.”
“Why would Melody ask you to have my baby, Marni? This makes no sense at all.”
Ben was still yelling. Noah and his family had left. Ben’s parents sat, slack jawed. I didn’t know which fire to extinguish first.
“Give me a minute, Ben.”
“No, dammit,” was all I heard as I ran out to chase after Noah.
Only his parents were in the hallway. “Please help me,” I begged. “It’s not what Noah thinks. I just need him to listen to me. I promise, we’ll work this out.”
With sympathetic eyes, Noah’s mom said, “Come by the apartment tomorrow morning. I’ll make sure he’s home.”
“Thank you, Cecily. Thank you. I didn’t mean to hurt Noah. I love him.”
“We know you do, Marni. We’ll talk to you tomorrow.” The Admiral patted me on the shoulder and walked away.
I went back in the room completely defeated.
“Marni. I swear, you will turn me into a madman if you don’t give me an explanation right now. How did Ali become yours and my child?”
“Do you remember when you came and begged me to help you and Melody?”
“Yes. That was after you rescinded your offer to be our surrogate. Melody was crushed. She cried day and night. She hardly left her bed.”
“I rescinded my offer because when your wife first asked me to be a surrogate, she forgot to inform me that I would be offering my own eggs. When she finally wore me down and convinced me to carry a child for you, I never thought to ask whose eggs we’d be fertilizing.”
“Are you trying to tell me that my wife fooled all of us? She knew she could never have kids but she didn’t tell any of us, including me?”
“Yes.”
“Bullshit. You’re lying. I’d more believe that you tricked your sister, than that she tricked me.”
“Why the hell would I lie to you? Why would I want a child with my brother-in-law? What kind of grotesque thought is that? Who is the victim here?”
“Maybe my wife was right about you all along. She always said you were jealous of her and secretly, you never liked her. This was your way of getting back at her.”
“Stop that now, Ben.” I thought it was Mom coming to my rescue, but it was actually Shea. “You know you’re being ridiculous. Think before you say anything else to Marni.”
“Ben,” Mom spoke, “I was there when Melody asked Marni to help her. This wasn’t an easy decision for my daughter. She only agreed after you came and begged her.”
“Why didn’t you tell me why you refused my wife? I would have agreed and supported you.”
“Melody didn’t want you to know of her shortcoming. She asked me to take this to my grave. I never thought it’d be her taking the secret to her grave.”
“I can’t take this. I can’t think right now. Just leave me, Marni.”
I walked into the hallway and wanted to collapse. With my hands on my head, I wondered what my sister had done to me. Even in her grave, she was taking away the people I loved.
“Let’s get to our room, Marni.”
“What do I do now, Mom?”
“I don’t know. Why don’t you change into something more comfortable? I’ll send for some food and we’ll sort out this mess.”
In the midst of this ugly situation, though, I was happy I could finally call Ali my own. She was no longer a secret, no longer my niece. Loud and proud—she was my daughter!
Chapter 10 - Ben
Beautiful Mess ~Jason Mraz
“What’s wrong, Mel? Marni got pregnant right away. We just learned we’re having a girl. I thought you’d be thrilled.”
“I am thrilled. There’s no better thought than of us becoming a family.”
“Then why the sad face?”
“Somehow, I feel inadequate. It shouldn’t be my sister carrying your child. It should be me.”
“I think you’re forgetting that it’s your sister carrying our child. She’s only acting as our surrogate. You’ll be the true mother.”
“Do you think she’ll know that I wasn’t the one who carried her for nine months? You think she’ll be more bonded to my sister than to me when she comes into the world?”
“Our baby will love you. How can anyone not adore you? We will have a little girl who looks just like you, and we’ll live the rest of our lives spoiling her rotten. My parents are over the moon about the baby.”
“I worry from time to time that our little girl will wonder what’s wrong with her mother. She’ll ask why I couldn’t carry her like all her friends’ mommies.”
“We’ll tell her that she was so special, her mommy and her aunt both chose to help her come into this world.”
“I guess we’ll have to allow my sister to have a close relationship with our baby?”
“Marni is part of our family. Our baby will be loved by everyone. Do you feel any better now?”
“Yeah. I’ll be fine. I don’t know why I’m so moody when I’m not the one going through all the hormonal changes.”
“Worry not, my sweet wife. I’ll make sure your dreams of a family are fulfilled. Come on. Let’s go call Marni and talk to her about our little girl again.”
“Mom. Dad. What do I do with this information? How does a man react to being told that his wife lied to him?”
“I think you’re taking this harder than necessary, Ben.”
“Really, Mom? You don’t think news like this should rock my world?”
“Nope. Your late wife had her reasons for doing what she did.
I don’t begrudge her because her actions produced Alice. Whatever her methods, she’s not here to defend herself and I, for one, am glad Alice’s real mother is here.”
“I agree.” Dad chimed in. “All this time I thought my granddaughter would grow up motherless. Do you know how happy I was to learn that her mother had been with her all along? Now my only grandchild has a mother and a father.”
“But that mother is a liar!” My temper flared again.
“Which mother are you speaking of, Son?” There was a facetious undertone I didn’t appreciate.
“I’m serious, Mom. I don’t know who I can trust at this point. Everyone close to me has deceived me. Did you two know?” It probably wasn’t cool to yell at my parents, but I was having trust issues at this point.
“We did not know. I wish we had, so we wouldn’t have been so worried about Alice all this time. You need to chill out, Son. I don’t understand why you’re so angry.” Dad spoke in a most laidback fashion. What was wrong with both my parents?
“Were you both here this entire time? Did you hear what Marni just confessed? Did you see the groom walk out on the bride because the news was that upsetting?”
“I suppose I should be sorry for Noah’s loss, but I’m not. This is God’s divine intervention. Now, you and Marni—Ali’s parents—can build your life around your child.” My mother was too much.
“You’re both crazy. I’m shocked at the revelation, pissed my wife and her sister would lie to me, feeling betrayed neither woman confided in me, and wondering where the hell to go next with this unexpected confession. You can’t possibly bring God into this since God would not condone this kind of deception.”
This talk went nowhere. The unending smiles on their faces was a sign for me to stop talking now. They didn’t care that their son felt like a moron. They only wished for their grandchild’s happiness and well-being.
“Mama!” The yelling began.
“Shit. I thought she’d sleep through the night,” I cursed. Last thing I wanted was to see Mar at this point.
“Mama! Mama! Mama!” The hollers continued.
“I’ll get Marni,” Dad answered with a grin while I went to tame the beast.
“Hello Ali. Are you feeling better? It’s bedtime. You should be asleep, Sweetheart.”
“NO!” She yelled at me. “Mama!”
“Now when did you learn to say, ‘No,’ Princess? That’s not a nice word, especially not to your father.”
“No!” Like everyone else, my daughter didn’t give a shit about my feelings.
“Mama!” She called in glee with her arms raised when she saw Marni.
“What are you doing up, Baby? You need to rest.” Marni rushed in and swooped Ali from her crib. “Was your dad too loud, ranting and raving?”
I couldn’t believe Marni, too, had a dumb smile on her face. What was I missing here? Why the hell was I the only grumpy one?
“Are you hungry?” Mar rubbed my daughter’s belly. “That’s what it is. You haven’t eaten since your measly breakfast. You need food in your stomach.” Ali vigorously nodded her head. She was turning out to be quite the communicator. “Let’s go eat. Where shall we go?”
“Should we order food here?” Mom asked.
“We all need some fresh air. Why don’t we head down to that Italian place?” Marni suggested.
“Great. I’ll grab Ali’s stuff. She’s loves spaghetti. Let’s go eat pasta, Ali!” Mom tickled a content Ali. She giggled away.
“You coming?” Marni turned to ask me.
“You and I have a long conversation ahead of us tonight. Don’t think you’re getting away from talking to me.”
She showed no remorse at all! Marni rolled her eyes at me and took my…her…our…? daughter out.
Chapter 10 - Noah
Beautiful Mess ~Jason Mraz
“What will you do now that the divorce is final, Noah?”
“I’m going to concentrate on my career, Dad. Maybe one day, I’ll be as important as you.”
“I hope not. My position takes too much sacrifice. You’ll never have a family if you work as hard as I do.”
“Honestly, I don’t want to be anyone famous. I only want to be the best in my field. I’ll work hard, Dad. I won’t embarrass you.”
“I never doubted, Son. You’ve always made me proud.”
“Where is your next project, Dad? You need a chemical engineer on board your mission?”
“I actually do. You want to come along? We’ll be away from the US for a good two years. You might not see your mother for at least that long.”
“I think a change would do me good. If I’m not creating any difficulties for you, I’d love to come along and see what it is that my famous father does for a living.”
“Let me talk to your superiors and make it all work for you. It would be nice to have you with me, Noah. We’ll spend minimum two years together.”
“I’d like that, Dad.”
“So would I, Son. It’s a sad day when I have to admit our next adventure will be the longest amount of uninterrupted time we’ve spent together.”
“Better late than never, Dad. I’m ready to leave whenever you are. Let me go spend some time with Mom so she can accept the fact that I’ll be gone for years.”
“Sounds good, Noah. See you very soon.”
“Noah!” The unwelcomed call made me stop dead in my tracks.
Coming toward me was my once-bride-to-be and her gaggle of family members. “Where are you going?” she wondered.
Caught. With suitcase in hand, I was headed back to California. Not even my parents or Carson knew I was escaping.
“Why do you have your suitcase? Where are you going?”
“Back to San Diego.”
The hurt was inescapable; tears dotted Marni’s eyes. “Please give me a chance to explain myself. We need to talk. You can’t go like this. If you don’t want to marry me, I understand, but let’s work this out. Don’t leave just yet.” The slight hesitation was my downfall. “Give me ten minutes, Noah.”
“No more than that. I have a flight to catch.” My answer was as feel-good as my crappy mood.
“Ali-Girl. I need you to go ahead to dinner without me. I’ll be right there, OK?”
Her daughter understood and displayed her displeasure. The pout was close to a wail.
Jackie jumped in and diverted Ali’s attention. “Ali,” she said with great enthusiasm. “Look at that clown over there. I think he’s making balloons.” Just like that, all the adults chased after a clown.
“Are we to talk right here?” Marni asked.
I didn’t budge. If she wanted to apologize, she could do it standing on a sidewalk.
“I have a flight to catch,” I reminded her. I was behaving like the biggest asshole on earth. She deserved it.
“I’m sorry I kept the truth about Ali from you. I didn’t know I’d be providing my own egg until the first doctor’s appointment. It was there that she told me her eggs were basically dead. Initially, I walked away and refused to keep to my agreement.”
“You could have told me then what was wrong. I remember that day. I asked you several times what was wrong and you only told me that the procedure was held up. That would have been the perfect time to explain what your sister was up to, but you didn’t.”
“There was so much going on in my mind. My mind was jumbled and my heart felt betrayed; I needed alone time. That’s why I went away.”
“Again. That was the second time you ran away from me rather than sharing your concerns. I should have known then something was wrong. As usual, I allowed you to take advantage of me.”
I could tell she wanted to fight back when I told her I had been taken advantage of, but she let it go.
“You’re right. I should have discussed everything with you. What was going on in my life was so bizarre, I was almost embarrassed to tell you about it. I was also tired of fighting with you. It took so much to get your resignation on this topic, the last th
ing I wanted was another argument.”
“What was I to you all these years? We almost married today. How can you enter into a marriage without being forthcoming about such a paramount issue?”
“That’s just the thing. Ali and Ben were always an issue for you. Finally, my life was moving in the right direction. Why would I want to ruin the harmony?”
“I was there for you when you had terrible morning sickness. I took you to the ER when you spotted blood. I took you to doctor’s appointments, knowing the staff wondered what the hell was going on in our relationship. Do you understand that I looked and felt like a chump everywhere we went? People asked me about our baby. When’s it due? Is it a girl? Is it a boy? How long have we been married? I withstood all that humiliation. Once the decision was made, I supported you one-hundred percent.”
“You are right. I have no defense. You treated me like your wife, and Ali like your own child.”
“Then how could you do this to me? How could you theoretically set up a family with another man?”
Once I heard my voice crack, I knew I could take it no longer. I didn’t want to be any more a fool than I already was. We were done.
“Please, Noah. Don’t leave.” I pulled away from the hand that held my wrist.
“Happy days with your newfound family.” I walked away from my once-fiancée and grabbed a cab at the next block.
Chapter 10 - Marni
Beautiful Mess ~Jason Mraz
“She’s so beautiful, Mom. I can’t believe I created her.”
“She’s absolutely stunning, Marni. She looks just like you when you were first born. How do you feel?”
“I feel wonderful. I wish I could keep her. How am I going to give her away? How can I possibly walk away when I love her so much already?”