by Tasha Blue
“That’s OK, dear, I like a good challenge. Let’s meet at Mario’s on Fifth at 12:30 pm.” Jackie said.
With an okay, Jackie and Deonna both hung up. That had been the weirdest conversation she had ever had. She knew that Jackie would try and make her change her mind and in the back of her mind she was okay with this, but she also knew that she might have already done that. At least she could ask the questions she probably should have already asked.
Deonna walked in to Mario’s in her best suit. This was one of the classier restaurants in the city; it was also somewhere she had never really had the money to afford to go. This was a treat for her and she planned to at least appear to fit in. She thanked the host as she was guided to the table where Mrs. Alexander was seated.
“I’m so glad you could make it, dear,” Jackie said as she kissed the air by both of her cheeks.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Alexander,” Deonna said.
“Please call me Jackie, I’d like for us to be friends,” Jackie said with a growing smile on her face. “Let’s order then we can talk freely while we wait for our food to be delivered.”
Jackie and Deonna both ordered salad and lemon water. The conversation was about the weather and sports and men. Suddenly Jackie struck. “Why don’t you want to be our surrogate mother?”
“I have too many questions and not enough answers plus I don’t want to commit to something I don’t think I could follow through with.” Deonna said coolly.
“What kind of questions do you have? I might have some of the answers and those that I don’t have, I would help you find the answers,” Jackie said.
Taking a sip of her water, Deonna started her list of questions, “Would I get to see the child and be in its life? Would this be like a closed adoption where I would never know what was going on with the baby until they came to find me later down the road? What happens if there is something wrong with my DNA and the child gets my genetic disorder? Would I lose my job if you and he found me to be unfit to carry your child after I was pregnant? What if I can’t have children, how would that be any help to any of us? What if something goes wrong and I lose the baby - would I be blamed for that even if it wasn’t my fault? These are just a few of the questions I’ve been asking myself since Mr. Alexander approached me the other day.”
“Well, that is a long list of questions. Like I said I will answer the ones I know the answers to and then we can both ask Warren, our lawyers, and the doctors for the answers to the other questions. So here goes. We can always have it to where you are an active part of the child’s life. You are first and foremost the child’s biological mother, so I wouldn’t want you to not be a part of his or her life; however I would be the mother so you would have to be like an aunt or big sister type figure in the child’s life. No matter what happens you cannot and will not lose your job because of this. This is not a part of your office life and you wouldn’t be expected to work for anyone else like this so we would never put you in a position where you felt that you would have to do this or lose your job.”
“There are a whole bunch of tests that can be run to see if you and Warren would have compatible DNA and to see when it would be best for you to conceive a child,” Jackie continued. “As far as you being unable to carry our child, that would be fine. We just want to have a chance at being parents. I’ve wanted a child for so long and now that Warren is ready to have kids, it seems that my dream of being a mother is still not meant to be,” Jackie said as tears rolled down her face.
Deonna was moved by Jackie’s emotions but something she said made her want to ask one last question. “What do you mean by Warren and I having to find out if we have compatible DNA? Wouldn’t it be your DNA that I would have to be compatible with since it would be your eggs I would be carrying?”
“Oh dear, I thought Warren had already told you. You and he would be the ones to make the baby. We talked it over, my eggs just won’t work. Despite that, it is important to me that the baby is conceived naturally. I just can’t imagine my child conceived in a nurse’s office somewhere. It’s one of the reasons the first surrogate didn’t want to work with us. We decided that he and the woman that would carry our child would have to sleep together in order for her to get pregnant.” Deonna couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Warren was all for it and then he suggested you and I was just so sure you would do it because, well, you’re such a sweet and kind woman,” Jackie continued. ”When you turned us down, we realized that we would never get to have the joy of having a child to bring light in our lives,” Jackie said with a resigned look on her face.
Deonna was stunned. Mr. Alexander had said nothing about all of this and now she knew she couldn’t turn them down. Jackie had changed her mind by not only answering most of her questions, but by also telling her the truth about why they lost their first surrogate. Warren would be shocked that she had changed her mind but he would be pleased as well.
“Mrs. Alexander, I want to change my mind but how can I guarantee you won’t make this hard on me and the baby?” Deonna whispered.
“I can have it added to the contracts that you would sign when and if you decide to be our surrogate,” Jackie said, with hope in her voice.
“I’ll do it, but I have to be the one to tell Mr. Alexander. It’s only right,” Deonna said.
“That’s fine by me. When would you like to tell him? I think the sooner the better. It will at least get him out of his gloomy stage,” Jackie said.
“Well, I guess tonight would be the best time to tell him,” Deonna said.
Jackie waved the waiter over and paid their bill. They agreed to meet at Jackie and Warren’s house in one hour. This was just enough time for Deonna to go home and shower and meet with Kathy to see how she felt about her decision change while Jackie got Warren showered and ready for their date night.
Deonna met Kathy at Nix’s bar and grill. Kathy was sitting with Stephanie and Barbra, two of her coworkers and friends. Stephanie was Kathy’s secretary and Barbra was another lawyer for Kathy’s firm. When she had called Kathy to meet up with her, she told her she may need a lawyer who deals with adoption and surrogacy laws. Deonna knew that Kathy would only bring these two with her if this was important.
“Dee, you know Stephanie and Barbra,” Kathy said as Deonna sat down. “Barbra is the best adoption attorney in Georgia. Stephanie is here as a second witness to everything. I figured this would be best if there were two witnesses.”
“Thanks, Kathy. I guess I should start from the beginning. My boss asked me to be a surrogate mother for him and his wife. At first I said no but I have been researching and thinking about changing my mind. Today I talked to his wife and I changed my mind. I don’t know much about being a surrogate but I do know that there are two different types but I don’t really know what the difference is. After talking to Mrs. Alexander I found that Mr. Alexander and I would have to have sex to create a child. None of the research I have done says anything about this and I don’t know if this has ever been done. I also need someone to look over the contract that they want me to sign,” Deonna said.
“Well, that’s a lot of information to process. I guess the first thing I should tell you is this is not always an easy process. While it isn’t an ideal conception process it has been known to happen. Once you are given a copy of the contract, call me and we can meet and discuss any questions you have and any changes you would like to make. I’m glad you spoke to someone before you signed anything. You won’t believe how many women just sign things without asking about them,” Barbra said as she sipped her drink. “Now that business is out of the way tell me more about you and what you do.”
Deonna talked about herself and her job with Kathy, Barbra and Stephanie until she lost things to talk about. She looked at her phone and realized that she had been keeping Mr. and Mrs. Alexander waiting. She quickly excused herself and left.
Deonna arrived at their house exactly three hours later. She was seen into the sitting room by one of the many
people they kept on staff. She was looking at one of the pictures on the wall when Warren and Jackie walked into the sitting room.
“Hello, Ms. York. What brings you here?” Warren asked from across the room.
“I wanted to tell you that I changed my mind. After talking to your wife today and thinking about what all of this means to her as well as you, I have decided that I will be your surrogate mother.” Deonna said as she took a few tentative steps towards him. “Your wife helped to ease my fears and she helped me see that you both are deserving of this. We talked about why your first surrogate said no and about how you have been feeling since I said no. I never meant to hurt either of you. I was scared and I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. Now I’m more informed and more than willing to try this if you will still have me.”
Warren didn’t say anything. He just looked at Deonna. He was gauging what her motives really were for changing her mind and also trying to see if she was honestly going to go through with this.
“You do realize you will have to sleep with me in order for us to conceive a child. My wife’s eggs will not take and we want it to be a natural conception. This is important to both of us,” Warren said as if testing her for a response.
Deonna smiled softly and said, “Yes I know. But as long as you and she are happy and are both okay with you sleeping with me, I can do it.”
Warren smiled and looked from one smiling woman to the other. “You’re serious, aren’t you? You’re really going to do this for us? When can you go see the doctor to get tested? How long do we have to wait for a response? Are you sure this will be OK with both of you?” Warren fired the questions at both of them in quick succession.
“Yes, I’m pretty serious and yes, I’m really going to do this. I can see the doctor as soon as possible,” Deonna said.
“It will take one week from the date of the test to get the results back,” Jackie said.
“Yes!” Both Jackie and Deonna said as they laughed.
Chapter3
Deonna stayed the night at Warren and Jackie’s house, talking about what all would happen and what the time frame for everything was. It never dawned on her that in a few short weeks, she would have to start sleeping with Warren in order to get pregnant. The joy that Warren and Jackie shared with her felt amazing and made her happy that she had decided to do this. At least she could be happy in knowing that she had made them happy.
As they were all getting ready for bed, Warren asked Jackie to talk to Deonna about some of the things she would probably need while she was pregnant. While Deonna wasn’t an extremely skinny woman, she wasn’t exactly what he would call plump either. Warren was becoming self-conscious about pleasing her and even though it was for the sake of reproducing, it would still need to feel like she was an active participant in the bed with him.
Jackie walked Deonna to her room. Once they were inside, they sat on the bed to talk.
“Deonna, what do you like in bed? Is there anything that turns you on or makes you uncomfortable? I only ask because you will have to sleep with my husband and I don’t want him to do anything that might make you feel like this is something you don’t want to do,” Jackie said as she settled in by the headboard.
“Well, I like normal stuff in bed. I’ve never been one for wild and kinky sex. I’ve never explored sex with anyone, really. I’ve only slept with three guys and that was mostly because of how I was raised,” Deonna said a little sheepishly.
“Well, that was easy. I was afraid you would be one of those fetish women,” Jackie said. Looking at the strange look on Deonna’s face made her state, “Don’t ask. You really don’t want to know.”
“What about Warren, what does he like in bed?” Deonna asked.
“Warren is pretty straightforward too. He loves to kiss and just make a woman feel special. Almost like she’s the only one in the world, he’ll do that for you too because he wants to make you feel comfortable. Warren is tame and controlled in the boardroom and sensual and loving in the bedroom. Don’t worry - you will enjoy it,” Jackie said with a smile, “Well, I should probably let you get some sleep. Oh, and Deonna, thank you again for doing this for us. You’re a god send.”
Deonna replayed everything they had talked about in her head. She knew the ins and outs of the contract and she also knew that she was happy with her decision. This was the right thing to do.
Deonna realized that she hadn’t told them about her family or anything about her. For the most part they talked about their backgrounds. She would make sure to bring it up when she got up in the morning. There were things they needed to know about her and her family. Deonna drifted to sleep thinking about everything that had transpired that day and about her family.
Deonna woke up a little after nine the next morning. She hadn’t meant to sleep so long but she just couldn’t wake up. After she showered and dressed she went downstairs to find both Warren and Jackie. They were in the sitting room talking when she walked in.
“Good morning, dear,” Jackie said as she watched Deonna walk into the room.
“Good morning.” Deonna said back. “I have something important that I need to tell both of you.”
“You haven’t changed your mind again have you?” Jackie asked as she watched Warren go pale.
“Oh no, nothing like that but it might make you change your minds,” Deonna said. “Epilepsy runs in my family. My mother had it. When I was a child she was driving home with my father and baby brother. She had a seizure behind the wheel and killed everyone in the car. I wanted to tell you because there is a chance that the baby might have I too .”
“Thank you for telling us but this doesn’t change a thing for me.” Jackie said.
“Nor does it change my mind. Deonna, this child will be loved no matter what is wrong or isn’t wrong with it.” Warren said as he saw relief wash across her face.
“I just wanted to be upfront with both of you because you have both been upfront with me,” Deonna said.
“Oh, before I forget. You have an appointment with Dr. Sawyer at 3:20 this afternoon. Please don’t be late. He’s going out of town tomorrow so we wanted to get all the tests done before he goes,” Jackie said as she got up to walk out the room. “Warren will go with you to this first appointment and I will be with you for every one after you have conceived. Dr. Sawyer will have things he wants to tell only you and Warren.”
“Deonna, you can always say you want to do this later,” Warren said.
“No, the sooner it’s done the sooner I will get pregnant. You have both waited long enough to have children,” Deonna said. “When will I get to see the contract?”
“We can stop by the lawyer’s office before we go to the doctor’s office. You can call your lawyer and have him meet us there,” Warren said.
Deonna thanked them and called Barbra, telling her where to meet them and who their lawyer was. She also let her know that she would be going to see the fertility doctor that afternoon.
Deonna left Jackie and Warren’s house and went home to get ready for her first appointment and the meeting with the lawyer. Warren followed her in his car; they had decided this would probably be best. Deonna was ready for the appointment in an hour. Once she was done, they left for the lawyer’s office.
Deonna and Warren drove together to the lawyer’s office in a companionable silence. Neither of them wanted to talk for fear that they would make the other uncomfortable about what they were doing. They reached the lawyer’s office and parked. Deonna and Warren walked into the building where they were stopped by Barbra.
“Hi, I’m Barbra Ivankov. I’m Deonna’s lawyer.” Barbra said as she shook Warren’s hand.
Warren, Deonna and Barbra were called into Warren’s lawyer’s office. His lawyer was a thin, balding man who looked at each one of the women, trying to guess which one would speak first. “Warren, it’s nice to see you. So I see you found a woman who is willing to be a surrogate for you and your wife. Ladies, I’m Marcus Baker. You must be
Deonna York,” Marcus said as he shook everyone’s hands.
“Marcus, this is Barbra Ivankov, she is representing Ms. York,” Warren said.
“Well, that makes my job a lot easier.” Marcus said. “You work for the Waller and Waller law firm. You have a reputation of being a cutthroat lawyer. I respect you for that - you’re all about your clients and what’s best for them.” Marcus handed the surrogacy contract to Barbra. “This is a typical surrogacy contract with added bonuses at different stages of the pregnancy. Also if anything is found to be medically wrong with the mother or child and termination is the only option, there are several clauses on that.”
“Is there somewhere where my client and I can go over this contract in private?” Barbra asked.
Marcus showed both Deonna and Barbra to an empty conference room. Warren hoped they agreed on the contract. This could be a major setback to their plans. Nothing could change what they were doing or what they wanted to have done but this could slow down the time table they wanted to work with. An hour later Deonna and Barbra walked out of the conference room with the contract. They walked into Marcus’ office ready to tell both of the men what they agreed to and what they would like to see changed.
“My client and I have looked over the contract and found that you have been generous. We agree with what is in there, save for a few minor things. We would like to make sure that Mr. and Mrs. Alexander will not micromanage her while she is pregnant. Also, she would like to make sure that neither of them can back out of the contract at the last minute. While it is not natural, it has been done before. The last thing we had a problem with is the time table. Realistically she will not get pregnant the first time they have sex so it should be stated that they may have to fornicate more than once,” Barbra said as she handed the contract back to Marcus.
“Warren, is there anything that you have a problem with what they would like to add to the contract?” Marcus asked.