The Baby Shower

by Tasha Blue et al.

  Kevin picked up his phone and thought for a moment before pressing his speed dial button. A male voice picked up the other end of the line.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Mac, could you please find out what it would take to locate a woman who is looking for a sperm donor?”

  There was silence for a moment, then Mac replied, “Yes, sir. There are facilities that handle sperm donations. Should I get a list of facilities?”

  “I’m actually thinking of locating a specific woman. I’d like to find one who is looking for a sperm donor, but one who would let me be part of the child’s life as it grows. It seems that Ellen and I won’t be having children together, and at her suggestion, I have decided to find someone else to bear a child of mine. I would provide the sperm, the woman would carry the child, I would pay for all of the child’s expenses and upbringing and see the child whenever I like.” The idea was still evolving in his mind, but even as it did so, he felt his heart growing excited.

  Mac, Kevin’s assistant, replied without judgment or surprise, as he always did, no matter the request. “Yes, sir. I’ll look into it right away. Do you have any special requests?”

  Kevin rubbed his finger over his chin. “Not really. Someone healthy, intelligent, responsible, hopefully attractive; things like that. I’m guessing someone like that who is looking for a sperm donor is probably looking for the same things I am.”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll get right on that,” Mac said, confidently.

  “Thank you, Mac. I appreciate it. Oh… Mac, please don’t say anything to anyone about this, and don’t say anything to Ellen. I don’t want her to know about it. She didn’t want to be involved in procreation, so she doesn’t need to know about this. It doesn’t concern her at all.”

  “Yes, sir. Of course, I’ll keep it to myself.”

  They hung up and Kevin sat there a moment and then picked up his phone again. This time he pressed a different speed dial number.

  A man answered. “Hello?”

  “Jacob, it’s Kevin. How are you?” He smiled slightly. Jacob was an old friend of his, and also one of the best attorneys in California.

  “Hey, Kevin, I’m great. How are you doing?”

  “Well, some things have come up here this morning that I wondered if I might talk with you about,” Kevin said, picking up a pen and turning it over in his hands.

  “No problem. What can I do for you?” Jacob asked.

  “Ellen just told me she isn’t able to have children because she had a hysterectomy when she was eighteen, so I am interested in looking elsewhere to make that happen,” Kevin began.

  Jacob’s shock came through the phone. “But I thought you two were trying for kids… how could you be trying if she knew she couldn’t conceive? And what do you mean by looking elsewhere?”

  Kevin sighed. “Well, my friend, I guess she lied to me. You’re talking to a fool. She never wanted kids; she just didn’t bother to tell me until now.” He turned his chair and looked out the window into his garden. “She suggested I go have children on my own if I want them so badly, so I’m taking her advice.

  “I have Mac looking for a woman who might fit this unique need. I’m hoping to find a woman looking for a sperm donor; someone I can have a child with outside of my marriage, without being unfaithful to my wife. The mother and child would be under my financial care and I could see the child whenever I want to, and Ellen would never need to know about it. It’s the best fix for this broken situation, unless you have a better solution.” Kevin sighed.

  Jacob let a long breath out through his teeth. “Wow, Kev… that’s a lot of risk. I don’t have to ask how important this is to you; I know what it has always meant to you to have a family. Ellen’s really pulled a fast one on you, my friend. I’ve got a lot of questions for you about this. First, how is your marriage to her looking?”

  He took a deep breath and watched a bird splashing in the water at the top of the waterfall. “It’s not what I want it to be, but I made a vow and I’m standing by that vow, Jacob. I don’t want to lose my wife, and I don’t want to be unfaithful to her, but I do want children, and, if I’m lucky, grandchildren one day.”

  “You’re a good man, Kevin. A damn good man. Okay, next question, when you say ‘under your financial care’, what exactly do you have in mind? I’ll need to make some changes for you.”

  “I mean that the procedure to accomplish the task, the full medical care, childbirth and ensuing living expenses for both the mother and the child until the child comes of age, and the child’s education and lifestyle, are to be taken care of by me, without Ellen’s knowledge.” He was warming even more to the idea.

  “Would you be changing your will and estate inheritance to include the child?” Jacob asked.

  “The child would inherit everything, although Ellen would be guaranteed a residence of her choice and a generous monthly stipend for the remainder of her life, should I pass on before her.” Kevin felt strongly about caring for his obligations and commitments.

  Jacob was still absorbing the shock of the news. “Wow… that’s… okay. Well, we’ll start getting everything changed when you find your girl. You sound like you’re really going to do this. Are you sure you want to? This is a massive and permanent undertaking.”

  Kevin thought for a moment. “I’m sure. Jacob, nothing is more important to me than having a family. You know that. I just wish Ellen had been honest about herself before we married. Thank you for this. I appreciate it.”

  “I’m glad to help you, old friend,” Jacob said solemnly.

  *

  Two weeks later, Kevin was sitting in his office when Mac walked through the door. He had notified Kevin that he was coming, but Kevin was more than anxious to see him.

  “There you are! Well? Where is this file?” he asked, half rising from his seat and then sitting back down as Mac hurried across the office and laid the file on his desk, then sat opposite him.

  “I think we may have found just the right woman for you, sir. She is healthy, intelligent, emotionally stable and responsible. She is looking for a sperm donor because she wants to be a single parent.” Mac sat at the edge of the seat, almost hovering, and looked at Kevin as he opened the file and started reading the paperwork.

  Kevin reviewed her excellent medical history and her education and community work. He looked at her job history and residences. He looked at her family’s history and then he turned the last page and saw the eight by ten glossy photos of her.

  She was beautiful. Blue-gray eyes and dark mahogany skin, full sweet lips that curved into a genuinely happy smile, high rounded cheeks and something elegant about the way she carried and held herself. He stared at her images for a long moment, thinking about what his child might look like if born of this woman, and he liked it.

  “What do you think, sir? Do you have any questions? I’m very familiar with the entire file and all of her information. I can answer anything about her for you.” Mac was as anxious as Kevin had been before Mac gave him the file.

  “I like her. I would like to meet her as soon as possible. When can we arrange that, Mac?” Kevin asked, leaning back in his chair and gazing happily at his assistant.

  “She is in Santa Cruz. I can arrange a meeting tomorrow, or perhaps today, if I can reach her. She knows that there is someone interested in becoming a sperm donor for her, and she knows that the person is a private donor, but she doesn’t know anything else. What works for you, sir?” Mac asked as he pulled out his phone.

  “I want to meet her today, if we can do it,” Kevin said, picking up her photograph and looking at her lovely face.

  Mac was already on the phone. He spoke politely and professionally for a few moments and then hung up and looked at Kevin with a wide smile. “We can see her today, sir. She will meet us in Santa Cruz. I’ll get the car ready.”

  Kevin called Jacob while Mac arranged for the car to come around and pick them up. Jacob said he definitely wanted to be there for the meeting and asked t
hem to pick him up along the way, which Kevin agreed to. He could not stop the bubbling excitement growing inside of him.

  Two hours later they were pulling up to the café where the woman said he would meet them. Mac decided he would stay with the car unless they notified him that they needed him, and Jacob and Kevin went inside the café.

  They didn’t see her when they went in and the barista looked at them sidelong for a moment and smiled. “Are you looking for Marina?” she asked.

  Kevin smiled and nodded. “Yes, is she here, please?”

  “She’s at one of the tables outside. Come with me.” The barista walked them to a shade covered round table, anchored securely beneath the sand on the beach. They sat, she took their orders, and then she disappeared. The woman was nowhere to be seen for a moment, but then Kevin saw her and tensed, and Jacob noticed.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “It’s her.” Kevin watched her walking toward them. She was coming up the beach, her long curly hair tied back with a scarf which only partially tamed it from blowing in the breeze. Her sundress was hugging all of her body as the beach breeze curled and tugged it around her. She was smiling and wearing sunglasses that hid her eyes. She placed her hand on her forehead to shade her eyes, saw the men, and waved, heading toward them.

  Kevin and Jacob both stood as she reached the table. “Hello, I’m Kevin and this is Jacob. You must be Marina,” he said, holding out his hand. She looked at his hand and smiled widely, then leaned over to him and wrapped her arms around him, folding him into a hug.

  He felt a little awkward at first, and then his nervousness seemed to thaw quickly, and he put his arms around her in return and hugged her back. He was amazed at how good it felt. She smiled at him and walked around the table to hug Jacob, who saw it coming and hugged her back right away.

  She was shorter and very curvy, but not heavy. Her muscles were toned and strong, and her dark skin had a healthy glow to it, as did her wide and welcoming smile. Her spirit seemed to emanate a warmth like the sun, and everyone around her seemed to soak it in like they needed it.

  “How are you gentlemen today?” she asked, sitting down and looking at them as she sipped her water.

  They both nodded and smiled, saying that they were fine.

  “Marina, it means a great deal to me that you could meet us here today. Thank you so much for that. I really appreciate it.”

  “I’m glad I could do it,” she said with her happy smile.

  “Well, if I may get right to it, the situation is this. I’m a married man, and I intend to stay that way for the rest of my life. I take my vows seriously; I love my wife, and I wish she and I could have a child, but it just isn’t possible. I recently found out that my wife isn’t able to have children, and it is very important to me to have a family to carry on my name and inherit what I have made for myself. It seems to me that the solution would be to have another woman carry my child and raise it as her own.

  “Ideally, I want to be able to be part of the child’s life and help raise it, to be there to spend time with it and to love it and care for it as a father should, but only as a father to the child, not as a husband to the mother, if that makes any sense.

  “In return for this arrangement, I would glad to cover all medical costs associated with artificial insemination, maternity and pregnancy, childbirth, at which I would want to be present, and the entire expense of not only raising the child, but all the care of the household for the mother and child, as well as the education of the child through the college years. There would be no expense for the mother whatsoever, at any time.”

  Kevin finally stopped talking and took a breath, looking at Marina, who sat there and quietly watched him the entire time. She leaned back in her chair and smiled, stretching out just far enough to reach into the sunlight and let it shine on her for a moment, and then she sat back up and sipped her water.

  “I’m sorry to hear that your wife can’t have babies. That must be really hard for you both.” She smiled at Kevin. She knew right away from the look in his eyes and the way that he spoke that she could trust him, and she liked him. She knew he was a good man. “How does your wife feel about someone else having your child?”

  Kevin looked down for a quick moment and then raised his gaze back up to her. “Well, to be honest, she doesn’t know, and I don’t want her to know.”

  Marina tilted her head sideways and watched him. “Why is that, Kevin?” she asked curiously.

  He knew he had to be honest with this woman if he wanted her to have his child raise it, and he already knew that this was exactly the woman he wanted for the job.

  He sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I was led to believe that she could have children until very recently, when she told me she had a hysterectomy when she was eighteen. She made me believe that she could have children, and we dated and fell in love and got engaged and I married her, thinking that someday we would have a family.

  “It isn’t going to happen now, and that is something that she has known all along and never bothered to mention to me, knowing how important it is to me to have a family. Her priorities are shopping and spa days. My priority is having children. It would cause undue stress in our relationship to try to include her in this endeavor. It isn’t important to her, and it is imperative to me. I hope you can understand that,” he said sincerely.

  She nodded slowly and her smile faded a little. “I wouldn’t want to cause any problems in your marriage, but if you think it’s best that she doesn’t know about this, then I can do my part to make sure that doesn’t happen, but… Kevin, do you really think that you can keep the fact that you have a child from your wife? How long do you think you can do that before she finds out about it? What would happen then?”

  Marina leaned forward and Kevin caught a glimpse of the high curve of her breast and leaned back away from her to shield his view.

  “She and I don’t really speak much, or spend much time together. I honestly don’t think she would find out because she has absolutely no interest in anything I do, but if she did find out, then I would help her cross that bridge when and if we ever got to it, but I would like to try to keep it clandestine for the time being, just to prevent any issues. Is that something that would be alright with you?” He looked at her hopefully.

  She bit her lip and thought a moment, wondering how bad this man’s marriage must be if he and his wife were so distant, but she realized that his need for a child was truly great and she liked the idea of his plan. She could have the child she wanted without having to be in a relationship. “How much of the child rearing do you want to be a part of?” she asked earnestly.

  He smiled. It was the first real smile she had seen since he saw her walking toward him when she came to the table. “I want to be there for as much of it as I am able to be. Obviously, I couldn’t be there every day, though I wish I could, but I would like to be involved as much as possible. I don’t want to miss anything.”

  Marina nodded and smiled. “That sounds good. I like the plan you have. It fits well with my own goals.”

  He looked intently at her. “What are your goals? What would make a beautiful young woman like you want to have a child on her own without a husband? May I ask?”

  She looked down for a moment and then looked back up at him. “I haven’t been that lucky in love, to be honest. I was in love, yes I was. I loved that man with everything in me, and when he asked me to marry him and spend the rest of my life with him, I said yes, and I thought I was awake in a beautiful dream. But then my wedding day came and he left me at the altar, broken hearted and crying my eyes out.

  “I wanted a family, too, Kevin, just like you, but those dreams were washed away with my tears when he left me there all alone.

  “I’m focused on school and my career now, and I still want the family, but I decided that I don’t need the man to go with it. I would rather save myself the heartache, thank you very much, so I’m looking for an opportunity to have myself
a baby and raise it on my own.

  “Your situation appeals to me; I think it would be fine to have you around being a father sometimes. I think I would like to share the responsibility without having to be in the relationship. It seems like the best of both worlds to me, to be honest. I’m also glad to know that you would be taking care of all the expenses.

  “That’s a huge relief to me, and something that I would really be grateful for. I wouldn’t get that benefit going through a sperm bank. You seem like a good man, Kevin, and you want your baby for good reasons, like me,” she said softly.

  “Do you have any other questions for me?” he asked, leaving himself wide open.

  “Not really. Not yet. I may later. Could I contact you anytime I need to?” she asked hesitantly.