by Tasha Blue
“That’s wonderful news. Jamaica, you’re hired. I’ll call up the doctor’s office and get you in for their very next opening. I have a friend who works there, and I know that with a phone call from me, she might be able to get you into the office within the next couple of days. I’ll be in touch with you about the details.
“Thank you,” Jamaica told her, meaning it and yet feeling as if the whole world might have just disappeared from beneath her feet. She was going to be pregnant. The wonder of it amazed her to no end, and an equal measure of fear and excitement flooded her as she reached for the contract that Cara pulled from her briefcase, and picked up a pen to sign it.
***
Henry was sitting at the desk in his library at home when the door opened and Cara strolled through it, her face beaming. She had just left Jamaica and had driven straight to Henry’s house to give him the news in person.
“Cara!” he said in mild surprise. “What brings you here? Is everything all right?”
She grinned as she went to the desk and walked around it to stand beside his chair, looking down at him. “I just wanted to give you this news in person. I’ve found the right woman to mother your children, and I’ve talked to the fertility clinic. They can get her in for the procedure in three days. So, if you can go in tomorrow to do your part of it, they will be ready for her, and they can complete her part of the procedure in a few days when she goes in, and it will be done. The pregnancy will take, and in nine months, you will be a father, and Georgia will be a grandmother, hopefully to multiple children.”
She could not have beamed with more pride at the Herculean task that she had accomplished in so little time. He stared up at her, impressed and astounded.
“That’s incredible! I shouldn’t be surprised that you were able to get it done so fast, but I am perhaps just a little. You never cease to amaze me. Thank you so much for taking care of that, and for getting it done so quickly.” He shook his head and smiled, but then a slight look of disappointment came over his face.
“What is it?” Cara asked with concern. “What’s the matter?”
He frowned a little. “I would have liked to have met her. It would have been my preference to meet and approve of the woman who is going to be the mother of my children.” With a sigh of resignation, he looked back up at Cara and her cheeks turned the slightest shade of pink.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I guess I was so focused on finding the right one, interviewing her, and getting the process completed that I didn’t really think about you meeting her. After all, it’s really the birth of the children that we are most interested in, right?” She gave him a sweet smile. “Besides, this is fast, and I know that you trust me. I found the best possible candidate for you, and I know that it will work out exactly like we both want it to,” she responded to him.
He tilted his head a little in curiosity. “What’s she like?” he asked with a quiet voice.
Cara looked away from him as if she was thinking carefully about what to say. “She’s intelligent, artistic, successful… She’s all the things that we want for the children.”
He blinked and gave her a sort of funny look for a moment, but then nodded. “So she’s all right with a multiple birth pregnancy and delivery?” he wanted to confirm, feeling butterflies begin to rise up in him.
It had all seemed like a big business deal until the moment he was having the conversation with Cara, and then it began to feel real, like it might happen at any moment. It was slightly unnerving for him.
“Yes, she agreed to it,” Cara answered, nodding and looking away from him. “We’re all set. Everything is signed and ready to go.”
“And… and the raising of the babies after they’re born? Does she want to live in the house or live in a separate house outside of this one? What was her response to that?” he wondered, looking at Cara with a growing excitement and hope.
Cara turned from him and walked around to the front of his desk, not meeting his eyes. “It’s fine, it’s all handled. You don’t need to worry about a thing, Henry. I’ve taken care of all of it. You’ll have the children, and when the time comes, you’ll have exactly the right woman to help you raise them and care for them, and you’ll have a family.”
She turned to face him then, and met his eyes with hers, giving him a warm and devoted smile. “I want to remind you that no matter what happens, I will always be here for you, and I will always be here for your children. In fact, it will almost be as if they were mine and yours. I don’t want you to worry about that, or the future for them. You’re going to have your family. We’re all going to be one big happy family, and I’m dedicated to taking care of all of it. You’ll see. Don’t you worry. It’s taken care of. All of it. I’ve done everything.”
He smiled at her and gave her a nod. “I should know that and trust in it. You always do take care of everything. I know I shouldn’t worry about any of it. I guess I do a little, but I know that I shouldn’t. Thank you, Cara, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“You’re never going to have to find out,” she replied, smiling and reaching her hand over the desk toward his. She rested her hand on top of his and rubbed it for a moment, gazing into his eyes with a tender smile.
A brief moment passed and he gave her a nod and pulled his hand from hers, turning toward his computer. “Well, I should get back to what I was working on. Thank you again, more than I can say, for all that you’ve done for me and for this most important of circumstances. I really appreciate all that you’ve done. It means a great deal to me to be able to rely on you like I can.”
She nodded. “Always, Henry. You can always rely on me.” She smiled once more and lingered just for a moment before turning and walking happily out of the room. She left the mansion and drove to her own apartment, and Henry sat and stared at his computer screen without seeing anything on it.
He was going to be a father. In nine short months, his entire life was going to change and he would be a father to multiple children. It was almost more than he could wrap his mind around, but he promised himself then and there, that he would devote himself to being the best possible father that he could be, no matter what, and his family would be a loving and strong family, just like he had had with his own parents.
***
The phone rang twice before the soft voice of an older woman answered it. “Hello?” she said in a friendly and welcoming tone into the phone.
“Hey Mama, it’s me,” Jamaica spoke with a slight tremble in her voice. She was holding back a sea of emotion, and she knew that she wasn’t going to be able to hold it back for long while she was talking to her mother. She never could keep anything from her.
“There’s my baby! How are you doing honey?” she asked with nothing but pure love and happiness in her voice.
“I’m… I’m good, Mama. How are you?” Jamaica asked with a light voice.
There was a momentary silence on the other end of the line. “Well, I’ll let you know how I am when you tell me just whatever it is that’s rattling around in your head young lady.” She sounded kind, but not stupid. She was not one to ever have the wool pulled over her eyes, and though Jamaica had called to talk about the situation truthfully with her mother, she hadn’t quite expected her mother to be so fast on the uptake.
“Ah… Mama. Well, I have some news,” Jamaica began nervously.
“I can hear that. What’s going on? Are you all right? Are you in some kind of trouble or something? What can I do for you?” Mama was beginning to sound a little worried.
“Oh no, Mama. I’m fine,” Jamaica answered confidently. “I just… I’m taking on an unusual job, and it’s one I didn’t expect to ever have or get, but I’m getting it all the same, and I wanted to tell you about it.”
“What is this job that you’re talking about?” Her Mama’s voice took on a serious tone.
Jamaica cleared her throat and took a deep breath. There was nothing for it, she was just going to have to come right out and say it.
“Well, I’m taking on a job as a surrogate mother for a man who wants to have children. He’s anxious to have a family, but he isn’t married, and I guess he’s hoping to start the family soon, so he needed someone to carry his babies for him and give birth to them. I am going to get paid a bunch of money for it. It’s a really good job, Mama.”
She stopped, knowing that if she was to continue going on, it might only be worse for her. She needed to let her mother process the news that she had just given her.
There was a length of silence on the other end of the phone, and then her mother finally spoke in a quiet voice. “So you’re carrying a man’s babies, giving birth to them, and then he’s going to pay you for that. Am I understanding that correctly?”
“Yes, Mama,” Jamaica answered. She could hardly believe that she was saying any of it to her mother.
“My goodness.” It was all that Mama said for a long minute, and Jamaica waited quietly and patiently while her mother thought about what she was doing.
“How do they transfer the babies to you? Is this some kind of medical procedure or are you… meeting the father of the babies in person?” Her mother was being delicate about asking how it was that she was going to get pregnant in the first place.
“It will be a medical procedure. I haven’t even actually met him. I’m not even sure if I will. His private secretary is handling all of it so far. I haven’t even talked to him on the telephone.” Jamaica laughed lightly at the irony of it.
“My goodness,” her mother said again. “That’s just something else.”
Another long silence, and then her mother had more questions. “Did you just say his private secretary?”
“Yes, Ma’am,” she answered.
“Is he wealthy or something?” her mother asked with a curious tone.
“Yes, I guess he is, Mama. He’s paying me a pretty penny,” she admitted with a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
“Is he now? And how pretty is that penny?” Mama asked, wanting all the details.
Jamaica took a deep breath and spoke clearly and slowly. “Five hundred thousand dollars.”
Her mother gasped into the phone and then cried out and Jamaica heard her cover her mouth. “My gawd…” her mother answered her. “How in the world is that even…?” There was another coo of surprise from her Mama. “Well I’ll be.”
There was more silence for a moment and then Mama came back with more questions. “So how much responsibility do you have for this? Are you just carrying these babies or are you helping to raise them or nurse them too?”
“No Mama,” Jamaica said with a wide smile. “I just carry them and deliver them. Then the babies go to their new home and that’s it for me. I’m free to go back to my life and I can do whatever I want to.”
“Hmm,” her Mama responded doubtfully. “You think you’re going to have a pregnancy with your own eggs, your own babies made by some man you never even met, and after carrying them around for nine months you think you’re going to give birth to them and then just let them go? Is that what you think?”
“Yeah, well, that is the plan, Mama.” Jamaica felt the butterflies in her stomach going crazy and the blood in her veins began to pulse more.
“I think you’re going to be in for a big surprise, baby,” her mother said sympathetically.
“A surprise? What are you talking about, Mama?” Jamaica felt her stomach clench hard and her heart begin to pound against her chest.
“I’m telling you that for a girl with a heart as big as yours, who feels as much love as you do, there is no way that you’re going to be able to just walk away from those babies. I don’t want to upset you or make you worry or anything, but I know my girl, and I know how much you love with all your heart, and I know that you love children, and I am telling you this. When you carry those little ones around for nine months, you’re not going to be able to let them go just like that. There’s no way, honey. There won’t be any way in the wide world that you can do that. I want you to be prepared for the fact that there’s a good chance that it might break your heart to let them go. Even on their very first day. It’s going to be one of the most difficult things you’ve ever done. I can tell you that right now, because I know my girl, and I know what it’s like to carry your baby within you and then give it life on the day of its birth.” Mama was speaking with kindness, but also with honesty.
Jamaica sighed and bit at her lower lip. “I can’t keep them, Mama, and there’s no way that I will be able to be part of their lives. Andre doesn’t want kids, ever, and he doesn’t want anything to do with these babies. He just wants me to do it, get the money, and be done with it. So, because he’s in my life, I can promise you that there’s no way at all that I’m going to have anything to do with the babies. Besides, the father of the little ones has other plans for raising them and that’s already all worked out. The agreement is to give him the babies when they are born and then walk away. That’s it. That’s all I’ll be doing and nothing more.”
“All right honey. If that’s what you believe, then that’s what we’ll say for now. Just remember what I said to you, and be prepared. I don’t want you hurt at all, and I feel like you might just be hurt bad if you get to the end of that pregnancy and you have to let those little ones go.” Mama sounded wise and sad.
“I know, Mama. I know you’re just worried. I don’t want you to worry about it. It’s going to be all right. I promise. I gave this a lot of thought. I’ve slept on it, and I’ve made the decision that it’s the right thing to do. I’m not worried about it, and you shouldn’t be either.” Jamaica tried to sound stronger than she felt.
“All right baby. You just keep the phone by you, and if you need anything, anything at all, you call me. I love you, baby. No matter what happens with this. I love you,” Mama said with all the feeling in her heart.
“I know Mama, and thank you. I love you, too.” Jamaica sighed happily. It was going to work out. It was all going to work out just fine. She was sure of it. She could feel it in her heart. Nothing could or would go wrong.
Chapter5
The amazement of what she had agreed to do stayed with Jamaica constantly in her waking hours, and even haunted her dreams in places. She hadn’t heard back from Andre at all since he had left her front porch after he agreed to let her do the job only because of the money, though she wasn’t at all concerned with his permission.
She had been disappointed to think that the pregnancy might affect their relationship as much as he said it would, and she didn’t know what would really happen with them on an intimate level, but she did know that when he said he wouldn’t be intimate with her while she was pregnant with another man’s child, he meant it. It gnawed at the back of her mind that she would not know how things would be between them until they happened, but that no matter what, it didn’t look good.
Jamaica tried to keep her attention and her focus on her classroom and students the following day, and Penny swung by the classroom for a few minutes at lunch to say hello to her and to plan where they were meeting up for their girls’ night out, drinking cocktails and guy hunting.
Jamaica felt like she was in a dream, almost floating through reality as everything around her seemed to buzz, but she did her best to remain as present as she could. She wondered if she was in some kind of shock over the decision that she had made.
The day seemed to fly by for her, and before she knew it, it was time to meet up with Penny. She had chosen a pretty, light blue dress that fell to her mid-thigh and danced somewhat loosely around her form. It had slender sleeves to the elbows and a scoop neckline. Jamaica had put her shoulder length hair up in a light twist at the back of her head and slipped on some silver earrings and a silver necklace. She wanted to look pretty without looking like she might be an option for anyone to take home. She was bait, as her friend had advised her, and that was all.
She was glad that she wasn’t out in the playing field any longer. She didn’t know how Penny did it, con
stantly on dating sites and in and out of bars or different places like that, looking for true love with a good man. It’s nearly impossible, Jamaica thought to herself. She hoped that Penny would be lucky and somehow find the love of her life, but she felt as if she was standing on the sidelines, watching in almost horror at the dating life.
Jamaica had met Andre at a friend’s party. They had been friends of his, and one of her other girlfriends had been chasing a guy that was going to the party. She had begged Jamaica to go to the party with her so she could see the guy, and Jamaica being the good wing woman she was, had gone to the party and she’d met Andre. Her friend’s attempt at chasing the guy she liked had fizzled out when he showed up with his own date, but they had stayed long enough while they were waiting for that guy to show up that Jamaica had met Andre, and she had enjoyed talking to him. He’d asked her out for coffee on the following day, and it had just evolved from there.
Some of Jamaica’s friends had been surprised that she had agreed to date Andre exclusively, and they had wondered at what it might be that connected them because her friends could see no common ground between them, but she had assured them that she and Andre got along and that it was fine being with him. It wasn’t the kind of passionate love that flowed from the pages of romance novels or glowed on the screens of romance movies, but it was all right, and though Jamaica’s friends had said in honest moments that they thought she was settling for less than what she deserved, she was sure that it would be okay.
At least she had been sure until she had heard him say that he didn’t want children. That, too, had been rattling around in her mind from the moment he had left her, and she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it or worrying about it. They hadn’t really discussed it at any length prior to that, and she had begun to wish that they had. Having a family was important to her, and it was a goal she wasn’t ready to let go of. It hadn’t been an option for her at any time. She had guessed that he would want a family too someday, and though she knew that they should have talked about it at some point, they never had, and now she was facing a pregnancy that would not be giving her a family, her own babies, and they would go to another home and she would never see them again, while she and her boyfriend would wind up never having children. That was, if she stayed with him.