The Surrogate

Hillary pouted, puffing out her lower lip before finally agreeing with him. “You’re probably right. It’s such a shame though. I’m having such a good time! Thank you for having us, Archie. It’s been a treat. Roberta, I was so happy to see you again after all this time. I hope we can see each other soon.”

Oliver nodded as he came to shake Archie’s hand, saying, “Yes, it was much more relaxing than going to my family in New Jersey.”

Hillary shuddered jokingly, making Esther laugh. Hillary called out to her boys who were sprawled out on couches in the next room watching another football game being played in California as their noses still were warming up from running outside without any jackets or hats. Grace turned off the television and said goodbye to all of them before they slowly headed toward the door. Roberta went and got the coats, helping each boy into their thick jacket before giving them a peppermint and a pat on the cheek. Roberta hugged Hillary goodbye, and gave her a couple of wrapped up boxes of leftovers for the next night’s dinner.

Hillary looked relieved, happy to be free of cooking or getting takeout one more night.

Thanking Esther profusely one last time, Oliver waved down a cab at the street corner. In the goose-feather-size snow Esther watched her best friend speed off heading down toward downtown. As she stepped back in from the cold, Roberta said goodnight as well.

“I would love to watch the snow from my room. I have a darling view of the back garden, and it seems a good time for me to retire.”

“Okay, Bertie, thanks for dinner.”

“It was my pleasure, Esther dear.”

Roberta kissed her on the forehead before heading for the elevator. Esther took the stairs up to the next level, following the sound of music to help find where her daughter had disappeared to during the goodbyes.

Esther watched as Grace and Archie sat at the grand piano in the corner of the room, playing the little duet together. Archie turned the pages as Grace effortlessly played the upbeat melody printed on the sheets. Flowing a bit faster, Archie did his best to keep up with the teen prodigy, but all that seemed to matter was making Grace happy.

She watched how their posture and the way their fingers moved across the eighty-eight keys matched. Each had only one dimple, and so together they a complete set. They made a whole smile.

Something in Esther’s chest began to ache with a long-forgotten pain. The last time she had heard Archie play the piano was the day of her mother’s funeral. In that empty hotel bar, he had played her soft melodies to make her smile. She remembered how he fumbled over a few notes back then as he worked to remember the show tunes, but he kept humming along as they sat beside each other on that piano bench. Grace sat next to him with an eager smile as Esther had those years ago.

Listening to them finish the piece, Esther gave a soft clap when they finished.

“Bravo! That was wonderful,” Esther complimented as she kissed the top of Esther’s head. “Gracie, dear, don’t you think it is getting late? It’s almost eleven, and I thought you were planning on shopping tomorrow.”

“Do you think the stores will even be open?” Grace asked, looking up at her mother.

“If they know what is good for them, they will be,” Archie commented behind her.

“I guess you’re right, Archie. Besides, arguing with Levi and Noah was a lot of work this afternoon. They’re such morons.”

Grace couldn’t help but laugh at her daughter’s comment before saying, “You know better than to call them that.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s mean, but it is true.”

Grace stood and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek and Archie a fist bump of all things before making her exit. They were becoming a strange pair of friends, and while it was crazy to see them together like that Esther welcomed the relationship. It was important for her sanity that they get along.

After Grace went up to bed by taking the staircase to the floor of bedrooms above, Archie and Esther were left alone. Leading Esther back to the kitchen, they sipped tea sitting at the kitchen counter, while sharing a slice of cold pie from the refrigerator. Archie plopped a large dollop of fresh whipped cream down on the dessert, and smoothed it across the pumpkin concoction.

“You’re really good with Grace,” Esther told Archie before taking her first bite. “It’s almost like you’ve known Grace her entire life.”

Archie smiled. “Well, she’s easy to love. She is half you, and you know… Grace almost reminds me of myself as a teenager.”

“Sassy?”

Archie laughed at her joke. “I was going to say passionate or tenacious.”

“I would say a bit of both,” Esther mused, taking another bite of dessert before confessing something to her old friend. “You know I did this all for her, right?”

“That’s not surprising. She’s your child after all,” Archie replied in an understanding tone.

“When she told me that she was applying to the music school, I saw the look on her face. Sure, I could have talked her into a local school here in the city, but it is not like those private places would be all that affordable either. Still, I saw the look in her eyes…” Esther’s voice trailed off and gave her pause as she remembered the expression. “There are some scholarships, but they are not enough. All my extra money had been going to Dad, but I had to find a way to make it work. She was so excited, and who was I to destroy her dreams? There are plenty of people in the world ready to tell a teenage girl to give up. Her mother should not be the one who is first in line to dash her hopes, so I sold my ovaries. It was weird, but I did it.”

“I guess that I should be thankful for Grace then,” Archie surmised as he broke into the pie crust.

“Why?”

Archie placed his hand on Esther’s hand resting on the counter as he said, “That was what let me find you again.”

Esther smiled, swallowing the last bite of her share of pumpkin pie. Archie was right, and after excitement day she reflected that gratitude. Her life might be chaotic and her bre*sts were getting sore from the pregnancy, but she was happy to be doing this again. She was happy to be a parent with Archibald. Esther slid off her counter stool, and patted Archie on the leg.

“I’m going to head to bed,” Esther told him before leaving a soft kiss on his cheek. She could feel the faint stubble on his face and the smell of cologne on his neck. It was a soothing sensation.

“Happy Thanksgiving, Essie,” Archie replied, his voice cracking just a bit at her name.

It could have even been a trick by Esther’s ears, but she saw the look in his eye. His facade keeping Archie on good behavior was cracking. Still, he stayed put. He did not make any advances on her, but clutched his spoon tightly in his hand.

“Good night, Archie. I’ll see you in the morning.”