The Surrogate

Chapter 4

Esther had been waiting all week for this moment. Her body was almost shaking with excitement. She was both nervous and elated as she stood still in the massive and enormous space looking for one familiar and magnificent face that she had been dying to see in person.

The airport air was sterile, but warmer than the cold evening air outside. The blank walls of the terminal had no distractions for Esther’s anxiety. Amongst the thousands of people and dozens of flights coming in and out, Esther kept looking for one flight and one person. The rest of the world meant nothing.

Finally, her person arrived. In yoga pants and a school hoodie, Grace bounced down the escalator, passing the haggard travelers with a worn metallic gold duffel slung over her arm. She had always been lithe and nimble thanks to her lean build. Even with only six weeks apart, Esther could have sworn her daughter had gotten taller. Grace in the near distance reminded Esther of her own mother. Her skin like chocolate milk with sugar plum cheeks and pink pouty lips. Her dark curls were tight and hung around her face like a darling bob, matching the levity of her expression and her eye-catching smile.

“Mom!” Grace called out, smiling wider as she waved broadly.

Esther waved back, stepping closer to the close the distance between her and her baby girl. She weaved through others who waited just as she had, but none seemed nearly as eager to see their guests. Finding her daughter’s open arms, she embraced her daughter as tightly as she possibly could.

“Hello babycakes,” Esther whispered in her ear before kissing her cheek.

Of all her life’s accomplishment, Grace was her greatest, and her favorite without question. Even with their eyes meeting in height, Grace was the same small baby girl who had been born in late winter storm all those years ago.

“How are you, Gracie? Did your flight go okay? No problems?”

She grinned. “Yeah, it was all right. I had the row to myself, and the soda was decent.”

“Good, good,” Esther muttered as she stroked the girl’s hair. “I’m still not used to you not having braces.”

“Me too, Mom.”

“You want to go grab some Chinese before heading back to the apartment?”

“I would love it.”

“Let’s get out of here!” Esther exclaimed taking her daughter’s bag and pulling the two Metro cards out of her coat pocket.

She handed Grace her subway card, which the teen promptly kissed before saying, “Oh my god, it’s so freaking good to be home.”

Back at the apartment, the two sat with bowls of salty cheap Americanized Chinese food that somehow tasted like heaven in a dish. The smell of garlic and spice intermingled with the sound of Grace’s records. As Esther had sorted out the food, Grace had dragged her Roger and Hammerstein records out to play from her bedroom. The sound of old Broadway shows played as Esther listened to her daughter’s ramblings that she loved and missed so much.

“We’re doing Peer Gynt for the final concert, and then the next day my string quintet is doing a holiday medley the next morning. It won’t be bad because carols are a no brainer, but my friend Stephen Wong wants to do a final rehearsal the night before. I told him I can’t, but he thinks it won’t matter with or without me. But I was like, ‘Why can’t we just meet before?’ But Stephen is not a morning person and neither is the viola player Kate.”

“Do I know Kate?” Esther asked, taking the opportunity of Grace’s mouth full of food.

Grace shook her head. “She replaced the old viola player who had to size down because her junior recital is taking up so much of her time. Kate’s nicer, but the old girl Tina was better in groups. Kate’s was trained independently, so group dynamics aren’t her thing. She told me at our last practice that she did not perform in a group till she got to school there. Her old prep school did not have an orchestra, just after school lessons because it was such a small student population. They only had twelve students at all different levels. It was shocked when she told me, but most of those kids from schools that confuse me. Stephen took horseback riding for his fitness requirement in elementary school. I mean how does that even happen?! Anyway, I left it up in the air with the group about final practice, but I tried to bribe them saying I would bring doughnuts from the bakery just off campus if they agreed to a run through in the morning before we go to the Christmas event.”

“Will I be allowed to attend this event? Is it open to the public?”

“It’s technically a fundraiser breakfast for the theater department, so it is like twenty or twenty-five bucks to get in. But if you want to come, sure.”

“I’ll give you the money for two tickets before you go back. Don’t let me forget.”

“Two?” Grace raised her eyebrows.

Esther set her plate down, realizing the time had come to finally have to come clean about her new endeavor. A pit began to form in her stomach as she decided how to go about making this conversation easier. Esther knew part of it was the anxiety inside her, but it was also sporadic nausea that came with the first trimester.

“So last year, do you remember when I signed up for that surrogacy agency?”

“Um, yeah, you bothered me for a week about it. You were giving the woman from the agency serious anxiety when you called her on a daily basis trying to make a choice.”

“Well, pregnancy is not a decision to be made lightly.”

Grace groaned. “Mom, I know. I know.”

“I know that. You’re the smartest teenage girl I know, but still. I told you that I was going to be available to carry the ovaries I technically sold. It sounds weird.”

“Kind of.”

Esther rushed that thought away. “Anyway, one was finally selected of the ten I gave up.”

Grace looked a bit pleased for her mother as she replied, “Oh, that’s great. So do I get to meet the couple?”

“Well.” Esther paused as she gave her next move some thought. “It’s not a couple. It was an old friend actually. He was interested in having a child on his own being that he can afford it, and he approached me when he found me in the agency’s register of available surrogates.”

Grace put down her plate, suddenly realizing the severity of this moment and this news. “So, you’re going to have a baby? When?”

“In about eight months.”

“Wait… you’re pregnant?!” Grace gawked. “Seriously, oh my god, Mom!”

She threw herself across the sofa and hugged her mother tightly, making Esther glad she had set down her food first. Letting their meals get cold on the coffee table, Esther explained more about what had happened over the last couple weeks. Grace sat with rapt attention as she soaked up the information like a sponge. Esther explained the process, and how she was due for a sonogram soon. She showed her the pregnancy test results from the doctor, and promised to send her a copy of the sonogram. Grace sipped her water when it was all done, heading to the kitchen to reheat their food in the microwave.