her
everything. Her mind went back to a late summer evening when she was seated
next to Roger on the sofa, a glass of red wine in her hand...
‘So, are you sure about this, Steph?’ asked Roger,
taking a sip of his beer.
‘Absolutely. Miranda seems
like a nice girl, and she’s willing to do this for us. She doesn’t want
children; she said it herself. I don’t think there’ll be a problem.’ Stephanie
tried to push any niggling doubts to the back of her mind. She had been
questioning how any woman would give up her child for money. What if Miranda is
just desperate for money now, as she is a student? What if her situation
changes in a few years and she has a change of heart? Would she be able to take
back the child? A child that Stephanie would have taken in as her own and
fallen in love with? She knew she could not afford to think about any of that.
The most important thing was that this young girl was offering her the chance
to be a mum; something that she had dreamed of. Her focus was on that goal.
‘Yes, but she’s young. What
if she changes her mind?’ Roger voiced one of Stephanie’s greatest concerns.
‘That’s a chance we have to
take.’ She sat back and took a mouthful of wine, trying to think positively,
not wanting this chance to slip through her fingers.
‘But I mean, what if she
comes back a few years from now and asks to see the child? I’m not sure how
watertight these agreements are.’
Stephanie sat forward and
looked at Roger. ‘I’ve thought about all that too, but I’m willing to risk
something going wrong. I have nothing to lose. If we turn down Miranda’s offer,
what chance do we have of ever being parents?’
‘We could adopt, or foster a
child. There are always children being abandoned,’ said Roger.
‘But when I suggested those
options to you before, you always said that if we couldn’t have a child of our
own—’
‘Then we shouldn’t have one,’
he completed her sentence.
‘But, Roger, don’t you see?
If Miranda has your child, it would be a part of you. This way we have a chance
for a child of our own, or as near as possible.’
Roger looked uncomfortable.
‘You know how much I want
children.’ Stephanie stared into her now empty glass of wine.
‘I’m just not sure we’re
going about it the right way. We don’t know Miranda.’
‘Well, we’ll be meeting her
soon, and then I’m sure we’ll be able to get an idea about whether she can be
trusted or not. You do still want to meet her?’
Roger stood up and looked
down at her. ‘What do we tell the child when it grows up? Are we going to
pretend that you are its real mother?’
‘I hadn’t thought about
that.’
‘It’s something we have to
think about. If we do go ahead with this plan, I think we should tell the truth
to the child; tell him or her about the surrogacy agreement.’
Stephanie felt as if her
dream was being watered down with a dose of reality. She wanted a child of her
own and had seen the surrogacy agreement as a way of getting that—after all,
Miranda didn’t want the child; it would only be born because Stephanie had
asked for it. ‘Would it be absolutely necessary to tell the child? Wouldn’t it
be better to say that we are the real parents?’
‘No,’ said Roger, sitting on
the edge of the sofa. ‘That wouldn’t be right. The child should be told.’
‘We can deal with that when
the time is right. The child would have to be old enough to understand.’
‘I think you’re living in
some fairy-tale land, Stephanie. You do realise that this child won’t be yours,
and you can’t buy a child and pretend it’s yours?’
His words further diluted her
dream. ‘Why are you being like this?’
‘Like what? Realistic?’
‘No. You’re treating me as if
I’m stupid.’
‘I know what you’re like,
Steph. I won’t agree to this surrogacy arrangement unless you agree that we’ll
do things properly. I want this child to know everything when he or she is
everything. Her mind went back to a late summer evening when she was seated
next to Roger on the sofa, a glass of red wine in her hand...
‘So, are you sure about this, Steph?’ asked Roger,
taking a sip of his beer.
‘Absolutely. Miranda seems
like a nice girl, and she’s willing to do this for us. She doesn’t want
children; she said it herself. I don’t think there’ll be a problem.’ Stephanie
tried to push any niggling doubts to the back of her mind. She had been
questioning how any woman would give up her child for money. What if Miranda is
just desperate for money now, as she is a student? What if her situation
changes in a few years and she has a change of heart? Would she be able to take
back the child? A child that Stephanie would have taken in as her own and
fallen in love with? She knew she could not afford to think about any of that.
The most important thing was that this young girl was offering her the chance
to be a mum; something that she had dreamed of. Her focus was on that goal.
‘Yes, but she’s young. What
if she changes her mind?’ Roger voiced one of Stephanie’s greatest concerns.
‘That’s a chance we have to
take.’ She sat back and took a mouthful of wine, trying to think positively,
not wanting this chance to slip through her fingers.
‘But I mean, what if she
comes back a few years from now and asks to see the child? I’m not sure how
watertight these agreements are.’
Stephanie sat forward and
looked at Roger. ‘I’ve thought about all that too, but I’m willing to risk
something going wrong. I have nothing to lose. If we turn down Miranda’s offer,
what chance do we have of ever being parents?’
‘We could adopt, or foster a
child. There are always children being abandoned,’ said Roger.
‘But when I suggested those
options to you before, you always said that if we couldn’t have a child of our
own—’
‘Then we shouldn’t have one,’
he completed her sentence.
‘But, Roger, don’t you see?
If Miranda has your child, it would be a part of you. This way we have a chance
for a child of our own, or as near as possible.’
Roger looked uncomfortable.
‘You know how much I want
children.’ Stephanie stared into her now empty glass of wine.
‘I’m just not sure we’re
going about it the right way. We don’t know Miranda.’
‘Well, we’ll be meeting her
soon, and then I’m sure we’ll be able to get an idea about whether she can be
trusted or not. You do still want to meet her?’
Roger stood up and looked
down at her. ‘What do we tell the child when it grows up? Are we going to
pretend that you are its real mother?’
‘I hadn’t thought about
that.’
‘It’s something we have to
think about. If we do go ahead with this plan, I think we should tell the truth
to the child; tell him or her about the surrogacy agreement.’
Stephanie felt as if her
dream was being watered down with a dose of reality. She wanted a child of her
own and had seen the surrogacy agreement as a way of getting that—after all,
Miranda didn’t want the child; it would only be born because Stephanie had
asked for it. ‘Would it be absolutely necessary to tell the child? Wouldn’t it
be better to say that we are the real parents?’
‘No,’ said Roger, sitting on
the edge of the sofa. ‘That wouldn’t be right. The child should be told.’
‘We can deal with that when
the time is right. The child would have to be old enough to understand.’
‘I think you’re living in
some fairy-tale land, Stephanie. You do realise that this child won’t be yours,
and you can’t buy a child and pretend it’s yours?’
His words further diluted her
dream. ‘Why are you being like this?’
‘Like what? Realistic?’
‘No. You’re treating me as if
I’m stupid.’
‘I know what you’re like,
Steph. I won’t agree to this surrogacy arrangement unless you agree that we’ll
do things properly. I want this child to know everything when he or she is
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