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Too soon, we pull up to CryoFreeze. Unlike my nightmare, it’s just a normal, square-shaped building made from gray brick. It’s downright humdrum in its appearance. Still, I tense up as Rob parks the car.
“Don’t worry, baby girl,” he says, turning to me. “I’m here with you, and if you have any questions, I can ask the doctors if you’re scared.”
“You are so good to me, Rob,” I say. My voice cracks a little, and I know I’m close to tears again. I sniffle and swallow hard to get myself refocused. “Thanks for not laughing at me when I told you about my nightmare. I am scared, but I guess it won’t hurt to at least listen to what they have to say. Egg freezing is for the young, right?”
He nods and squeezes my hand. “You’re stronger than you think, Pepper.” He leans close to me and gives me a quick kiss and then we get out and enter the building.
The office is again, extremely normal-looking, and my nerves dissipate a bit. The woman behind the front desk hands us a brochure and then directs us to an auditorium, where twenty or thirty women are already seated. We find a couple of seats near the rear where there’s relative privacy.
“I’ll be right back, babe,” Rob whispers into my ear. “I’m going to hit the restroom and then try to find a vending machine. Do you want anything?” He smells like sandalwood cologne and the top buttons of his shirt are undone, revealing that bronzed chest. He has the beginnings of a beard growing on his chin, and his whiskers tickle my ear. I don’t mind at all because right now, Rob reminds me of a hot lumberjack.
“If they have M&M’s, yes, and if they have Sprite, also yes.”
He winks at me and leaves. While he’s gone, I look around at the other attendees. The other ladies in the audience look like they’re in their late 30’s or early 40’s. I’m definitely the youngest person here. Dread weighs on my heart as I sink into my chair. What the hell am I doing again?
“Hey gorgeous,” Rob whispers, sliding back into his seat. “I found both.” He hands me a pack of peanut M&M’s and a soda. For himself, he got water and spicy corn chips. “Did I miss anything?”
I pop open the can. “Nope. They haven’t started yet.”
“Good.”
We enjoy our snacks. I steal a couple of corn chips from Rob, and a few sips of his water. The Sprite is too sweet for me but I chug it anyways, mostly for the bubbles. My man gives me a faux disapproving look every time I hold my hand out for a corn chip, and when he asks me for some candy, I make a big show of rolling my eyes before shaking a few into his palm.
My giggling gets the attention of a few of the women nearest us, and I notice several of them eyeing us jealously. Most of the attendees are either alone or sitting with their female friends, so I guess this is something that a lot of women do on their own. There are maybe one or two other men in the audience besides Rob, but of course, he’s the most handsome. I’m a bit smug as I feed him an M&M as the other women watch with barely-contained jealousy.
But then the lights dim, and the chatter dies down. A man in a white lab coat comes out on stage, and a screen drops down behind him. I wipe off any crumps on my jeans and pull Rob’s hand in between both of mine. He leans over and kisses my temple reassuringly.
The doctor introduces himself as Pat Smith, and he’s a reproductive endocrinologist. What is that? But the doctor is smooth. He explains what I already know about the process of egg freezing: that you should be younger to increase the likelihood of a successful impregnation; that you have to give yourself shots to stimulate egg production; and that after a couple of weeks of that, the eggs will be harvested. It’s not an easy process, Dr. Smith explains, but the doctors at CryoFreeze are dedicated to making it as painless as possible.
Unfortunately, the talk does little to soothe my fears about this whole thing, and I start getting nervous again. I nuzzle closer to Rob, and he holds me, rubbing my shoulder. I’m so glad that this man’s here with me, and I’m so glad to have him in my life. Having him provide reassurance in this darkened room gives me hope that things are going to be okay.
I start thinking about a future with Rob. I see us sitting in his kitchen drinking sweet coffee with fresh bacon and eggs steaming on the table. He’s gorgeous while reading the newspaper, and as we finish our coffee, we hear the pitter-patter of tiny footsteps overhead. Our babies have woken up. I’d better help them get dressed for breakfast.
