For a while, she didn’t speak, just stared at me.
“You good?” I asked.
She sat up straight and adjusted the sheet over her naked body. “Yes, I am. Wow, so it’s really going to happen?”
“Yeah. How do you feel about it?”
“I’m excited for… us,” was all she said.
“There’s still time to back out of it, Saje. If you’re not ready, don’t be afraid to let me know. We can wait a few more months, maybe a year, then we can try again.”
“We can continue with the process. You’ve dreamed of becoming a father for the longest.”
“Saje, what about you? It ain’t all about what I want.”
“It’s a dream of mine too… you know, becoming a mother.”
“Okay then, now is our chance to become parents.”
“Who is the surrogate?”
“I don’t know. To protect our identities, I chose for us to remain anonymous, so it’s only right the surrogate have the same option.”
She grimaced. “Anonymous? I understand us being incognito, but don’t we need to know who is carrying your… our child? What if she’s crazy, weird, or trying to pull a fast one?”
“I get it, and those concerns are legit. Trust me, I’ve thought about all scenarios too. But the agency we’re working with are professional business folks. After meeting with theowners, Nehemiah and Amara, who offered to work on our case themselves, they ensured that everything was covered. If not, you know I’ll handle things my way if needed, but I don’t think we’ll have any issues.”
Saje tilted her head to the side and took a deep breath, like she wasn’t convinced.
“I got it, baby. When have I ever disappointed you?”
She glanced around as if she was looking for an answer. I reached for her face and made her turn back to face me. “Answer me, Saje?”
“Reason, you’ve never disappointed me.”
“Well, continue to trust me, baby. Your man got this. Aight?”
Saje half-smiled and nodded while I gently wiped a tear from her face and kissed her forehead.
We were going to be good, and in a few months, we would have our healthy baby in our arms.
“Reason St. Pierre! What the hell do you mean, you and that piece-of-shit wife of yours are getting a surrogate to carry my grandchild?” My mama, Tammi, fussed.
“Ma, respectfully, please stop calling my wife out of her name.”
“That should be the least of your worries, boy.”
“What that mean?”
Mama rolled her eyes and smoothed out her dress. “Meaning, you need to be focused on your infertile wife.”
“Mama.” I shot her a glare.
She looked at me, and I was sure she knew the look I gave her all too well. I would never disrespect her, but I wouldn’t standhere and let her disrespect Saje either. I had to draw the line somewhere.
After leaving my office, I decided to visit my mother to tell her the news. She used to always talk about becoming a grandmother, but when I married Saje, it stopped. I still couldn’t understand why she hated Saje as much as she did. When I first introduced them, my mama had a scowl on her face the entire time Saje was in her presence.
I got Saje out of her house immediately. I had her wait in the car while I went back inside to ask Mama what was up and find out why she was acting like that.
