April 16
.
"Come on, baby," Tris begged the rusted old car that refused to turn over. "Just start one more time, please!"
After weeks of research and deep thought, Tris had finally worked up the courage to call an agency that facilitated surrogacies. She passed the initial phone screening easily, and was invited to go in to fill out paperwork and interview with the staff. And now she was going to be late or miss her appointment because Peter's old car chose that day to die on her.
"Godamnit!" she yelled, smacking her hands on the steering wheel. "Fucking Peter! How are you still ruining my life!?"
She whipped out her phone, which was almost out of minutes, and walked closer to the building where she could pick up the wi-fi. Nervously, she downloaded a rideshare app and entered her debit card number, praying that she had enough money in the bank to pay for a ride. She followed the steps, and was pleased when the app told her that as a new customer, her first ride was free.
"Finally!" she grumbled. "Something in my life went right."
The ride showed up quickly, and the driver had Tris at the clinic just in time for her appointment. She filled out a mountain of paperwork about her family history, her health, and why she wanted to be a surrogate. They took a photo to attach to her file, and some basic measurements like her height, weight, and blood pressure.
After the information was gathered, Tris sat down with a surrogacy counselor named Tori to talk about her application and her interest.
"So, Beatrice," Tori began, "why do you want to do this?"
"Um, Tris, actually," she said nervously. "Call me Tris." The counselor added a note to her file as Tris continued. "It's kind of a long story, but a few months ago, my husband left me. And as crazy as it sounds - and trust me, it sounds crazy even to me - I found out that we weren't actually married. I had just lost my family in a tragic accident when Peter and I got married, and he took advantage of my grief to set me up. He faked the marriage, put me on his lease, put himself on my bank accounts, everything. Once my family's death suit and all the estate stuff was done, he skipped town with all of it. It's like something out of a TV movie, I know. For two years I thought we were happy, married, and going to start a family as soon as all the estate stuff was finished. Then in one fell swoop he took everything I had, and robbed me of my future.
"Since then I've been living with friends and working to pay off the debts he left me. My friend read about surrogates in a magazine, and suggested it to me. I'm healthy, regular, and I don't smoke or use drugs. It would be my honor to help a couple build their family because I know what it's like to lose that hope. If I could restore that for someone while making enough to pay off some of Peter's damage at the same time, it would be a win-win."
"Wow," Tori said, brushing her long, dark hair back with one hand while tapping her pen on the desktop with the other. "Just wow. What a crazy story."
"I know," Tris said, ducking her head in shame. "Not a day goes by that I don't feel like an idiot for falling for Peter and his lies. I've been working two jobs to try and catch up. He damaged my credit and stole my inheritance, and I've been digging out of the hole so I can have my life back. I just want to do something worthwhile, you know?"
The counselor nodded, then proceeded to talk about the process, and the possible challenges and negative side effects that Tris could face as a surrogate. She laid out the fee structure, and when Tris could expect to receive funds.
"Surrogacy costs a couple around $45,000," Tori explained, "and that's on top of the cost of IVF preparation. Up front, they pay the agency and legal fees to prepare the contracts, and the medical expenses of IVF and the first implant. At the time of the first transfer, all related medical expenses would be covered, plus you'd get a payment of $750. Additionally, the biological parents will take out disability insurance on you, and you'll start receiving a monthly stipend for your expenses. Once you have a successful transfer, you receive a $750 maternity clothing allowance - $1000 if we find out you're expecting multiples. At that time the bio parents will also put up your $35,000 compensation, which we hold until the end of your pregnancy. That way you can't take the money and run with their child, and they can't run and leave you unpaid. You also begin a series of regular appointments with a therapist, and your travel expenses would be provided for should you be matched with bio parents who are not in the Chicago area and they want you to come visit before or during the pregnancy. They also pay for their own travel to be here for the birth and any other prenatal visits that they make.
"There are a number of things that would get you additional compensation, such as having multiples, lost wages if your doctor ordered bedrest, doctor ordered Cesarean delivery, and so on. There are also options for earning more by providing breast milk for the baby, but that is negotiated separately, and varies. Sometimes a bio mom will go through hormone treatments to try and nurse even though she wasn't pregnant. Modern science is pretty amazing."
Tris agreed. The more she learned about the process, the more fascinated she was by what science made possible.
"If you're still interested in participating," the counselor continued, "the next step is a full physical exam to determine viability, and the procurement of your medical records. This is offered at no cost to you, but you do have to sign some release forms and free up a day to schedule it. Once you complete all of that, we do something a little like Tinder. You'll be presented with prospective parents, and you can say yes or no. At the same time, prospective parents will see your profile, and they can also say yes or no. When you both say yes, we have a match."
"Why might someone say no?" Tris asked.
"Well, you might say no because a couple lives far away, or if you had objections about carrying for someone based on their sexual orientation, marital status, or religion. It's not something we like to see, but we're asking you to do a really big thing for these people, so you have to get along and feel good about providing a child for them to raise."
"That's… that's kind of… awful," Tris said. "We're not talking about me choosing someone to raise my child for me or anything like that. It's their child, I'm just hosting for about nine months."
"That's a good way to look at it," Tori said with a smile. "It shows me that you know what you're getting into, and that you have the right attitude. The bio parents also have to choose you. Some want a surrogate who lives nearby so they can be involved in the pregnancy. Some want a surrogate who has been pregnant before. Sometimes it's just about timing and availability. There are actually quite a few variables. Once you're in the system, you'll just say 'yes,' 'no,' or 'maybe' to each offered match - maybe meaning you might choose them, but you have questions. When we get a match where you both said yes, we'll take it from there.
"Now, do you have any more questions for me?"
Tris felt hundreds of things swirling around in her head, but none of them would settle into a concrete question she could ask the surrogacy counselor, so she shook her head.
"And how do you feel about moving forward?" Tori asked.
"Let's do it," Tris said with a hopeful smile.
..
June 2
..
Tobias opened his laptop with shaking hands. Just before leaving work, he'd received an email from the surrogacy agency informing him that all of his paperwork had gone through, as well as his bank transfer, and that all the legal documents were ready to go. The next step on his journey was to choose a surrogate to carry his son or daughter.
The decision to become a single parent still weighed heavily on Tobias. While he was excited by the prospect of being a father and raising one (or more) of the children that he and Lauren had planned for, he was also consumed by guilt for choosing to bring a child into a home with only one parent. Sure, lots of kids grew up in single-parent households, but it wasn't often by choice.
He'd sat down with his boss and mentor, Amar, before committing to the process. Amar and his partner, George, had two adopted children, and a wonderful, loving home life. Though their situations were very different, Tobias had to talk to someone about raising a child without a mother figure. Amar had encouraged Tobias to find a good therapist to help navigate him through the process of grieving for Lauren while moving forward with his life. He also spoke candidly about raising kids without a mom, and the joys and challenges of parenting.
In the end, Tobias felt even more certain that he still wanted to be a father, even without his wife there. He took Amar's advice, and started seeing a therapist. He researched the surrogacy process in great depth, and chose an agency that was well-rated and offered comprehensive services that looked to be fair for both the surrogates and the prospective parents.
After picking out the agency, Tobias started the paperwork. He met with a counselor at the agency to talk about his hopes and plans. He had a physical to ensure that he was healthy and would be around for a long time to care for his child. He looked into estate planning, and was painstakingly thorough and went above and beyond what the agency required for a client.
Now he had the email saying that the agency had everything they needed and Tobias was given access to the potential surrogates list.
He clicked on the portal and logged in with shaking hands. Five women were listed as potential matches. Two he eliminated right away because they lived farther away, and Tobias knew that he and Lauren's parents wanted to be as present and involved as possible through the whole pregnancy. One he eliminated because she had a two-year-old of her own at home, and Tobias didn't want to upset the child's home life should its mother need bedrest or something. Two candidates remained. Their names were Courtney and Beatrice. Both were in their mid-twenties. Both were in perfect health. Both lived relatively close by. Courtney was married, and Beatrice was single, but that didn't matter to him. After all, he was single, so who was he to judge.
But would they? What if he picked one and she rejected him? What if they both rejected him?
Tobias took a deep breath, and clicked 'yes' on both profiles.
"Help me, Lauren," he said quietly. "Please let one of them be willing to carry our child."
..
Tris opened Christina's laptop with shaking hands. Just before leaving work, she'd received an email from the surrogacy agency informing her that all of her paperwork had gone through, as well as her physicals, and that all the legal documents were ready to go. The next step on her journey was to choose a biological family whose son or daughter she would carry.
During the weeks since her first appointment, Tris had become more and more certain that she wanted to be a surrogate. The money was great, sure, but the idea of helping to build a family had awoken in her a hope and purpose that had been missing since Peter screwed her over. She picked up every possible shift at her retail jobs, and was working all the time. She'd finally had the confidence to apply for some better jobs, too, and had an interview scheduled with a local church looking for a full-time secretary/receptionist. Will had looked at her junky old car and determined that all it needed (at least urgently) was a new battery - a fix she could afford. Things were looking up.
Now she had the email saying that the agency had everything they needed and Tris was given access to the biological parents list.
She clicked on the portal and logged in with shaking hands. Five families were listed as potential matches. Two she eliminated right away because they lived farther away, and Tris wanted the baby's parents near enough to be present and involved through the whole pregnancy. One she eliminated because they had a two-year-old at home already, and Tris would prefer to provide for a family with no children. Two candidates remained. Their names were Coventry and Eaton. Both were in their mid-twenties to early thirties. Both were in perfect health. Both lived relatively close by. The Coventrys were married, and Mr. Eaton was widowed, but that didn't matter to Tris because it looked like he had a good support system. If a person wanted to be a single parent that badly, who was she to judge?
Tris took a deep breath, and clicked 'yes' on both profiles.
"Help me, Mama," she said quietly. "Please let one of them pick me to carry their child."
..
Tobias hardly slept that night. In as soon as ten months, he would be a father. If either Beatrice or Courtney accepted him, the next step would be an in-person interview. Hopefully the agency would allow Max and Veronica to attend. They were set to move into their new townhouse that weekend, and Tobias knew they would be both excited and helpful if they were included in the interview.
His mind raced with everything he wanted and needed to do before the baby arrived. At one in the morning, he was still awake, so he made a huge to-do list for himself, then went back to bed. At two thirty he was still awake, so he got up and cleaned the bathroom. After that he fell asleep for a while, but woke up around five o'clock, ready to go for the day.
He made some coffee, and decided to email Max and Veronica to let them know about the potential matches he'd received.
Tobias turned on his laptop, and opened his email program as he stirred a splash of creamer into his coffee. He nearly spilled it all over himself when he saw a new automated email from the agency.
To: Tobias Eaton
From: Family Surrogacy Services
Wednesday, June 2, 11:47pm
Subject: Accepted match
Tobias Eaton,
Congratulations! One or more of your surrogate candidates has accepted your potential match.
Beatrice Prior (Surrogate #156905)
Your next step is to schedule an interview with your match at our Chicago office to make sure both parties are satisfied with the pairing, and to begin the surrogate contract process. Please contact your counselor, Tori Wu, to schedule that interview.
Best wishes,
Family Surrogacy Services
.
Tobias stared at the screen until his eyes burned and he had to blink away the dryness. He clicked the forward button, addressed the message to Max and Veronica, and added a note.
To: Max and Veronica
From: Tobias Eaton
Thursday, June 3, 5:29am
Subject: fwd: Accepted match
Max & Veronica,
I sat down this morning to email and let you know that all of my initial paperwork was accepted and I had received my first potential matches. But when I opened my inbox, I saw this. One of the matches I ok'd last night accepted me, too. The next step is to meet for an interview to see if this Beatrice is the one, and start the contracts. It's getting so real, I could hardly sleep last night.
I'd like you both to be there for the interview if allowed. Are there days that work better for you?
Tobias
(Attached message)
.
It was two hours earlier in Phoenix, so he didn't expect a reply from Lauren's parents. It was too early to call the agency, too, so Tobias downed his coffee and got ready for a run to burn off some nervous energy.
I need to tell Zeke and Shauna about this, he thought with a groan.
..
That same morning, Tris woke up on Will and Christina's couch and turned on her phone to discover a new email.
To: Beatrice Prior
From: Family Surrogacy Services
Wednesday, June 2, 11:47pm
Subject: Accepted match
Beatrice Prior,
Congratulations! One or more of your family candidates has accepted your potential match.
Tobias Eaton (Parent #326807)
Your next step is to schedule an interview with your match at our Chicago office to make sure both parties are satisfied with the pairing, and to begin the surrogate contract process. Your counselor, Tori Wu, will contact you to schedule that interview.
Best wishes,
Family Surrogacy Services
.
That was fast, Tris thought. She liked Mr. Eaton's quick response, it spoke to his enthusiasm and eagerness to get the process rolling.
She wondered what Tobias Eaton's story was. She knew he was twenty-six years old and a widow. She wondered what happened to his wife, and why he wanted to be a single parent. His bio said he had a support system of loved ones who would be helping him raise his child. Were none of them potential surrogates? The bio didn't say where the eggs would be coming from for the conception. Had Mr. Eaton's wife frozen her eggs, or would he be using a donor?
There was nothing for Tris to do until the counselor from FSS called her, so she got up to make coffee and take a shower.
I need to tell Chris and Will about this, she thought with a groan.