It's been a couple of weeks, but after some extensive research and a lot of frustration, Blink and I have finally found an adoption agency. I scheduled a meeting with the director last week and so now, we're sitting in the waiting room, pretending not to be as nervous as we are.

A door swings open and a woman in black slacks, heels, and a sage-green blouse steps out, looking up from a clipboard. "Meyers?" She looks around the waiting room and Blink and I jump up. We follow her into her office, and she stares at us a moment before reading over the papers. Her eyes go wide.

"Um, which one of you is Jason Meyers?"

I smile. "That'd be me."

She looks me over and then looks back at the paper again. "So who's this?"

Blink extends his hand. "Zacharias Erickson. Or Zach, for short, if you'd like."

She takes his hand gingerly and then pulls away. "And you are here because?"

He's stunned and I can't blame him. I have no idea what's going on. We're silent for a moment.

"He's my, uh, partner." I put my arm around his waist and smile, blushing a little. "At least, I think that's what they call it now."

The woman blinks. "I wasn't aware you were... homosexuals."

"It, um, it wasn't specified on the application. All it asked was if I was married, single, or living with someone. So I checked 'living with someone.'"

She sets her clipboard down on her desk and folds her arms over her chest. "Well, I'm sorry, but we don't really serve same-sex couples here."

The color is rising in Blink's cheeks. "Why the hell not?"

The woman blinks again. "Sir, please stay calm." She leans a hip on her desk and sighs. "We are a Christian organization and we provide adoption services to couples who are willing to raise their children with Christian values. You can't really have a Christian upbringing when the parents are openly and blatantly living in sin and not doing anything to correct themselves." Shaking her head, she looks us over again. "Besides, children fare better when raised by one mother and one father - do you really want to subject a poor, innocent child to the pain and suffering of having two homosexual fathers?"

I feel Blink tense against me. "Listen here, you stupid fucking bigot, this is where I draw the line. You've got no right--"

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask the two of you to leave." She opens the door and gestures us out. "I have other appointments to get to." And the door closes in our faces.

My eyes are starting to sting as we walk out to the car, and the tears are flowing by the time I slump into the passenger seat. Blink gets in on the driver's side and slams the door, grumbling obscenities to himself as he starts the car. As we're leaving the parking lot, he looks over at me. "Aww, Mush." He puts his hand on my knee, squeezing gently. "It's going to be fine."

I wipe my face and sniff, staring out the window. "This isn't fair, Blink."

"I know." He pats my knee and starts driving home.

"I mean, just because we're gay, we'll make bad parents? It doesn't make any fucking sense! There are straight people who are horrible parents and no one does a damned thing about it!" I'm fighting the urge to break the window. "She doesn't even know us! How does she know we won't be good parents?"

"She's just a bitch, Mush. And a bigot. People are extraordinarily stupid, and she is in the top tier of it all."

I sigh. "It's just not fair. Is this even legal? Telling us we can't adopt just because we're gay?"

He shakes his head. "I doubt it. I think it falls under discrimination."

"We should sue. We can sue, can't we?"

"Yeah, but it's not really worth it." He pulls into the parking garage of our apartment building, sighing. "You know, what we could do is find a surrogate." He opens the door and slides out.

"A surrogate?" I get out of the car, walking around it to join him.

"Well, yeah." He locks the doors and offers his hand to me. "We could find a girl through another adoption agency who's pregnant. Or we could even do an in vitro surrogate, if you really wanted to. Um, we could put an ad in the newspaper, too, and have the people contact us, and not have to hassle with an agency."

I smile a little, finally. "That sounds good."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

We place an ad in the paper for a surrogate, and have received nothing but crazy methamphetamine addicts basically trying to sell their children to us. It's like that one scene in Mrs. Doubtfire where Sally Field places the ad in the newspaper for a nanny and Robin Williams calls a bunch of times with nothing but the least desirable characters for the job. I mean, I feel bad for these kids that are going to be born, but a.) I don't think I could handle a drug baby - I wouldn't be able to go on if it didn't survive, and b.) I don't feel like buying a child so some stupid woman can go get her next fix.

I've pretty much given up hope, when my cell phone rings two weeks after placing the ad.

"Hello?" I take a last look in the mirror before leaving the bathroom to finish getting ready for work.

"Um... is Jason or Zach there?" A small voice squeaks from the other end of the line.

"This is Jason." I go into the kitchen and pour myself a cup of coffee.

"Hi, um, my name is Jenny... um, I read your ad in the paper and I was wondering if you were still looking for a surrogate?" She sounds so nervous. It's really kind of cute.

"We are. Are you looking for someone to adopt your baby?" I can't help but smile. She actually sounds decent.

"Yeah."

"How far along are you, Jenny?" I sip my coffee and look out the kitchen window, wishing Blink was here.

"Four months. About."

"Okay. Well, I'll tell you what. My partner and I will meet with you to discuss things, and we'll see where things go from there."

"That sounds good." She sounds like she might be smiling a little bit. "Um, when?"

"We're both off tomorrow. Are you free for lunch?"

"Well... no. I have class until two-thirty."

"Oh, you're a college student?" I finish my coffee and set the cup in the sink, then go to find my shoes.

She clears her throat and pauses. "Um... high school, actually."

"Oh." I stop in my quest for shoes, holding the phone and blinking. "Do... do your parents know you're pregnant?"

"Yeah. Um, actually, this whole adoption thing was their idea."

"And you're okay with it?" She makes a little "mm-hmm" noise, and I nod. "What about the baby's father? He's okay with you giving up the baby?"

Jenny clears her throat again. "I... well, the father doesn't matter."

"Sweetheart, as much as my partner and I want a child, we aren't going to take someone's baby away from them against their will. Your baby's father should have a say in this, too."

Her voice is a little bit sharp. "The thing is... there isn't really a father. I mean, I don't know who it is." There's an awkward silence. "Not that I'm a slut. I mean, it's not what you think. This baby, we'll say, was not put here by my own doing."

I nod. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you." I scratch my head. "So, how about you meet us after you get out of school tomorrow?"

"Where at?"

"You pick the place." I go back to searching for my shoes, one of which is under the bed, and the other one is in the closet. I don't know how these things happen. I've never been particularly neat, trust me, but this is just ridiculous.

"How about Starbucks?" She rattles off a location.

"That sounds good. That's actually pretty close to our place. Say, three o'clock?"

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow at three."

We hang up, and I grin, just barely resisting the urge to pump my fist in the air and scream. Instead, I call Blink and tell him the good news.

"That's incredible, Mush! When are we meeting her?"

"Tomorrow. Three. Starbucks."

"Great." There's a racket in the background. "Hey, honey, I'm really sorry, but I have to get back to work."

"That's okay, I have to head out myself anyway."

"I love you."

I smile. It's so sweet when he says that. "I love you, too. Bye."