"Thanks for... Everything, Jennifer." I sighed as we left that night.
"Yeah well, don't get your hopes up okay? It still could be a false positive." She warned.
"Yeah okay." I said back but I think everyone knew they were already flying away with plans of shopping and decorating for the new arrival.
"See you at the clinic." She reminded us, she had called and left a message and then requested to see Nadia the next day.
"Yep." Dan agreed, he was holding my hand but waved with his free one. Who was this person beside me? It looked like Dan but he acted like a Dan that I believed long since dead. We continued to walk, neither of us hailing a taxi, just walking.
I had a vivid flashback to a time forgotten when Dan and I had agreed as a New's Years Resolution to go running. We had a few times but then, as resolutions do, it got harder and harder to commit. We then set side agreements: If we ran a mile, we got to hold hands and walk the next mile. If we managed to run a full five miles in a day, we got to have sex. But the first day we ran the full five miles, Dan was a sweaty, panting mess. I tried to wheeze out laughter without lungs as he crawled through the front door, peeling clothes off his body as he went then pulling himself on the bed finally saying 'Alright *wheeze* let's do this.' We had taken a shower on the tiled floor first and regained our strengths just to loose it all again. But we kept that resolution for a very long three months.
"Dan?" I asked now realizing my head was on his shoulder.
"Hmm?" He asked back.
"How far do you think it is to home from here?" I asked, he pulled out his phone with his free hand and asked Siri 3.0.
"It is about 5.6 miles." Siri replied.
"Why do you ask?" He inquired then he saw the smile on my face which caused a smile to creep onto his.
"Remember our New Year's resolution?" I asked. He looked confused at first then a light bulb went on as well as a sly grin.
"Race yeah!" He yelled before taking off at beak neck speeds.
"Hey!" I called ahead to him. "Not fair, cheater!" But it was mock anger and I laughed as best I could as the once familiar taste of blood and lungs crept up at the back of my throat. That night we spend like we used to. Couldn't keep our hands off each other, much less our lips. It was a night that I thought I'd never have again with a man I thought had ceased to exist. But... Here we were.
We arrived at the clinic as Jennifer hopped out of a similar taxi. She got changed as we greeted Nadia in the small room filled with images of babies, born and yet to be. I looked at the wall of successful surrogate families. All the images were filled with family portraits with a singular woman who looked like she didn't belong, she was uncomfortable or both.
"Nadia?"
"Yes?" She recognized her name.
"Do surrogates ever become part of the family?" I asked looking towards her. She looked, for a moment shocked and stumbled by the question but she regained her composure.
"It all depends on the families." She answered simply. "I had one incidence where the surrogate refused to give up the baby and tried to run away with it after she had given birth." I was shocked but she just shrugged. "Some mothers have a strong maternal bond, sometimes stronger than reason."
"What happened to the mother?" Dan asked unsure if he even wanted the answer.
"She is serving time for attempted kid napping." Nadia answered with no pity on her face.
"Great story." A voice called from the doorway. We all saw Jennifer standing there not looking very amused by the conversation taking place without her. "Shall we get started?" She inquired, hopping obedient up onto the table before anyone spoke. Nadia nodded and blushed at the awkward.
We both stood but Jennifer's head on either side because her legs were being spread underneath a blue hospital sheet and no one wanted to be down near there who didn't need to be. Nadia looked under the sheet a couple of times before grabbed a scanner attached to a screen on wheels.
"Okay," She said finally. A black and white hazy picture appeared on the screen. It looked like the inside of an oval dome but much less clearer. Amongst the pallid haziness, there were two very small black blurbs that interrupted the coherent colorless chaos. "Those are your babies." She pointed at the two blurbs.
Astounded quite fell over the small white room. Only the families on the walls showed different emotions.
"Babies?" I gulped. "As in two?"
"Yes, congratulations, you're having twins." Nadia smiled looking at the three of us. I was slack jawed. Jennifer looked like she was now understanding what would happen to her in eight months. Dan looked like he was going to be sick. "Welcome to parenthood." Nadia laughed.
But none of us were even cracking a smile.