Jenna to use her as a surrogate. Now, as she excitedly prepared to carry their baby, she was also putting the finishing touches on her new bathroom and getting ready to redesign the basement apartment in her house. And while it might have been a big distraction for them all, it was one they shared in together, and one that left me standing alone on the sidelines.
Andy was my saving grace. The combination of love and sex gave me something to wake up for and come home to. But when she needed to go home, no matter how few and far between the days were, I dreaded it and the nights they eventually brought.
“I have to get ready for work,” she mumbled sleepily, moving away from my tightening arms.
“No, you don’t.”
“Vinnie,” she whined, smiling and pressing her lips to mine. “You know I have to work the next three days. Come on, let me up.”
I groaned in protest, but I did let her go. I watched her naked body climb out of bed and run for the bathroom, and I listened for the shower with the intent that I’d climb in after and give her something to remember throughout the workday. But before I heard the water beating against the tile wall, I heard her voice, talking to someone, presumably on the phone.
“Hey, yeah, I was going to stay here tonight,” she said. “Uh, really? I thought that wasn’t until tomorrow? Can’t we—fine, okay, yeah, I’ll grab the train after work. Yep. It’s okay. Yeah, I’ll talk to him. Okay. Okay. Bye.”
I didn’t move from the bed as I listened to her footsteps coming back into the bedroom.
“Baby, I just got off the phone with my mom. I completely forgot that my parents are having a party at their house, for their fortieth anniversary, this weekend, and I need to go home tonight to help them with some stuff.”
“It’s Thursday,” I pointed out, as the dread crept in swiftly. “Why wouldn’t you do this tomorrow?”
“I know, but Mer has something going on tomorrow, so we’re apparently doing it tonight.”
It was obvious I wasn’t going to talk her out of going, so I nodded. “Okay, yeah, then do what you gotta do.”
“Mom wanted me to invite you. The party is on Saturday. I’ll probably stay here tomorrow night, so we can go together, if you wanted to come.” She presented the invitation like it was an option, but there was hope in her eyes and a plea in her voice.
So, once again, I nodded. “Obviously, I’ll be there, sweetheart.”
She sighed a breath of relief. “You sure it’s not a problem with work?”
I shook my head. “Nah. I’ll tell Jenna and Moe I won’t be able to. It’s all good.”
Then, she leaned over me and pressed a kiss once again to my lips, the taste of joy and relief on her tongue. “I love you,” she whispered, as if to not let the ghosts in the apartment hear.
Andy left the room and disappeared behind the bathroom door, and while I wondered how I was going to get through the night, she showered alone.
***
“So, we're supposed to be going to the fertility clinic in the next few weeks to get things started,” Jenna said, pulling a pie from the oven. “It's crazy, you know? Thinkin' about havin' another baby. But, I mean, the baby wouldn't really be mine, so I guess it's not exactly the same, but still ...”
“Well, like ... where's the egg coming from?”
She slid the pie into the case and said, “Mine, obviously.”
“So, then ... the baby would be kind of yours, wouldn't it?”
She sighed, tipping her head back with exasperation. “Vin, it's not the same.”
Looking to Moe, I said, “Is this makin' sense to you? 'Cause I'm failing to understand how this kid isn't also hers.”
He glanced at Jenna and muttered, “You're on your own with this one, girl.”
Jenna groaned, cocking her hip and raking a hand through her wild, curly hair. “Okay. Let me try to explain this in simple words for you to understand. Zach and Greyson want a baby with both of their genes, so it's like, both of theirs, right? But two men can't make a baby—”
“I'm not an idiot, Jen,” I grumbled, laughing as I shook my head.
She smiled and went on, “Anyway, normally they would have to just get an egg donor to merge with their swimmers, but as luck would have it, Zach has a sister from the same gene pool. I