There was firmness in his lips that tightened the muscles in his jaw. His pecan-brown hair looked recently cut, with a slight wave in the front.
“Oh, we had such a good time at lunch, Harrison. I wish you could have been there.”
He nodded. “Why don’t you return to the hotel, Samantha, and get things organized for our return?” he said. He had the tone of someone whose orders were politely cloaked in the dress of a suggestion but were not to be doubted or opposed. “Our car is waiting for you. Leo will signal him.”
“Sure will,” Leo said, rising quickly. “I have to check on a plumbin’ problem, too.”
“Don’t frighten her to death, Dr. Davenport,” Samantha warned with as much authority as she could muster.
His eyes did soften, as did his lips. I imagined that no one but she could speak to him this way. His love for her was palpable. His face might as well be a marquee advertising it.
She squeezed my hand for support and walked out. Leo rushed after her.
“Please,” Dr. Davenport said, nodding at the sofa.
I had a moment of hesitation I would remember for the rest of my life. Half of me was turning to the door to leave. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to hear any more, but when I envisioned what awaited me upstairs, the empty apartment, the absence of any potential success, and the suitcase that I would pack for my return to England, I turned to the sofa.
Dr. Davenport finally offered me a warm smile. “I can imagine the fear and hesitation swirling around inside you,” he said. “Do you know anything at all about in vitro?”
“I’ve heard of it. That’s about all,” I said. “There was something on the BBC once, but I didn’t pay enough attention.”
He nodded, uncrossed his legs, and sat a little more forward. “I have to ask you some rather personal questions first, and then I’ll explain it all. Is that all right?”
“It will have to be, won’t it?”
His smile softened even more. “Yes. Are you sexually active?”
“Actually, I was going to ask you a related question right off that would give you the answer. Does it matter that I’m a virgin?”
“No. Matter of fact, there are a number of virginal women involved with in vitro fertilization. They don’t want relationships, for one reason or another, but they do want children. I’d like you to understand it as much as possible just in case you discuss it with someone and get incorrect information. There are two kinds of surrogate mothers, traditional and gestational. The traditional is artificially inseminated with the father’s sperm. She carries the baby and delivers it and is the baby’s biological mother. Gestational surrogates have the egg from the mother and the father’s sperm from something known as in vitro fertilization. The egg and the sperm are combined in a laboratory. Once the embryo is formed, it’s placed in the uterus of the surrogate mother. That’s you.”
“Is it painful?”
“Only the pain of natural labor and delivery, but that will be mitigated with some new drug therapies my good friend Dr. Franklin Bliskin will use. He will do all the pretests that are required for someone to become a surrogate mother.”
“What are they?”
“First, he’ll do a hysteroscopy to determine the clear passage of your fallopian tubes, the size and shape of your uterus. You’ll be checked for any signs of any infectious disease. You’ll get a Pap smear, and then he’ll do what is called a mock cycle. He’ll give you estrogen pills three times a day for about eleven days and then do an ultrasound to look at your lining. If everything looks good, you’re done with that. There’s also something called a trial transfer. Dr. Bliskin will do a better job of explaining that and all the rest.”
“How long before…”
“Before in vitro? We’ll start the process in the laboratory a day or so after you see Dr. Bliskin so we have viable embryos ready when you’re ready. We want you to be comfortable the entire time, and that’s why I thought you should come to Wyndemere now, spend some time with Samantha, and be sure you want to do this. I’ll pay your debts here and an additional five thousand dollars no matter what, which we’ll deduct from the seventy-five. How’s that?”
“So it will be a while before I’m actually… something is actually…”
“Let’s plan on two weeks at least. Samantha will keep you busy, I’m sure, the entire time. Another personal