She got married believing that everything would be fine with them. Yes, they don’t have cool parents behind their backs. No one will buy them an apartment and a car.
But they are young. They don’t complain about their health. The whole life is ahead. She gave herself all to her family. She worked and took any part-time job. I managed to do everything around the house. She could make lunch out of nothing. I tried to live without debts. Therefore, after receiving a salary, she immediately paid for the rent of a rented apartment and for utilities. She didn’t even stare at the boutique windows–what’s the point? You can compose – tie a scarf and a beret to an old coat, and this five-year-old clothes will play with new colors. But my husband needs sneakers. The fourth couple since their wedding day. Well, what can I do! That’s how he wears shoes. And new jeans are needed. And at least three T-shirts…
At first, looking at the new clothes she brought, he was happy, said “thank you”, then he got used to it. He began to remind himself that it was time to change his wardrobe. She did not even notice how her husband did not just remind her, but demanded new clothes for himself. She would be glad. If he had a permanent job and a stable income. Let him be modest, but without constant layoffs. Either they don’t appreciate it there, or they pay pennies here. And my husband had from seven to nine such unpaid vacations in a year. She loved him. And, as they still say in our villages, “loved means sorry.” That’s why I didn’t tell him anything. And still would be silent.
But in the third year of their married life, she became pregnant. She told him about it when she returned from the antenatal clinic with a pregnant woman’s card. This news kind of shook him up. And he lasted almost until the birth at the factory. Although he often said that this is not work, but hard labor.
She gave birth to a boy. Gave birth easily. And the little boy was fine, healthy. And his nose wrinkled when she fed him, just like a husband when he liked something. She was the happiest. But the happiness did not last long. The husband, knowing that there is an allowance for the birth of a child, said that he was quitting the factory. He’ll be looking for something more decent. And stayed in her care for almost a year. If only he had helped her! But no! Unless he goes out for an hour with a stroller for a walk. And during this time, she does the laundry, and cleans up, and with dinner she is wise. It was also good that she had enough milk – there was no need to spend money on a mixture for complementary foods. But no one canceled the rent for the apartment and communal apartment. And if it wasn’t for her mom, who herself, after her husband left them, was spinning like a squirrel in a wheel, so if it wasn’t for mom, they wouldn’t have survived. And so mom sent parcels, albeit modest, and transferred money to the card. Mom saw that everything rests on her daughter. But she did not interfere – she did not want her daughter to remain a divorcee. In a word, she didn’t live – she got out of it. And she counted the days when her son would go to kindergarten and she would go to work.
And then one day her husband, returning from another job search until the evening, suggested an idea: what if she becomes a surrogate mother? He found out: she fits all the criteria. And first of all, because she already has a child, whom she gave birth to without complications and healthy. And they pay very good money for surrogacy. They could even buy an apartment. Let it be small, but its own. She did not immediately agree. The temptation was great. But somehow this is wrong: she will carry a child, and it does not matter that it is not her own, although why not her own, if she will be inextricably linked with him for nine whole months? Her husband ignored her arguments. He said that if he had the opportunity, he would do everything for his family. She no longer really believed in this “I would do anything”. But my son was running around. He grew up knowing that he had a mom and dad. And it never occurred to her to destroy it. In short, she agreed.
The contract was drawn up in the presence of a lawyer and the head doctor with an elderly couple after she passed all the tests. Indicating the amount for surrogacy. She received the advance immediately. And immediately went to the bank: she insisted that this money should not be spent until the baby was born, and the rest of the amount would not be paid. And all for the sake of the apartment. The husband realized that he would not change anything here. And he even became sensitive and attentive: a full calculation and his own apartment loomed ahead. She, like the first time, carried the baby without complications. And she easily gave birth to a girl – less in weight and height than her own son. But the doctors have their own standards: according to the Apgar scale, the baby received the highest score. The happy parents settled with her the next day. She felt good. And again she had plenty of milk. But the girl was not brought to feed – this was the condition of the biological parents. She was crying softly: she was sorry for the baby, whom she would never see again, sorry for herself, deprived of this crumb…
When I came home – my son is here, there are troubles with finding a suitable apartment option, looking at these apartments… In a word, the longing seemed to have passed. But only as if. Because she involuntarily looked into the strollers in which mothers carried babies, hoping that, perhaps, she would see the girl she gave birth to… She had to change her job–well, she couldn’t explain that she didn’t give birth to a child for herself, that she actually sold it. She found a job. However, it started at 7.00. And my son’s kindergarten also opened at 7.00. But the head went to meet a group of parents who also worked from 7.00 – one teacher came at 6.30. And the early bird children were under her supervision until their groups opened. The new job was also good because you could grab part of the second shift and work until 18.30. So she managed to take her son to kindergarten and pick him up. My husband could do it. But he was tired of looking for work. And he was looking for her with enviable constancy. Only most often with a zero result. But she’s used to being a breadwinner. I remembered my mother’s words that a divorced woman is kind of not a woman. It hasn’t been that long since my husband came up with the idea again:
– Let’s be a surrogate mom again!
She thought she had misheard. Again? To carry a child, convincing herself that he is not yours. You just carry him for nine months, give birth, and it’s not so easy, and there’s no pain here, and then that’s it! Will you get money like for storage, and forget it?
She wanted to say that she still remembers that girl, buys flowers herself on her birthday, congratulates mentally. She believes with all her might that everything is fine with the girl. But where to put the feeling that she is yours too? She wanted to tell him this, but bit her tongue: he wouldn’t understand! If I understood, I wouldn’t have approached her again with such an offer. And the husband has already caught fire:
– We would have bought a car. And even to nature, even to the sea… Freedom! I have a license from the army. You will not have to spend money on driving school. Well, and you, if you want, will learn. Theory in driving school. And I’ll help you with the practice.
And then, for greater persuasiveness, he called his son:
– Artemka, do you want us to have our own car? Do you want to? Then ask Mom!
And Artyom buried his face in her lap:
– Mom! Let’s have a car! I’ll grow up and take you for a ride!
Turning her face away from her son, she said:
– Good…
And the husband immediately began to make plans. He will find the right match himself. He will try to find out if they are solvent. Well, and the price will be determined – this time let the amount increase. When he finds the right ones, they will all meet together.
And satisfied, he went to watch TV. She bathed her son, put him to bed and stayed sitting next to him. I wanted to scream! Does the husband really not understand what a torment it is, consider giving his child away! No, he doesn’t understand…
And she has to change jobs again – well, she won’t find the words to explain to people what kind of a storage room will be for someone else’s child. And he’s not a stranger, she knows that for sure. Still that girl in her soul. But this time she could not contradict her husband.
A couple of days later, my husband said that he had found a suitable couple. They are almost the same age. Wealthy. Both want a baby, but they know the verdict: they can’t have children. It’s my wife’s fault. The decision to use surrogacy has been suffered, considered. And the candidacy of a woman who can help them is impeccable. This was confirmed by the doctor. He agreed to be the third in this deal – the deal was by mutual agreement, without formalities. So it’s cheaper. And the doctor and husband divided the official fee due in such cases for officially signed papers equally. But he didn’t tell her about it.
When she met the couple whose child she would be carrying, she couldn’t help but notice how different they were. The husband is calm, tactful, respectful to the interlocutors. And the wife is all in supermodel clothes, capricious, then smiles insincerely, then lets tears just as insincerely. And her husband comforts her…
Well, that’s their business. And her business, since she gave her word, is to carry a child. And the kind of heart with which he will give it, it does not concern anyone. I signed up for it myself. The doctor performed the already familiar procedure for the second time. And successfully: a control check, and then ultrasound showed that two embryos are developing at once, i.e. there will be twins. The future pope was frankly happy. His wife’s joy was strained.
As the surrogate mother managed to figure out, this young woman did not really need a child. And even more so twins. In general, she had doubts that she needed a child. But with her husband, she seemed to be happy.
And then the events developed according to some kind of anti-scenario. The biological mother, when the pregnancy passed in six months, made an appointment with the surrogate mother. In a cafe. I came by myself. And she said that they decided to give up the children. Part of the advance should remain with the surrogate mother. But after giving birth, they won’t take the children – they changed their mind. So she can leave them at the hospital. Or take it for yourself.
She didn’t know what to say. Although I suspected from the very beginning that everything is not normal here. But to abandon your own children like that? She came home and told her husband everything. Well, he was angry! The beushnaya foreign car, which he looked after, was sailing away, and it was both on the move and outwardly good. He began to swear, he was going to sort things out with them.
Went the next day right in the morning. But I didn’t find anyone at home. The concierge said they had flown to the islands on vacation. He doesn’t know when they will arrive. The husband returned home. What started here! He was yelling and swearing, not choosing expressions. He was categorically against her touching the children after giving birth to twins. Let him immediately write a waiver. She didn’t know what to do. And suddenly I felt something wrong.
I endured until morning. I called my mom. She came and found out what her daughter had agreed to. And that it was her husband’s idea. And, not for the first time. And here her mother did not say that she should listen to her husband. She took her grandson, they sent her to the hospital together. There, after examining her, the doctors said that for greater confidence in a successful birth, she would have to be kept for the last month. Knowing that Mom would look after her son, she agreed. Her husband never even came to her…
And at this time, on the islands where the biological parents of the twins were vacationing, their own events took place. The future father, who did not know that his wife had already managed to abandon the children, without saying a word to him about it, was always trying to return home. According to his calculations, the surrogate mother is about to give birth. Well, twins could be a problem for her. Perhaps it will not do without a caesarean section. My husband offered to shorten my vacation. But his wife just got into the taste: every night at the bar, every day a new outfit, massages, beauty treatments, flirting right and left…
– Well, where are you in a hurry? – the drunken wife blurted out. – There will be no children! I’ve already told the surrogate mother that we won’t take them. Let him keep it for himself or in the hospital. And in general, if necessary, I will give birth myself. And I would have given birth a long time ago. But why spoil the figure?
These words stunned him. And then they pissed me off. Restraint and tact did not help: he made a real interrogation with partiality. And I learned a lot of new things for myself. I found out that she had been taking a strong contraceptive all this time. Because, as she said, she does not intend to spoil her figure with pregnancy. Sometime later, maybe. She admitted that a long time ago, from the first day of their marriage, she made an acquaintance, and not for free, with the head doctor of the maternity hospital. Therefore, she was diagnosed with infertility. Maybe if he hadn’t been so persistent, hadn’t said every day that he dreamed of having children, in five or ten years she would have given birth herself. And I would tell him that medicine works wonders. But he stuck like a sheet of paper. Well, she agreed. But not for twins! This is how she will look with a huge two-seater stroller! Horror! So her true face was revealed…
The husband immediately packed his things and went to the airport. He was lucky: he found a ticket. And the next evening he was already in the hospital. Persuaded him to let him into the surrogate mother’s room. When he entered, she turned away–she had no desire to talk to him. What to talk about? That her husband left her because of the rejection of future children? That she was left with a child and without a job? What has been lying here for almost a month, not knowing what to do next? She did not know how to swear and make a row – in this she and the biological father of the twins were similar. Well, I didn’t want to cry, to put pressure on pity. So she just turned away, making it clear that they had nothing to talk about.
But he thought differently. I asked him to listen. And he told me that his wife had been deceiving him for several years, claiming that she was infertile. And she herself, in collusion with the head physician, was taking anti-pregnancy pills all this time. That his wife agreed to surrogate motherhood, fearing that she would be left alone – he really wanted children. And although he was not going to divorce his infertile wife, but quite, as his wife believed, he could sooner or later take such a step. And this did not suit his wife in any way: she did not want to lose an idle and secure life. And then she had a plan: secretly from her husband to agree with the surrogate mother that she, having given birth to twins, would write a refusal and leave the children in the hospital. Moreover, there are no official papers on surrogacy. And this wife, having persuaded him to fly on vacation before the birth of children, herself, without his knowledge, met with a surrogate mother and announced the rejection of the future twins. He found out about it by chance when, there, on the islands, he once again offered his wife to fly home – he wanted to be with the children from the first minute of their birth. That’s when, in a fit of anger, realizing that her plans were collapsing, his wife blurted out everything to him.
– I know you’re offended. But I give you my word of honor: all this was done behind my back. And now don’t turn away from me, don’t drive! – he asked for a surrogate mother.
And she believed him. He is the same as her, the victim and deceived in this story. And he and his wife were no more lucky than she and her husband. Now he came to her twice a day. And it was with him that she went into labor. She bit her lips, embarrassed to moan in pain. And he understood everything. And he dared to stroke her hair, saying in a trembling voice:
– Everything will be fine!
And she believed that, too.
…She gave birth to twins herself. Everything was ready for Caesarean. But she asked to give her the opportunity to give birth herself. The doctors, after consulting, allowed it. If something goes wrong, they will be there. This time the birth lasted a long time. The twins, and they were two girls, themselves set the queue for who would be the first to enter this world. And both, with a short interval, were born. Here she could not restrain herself: she moaned and screamed loudly a couple of times. And he, dressed in sterile clothes, was there all the time, holding her hand. She knew for sure that he had helped her…
In the evening he came to her so happy! It turns out that he has already seen his daughters – he was allowed to look at them in the children’s department. He was saying “Thank you!” to her with such excitement and gratitude that she had no doubt left: yes, this is her father. Real. Happy. And I was happy for the little ones.
…She was being prepared for discharge. Well, and girls, of course. And then he came back with an overturned face:
– I’m so afraid of doing something wrong, hurting my daughters! First of all, it is probably necessary to find a nanny. And a wet nurse would be nice. I saw, you might say, peeked at how you fed them… And I’m not sure that even after finding a wet nurse, the babies will keep their appetite. I’m afraid to ask you, but still I ask: will you agree to live with us?
She was taken aback: how? In what capacity?
But she said something else:
– I also have a son, Artemka. He will soon be six years old. Now he’s with my mom in another city. And I missed you so much!
– So let Artem and your mother live with us! My lawyers are getting a divorce from my ex-wife. She won’t be in my house anymore. And you can take your husband too. In addition to my city apartment, I have a large cottage five kilometers from the city. There’s plenty of room for everyone there. And the daughters will be fine with you,” he said.
When she heard about her husband, she started up:
– I will also divorce my husband. You know, it was he who came up with such earnings… And when he heard that you, excuse me, your wife, refuses children, he also said that he did not need them, and I could at least throw them away… I have already decided that if so, I will never leave the girls. I’ll raise it myself… Well, if my son and my mother and I will not be a burden to you, I agree. Only you can help me with the divorce, since you have your own lawyers. I don’t want to date my ex anymore.…
– No question! Give me a marriage certificate. Then you will sign the statement that the lawyer will make. And you don’t need to go to court – they will divorce you without your presence. I promise you that. Now here’s something else: call your mom, let her get ready with Artem. I’ll go get them myself.
So everything was resolved. When she and her twins arrived at a beautiful and spacious house, Artem and her mother met her. The son, hugging and kissing her, immediately began to examine the girls. And he said:
– What beautiful sisters I have! And what are their names?
The adults, hiding their awkwardness, replied in chorus that the girls had no names yet.
– Topic, what would you call them?
Artyom, becoming important from such a proposal, replied:
– We need to see which name suits whom.
For almost a week, the little ones lived nameless. She could tell the girls apart at once. And Artyom somehow saw who was where. Then my mother began to distinguish. And only their father didn’t know where the girl was.
“They’re like two drops of water,” he apologized, embarrassed, Then he couldn’t stand it: he called Artyom to the porch and asked him:
– How do you distinguish them, Temych? Teach me!
– Easy! Artyom answered proudly.
– Look: Polinka smiles more with the right corner of her lips, and Alinka – with the left.
– Oh, brother! – he was delighted. – So you’ve already come up with names! Beautiful! I like. Just let’s ask Mom.
– You are strange adults! And Mom says I should ask you. What’s there to ask? Here’s Alinka, and here’s Polinka!
He was afraid to openly rejoice at how his big house now lives. Here the main concern turned out to be. First of all, about the girls and Artem. Then about each of the adults. The care was visible even in the way the flowers were watered and the alpine slide was taken care of – they received a rebirth. Now no one was embarrassed when Artem called the girls sisters. It was perceived as it should be. But still the question hung over the adults: who are they to each other? They were separated from a strong married couple only by different bedrooms – they did not cross this line. Although every day it became more and more difficult to hide the affection for each other.
But behind everyone’s back there was bitter experience and disappointment. That’s why they didn’t force the events. But the denouement was inevitable: they got married. And immediately became a large family. Where the eldest son was always ready to protect Alinka and Polinka. Where Grandma was respected. And the parents themselves were finally able to not hide that they were happy. And somehow those who had spoiled their lives for so long in previous marriages found out about it. The first came to beg to forgive her ex-wife, who refused children. She was politely escorted to the gate, warned that the next visit might end in the police. Then the ex-husband turned himself in. And for the first time she didn’t even feel sorry for him: she imagined how he insisted on at least throwing away these crumbs, and just didn’t want to see him.
So Artyom could not remember that this was his own father – he left too few good memories.
With the light hand of their grandmother, they began to call their cottage “Teremok”. And the growing up Polinka and Alinka diligently listed who lives in this teremka. And they tried not to miss anyone – they loved everyone. Well, is there another indicator of a happy family?
0 Comment