Page 12 of A Found Family at the Cornish Country Hospital

‘She certainly had a crack team around her.’ Gwen nodded in agreement.

‘Those two lads are lovely, Aidan and John, is it?’ Isla’s grandpa furrowed his brow.

‘Aidan and Jase. And yes, they’re really lovely.’ Isla took a breath, ready to share what she’d been wanting to tell them formonths, but the lull in the conversation never lasted long with them around, and her grandmother got in first.

‘I loved it when Jase said how much he enjoys spending time with the children at his school, and how they have to put up with him, not the other way around.’ Joy put a hand on her chest. ‘It’s wonderful to hear someone talking about children like that, instead of always complaining about how hard it is. We looked after Isla and Lexi a lot of the time, once Nicky got ill, and people used to ask me if I ever resented how often we had the girls, but it was always the thing that made me happiest. And it felt like a blessing, didn’t it, Bill?’

‘It still does.’ He took his wife’s hand. ‘But I bet it’s rare to hear a teacher talking about their pupils like that, with some of the things they must have to deal with.’

‘I’ve always thought Aidan and Jase would make lovely parents.’ Gwen’s gaze met Isla’s for a moment, and it was like she knew. Maybe she did; after all, Isla had made the offer to Aidan outside the hospital shop, and St Piran’s had a notoriously efficient grapevine. ‘And I gather it’s something they’re hoping for.’

‘Well I really hope they get their wish.’ Joy’s tone was resolute, and if Isla didn’t take the opportunity now, she never would.

‘I’m really glad you think that, Nan, because I’m going to help them.’ She couldn’t take her eyes off her grandmother’s face as she waited for her to respond.

‘Do you mean carry their baby?’ Joy furrowed her brow, the concern in her expression as obvious as it was in her voice.

‘No, I don’t think I could do that, but I’m going to donate my eggs and then they’ll find a surrogate to carry the baby.’ Isla inhaled deeply; she needed to get the rest of the words out without pausing for breath. Then at least she’d have told half of her family. ‘I’ve been thinking about it for a long time.It was because of someone else’s generosity that I got to grow up as Nick Marlowe’s daughter, and your granddaughter. I couldn’t have asked for better parents, or grandparents, and I want to give that to someone else. At first I was going to do it anonymously, but it feels like even more of a gift to be able to do it for someone who I know deserves this chance as much as Aidan and Jase do. I hope you’ll be happy about it, and I’ll respect how you feel if you aren’t. But I’ve got to tell you that I’m going to be doing it anyway.’

‘I didn’t think I could be any prouder of you than I already am.’ Isla’s grandmother pulled her into a hug, and her grandpa wrapped his arms around both of them.

‘Well done.’ Gwen mouthed the word to Isla, as she locked eyes with the older woman again over her grandmother’s shoulder. She’d never have imagined it could be so emotional to have a conversation like that, while a woman dressed as a cockroach was looking on, but if she’d had any doubt left that she was making the right decision, every trace of it was gone. Now all she had to do was get through the fertility clinic screenings and then tell her mum and sister what she was planning to do.

7

‘So you really don’t think it’s going to be the challenge of your career finding a match for us?’ Aidan felt as though he’d been holding his breath throughout the entire appointment at the fertility clinic, but neither the matching coordinator, nor the counsellor that he and Jase had been sitting with for the last hour, had seemed fazed by anything they had to say.

‘If I’m honest, I think you’ll be one of our easiest matches.’ Annabel, who headed up the team matching surrogates with intended parents, shot Aidan an encouraging smile. ‘Lots of our ladies are keen to help same-sex couples become parents, and you guys are a dream in terms of your backgrounds too. What child wouldn’t flourish in a household where one parent is a medical professional, and the other a headteacher of a primary school? Not to mention the fact that you’re great fun, and I’m sure you’ll hit it off with any potential matches you’re introduced to.’

‘I just won’t mention the fact that everyone in Jase’s family had to have braces for what looked like their entire teens. Or that even the women on my side have monobrows like Neanderthals if they’re left to their own devices.’ Aidan had been determinednot to make any stupid comments, but the exasperated look he’d just got from his husband was enough to tell him he’d failed. Luckily, Annabel seemed to find it funny.

‘Well, thankfully, if those things are genetic, only one half of them can be inherited.’ She looked down at the sheet in front of her for a moment. ‘I know that last time we all met, you still weren’t sure about which one of you would be the biological father. But I wondered if you’d had any more thoughts about that?’

‘We don’t have strong feelings either way, do we?’ Jase looked towards Aidan, and he forced himself to nod. The truth was he had much stronger feelings about it than he’d been able to admit to his husband, and maybe even to himself.

‘It’s definitely something you need to make a decision about.’ Tim, the counsellor, leant forward in his chair. ‘We talked about this before, I know, and you’ll both be parents in every meaningful sense of the word but deciding who will provide half of your child’s DNA is still a big decision. Now that you’ve chosen your egg donor, and you clearly feel it’s right for you to use a donor you know, this is the last big piece of the puzzle. Particularly as Annabel feels so confident about finding you a surrogate quite quickly. Some people opt to mix sperm from both fathers and leave it to chance. But if you don’t want to do that, you need to be certain you’re 100 per cent on board with whatever choice you make.’

‘I know.’ Aidan avoided looking in Jase’s direction as he spoke. Over the years, his husband had learnt to read him far too well, and the challenges Jase faced with his hearing meant he seemed able to pick up on every little nuance of body language too. But he didn’t want to be honest about what he really wanted – for the first time – in front of people who could call a halt to their plans to have a baby, just by putting a simple cross in a box next to their names. This was a conversation they needed to haveon their own. ‘I think, like you say, we’ve just been so fixed on us both being the baby’s parents, in a completely equal sense, that figuring out the mechanics didn’t really seem important. But you’re right, we do need to make a decision.’

‘You really do. Then we can set up a meeting with…’ Tim hesitated for a moment, flicking back a page on the notes he’d been taking. ‘Isla. Just to make sure you really are all coming from the same place, in terms of any relationship she might have with the child in the future. But we can’t do that until you two have made your decision.’

‘We’ll get it done in the next couple of days, and then we can go ahead and set up the meeting with Isla.’ Jase made it all sound so easy, but Aidan had no idea how he was going to take the news when he told him that there was only one person he could imagine the biological father of their child being.

Jase looked at Aidan as they pulled into the driveway. ‘You definitely want to do this, then? You don’t think it’s bad luck to start telling people before there’s anything to tell?’

‘There’s everything to tell.’ Aidan reached across and clasped his husband’s hand. The feeling had been bubbling up inside him ever since Isla had offered to be their egg donor. When they’d first talked about becoming parents, the barriers had seemed insurmountable, but that had changed with those seven little words:I’d love to do it for you.From that moment the prospect was immediately more real, almost as if Aidan could feel the weight of the baby in his arms. For a long time he hadn’t dared believe it would happen, and there’d been so many questions he wanted to ask, but nobody he could ask them of, not even at the infertility support group. So few people were inthe situation he and Jase were, and it was why he wanted to create a record of their journey that might help someone else. ‘Even if we aren’t lucky enough to become parents this way, although I really think we will be, I want people to know it’s an option, and that you don’t have to be hugely wealthy to use a surrogate. There must be other people out there like us, who are desperate to become parents, and who’d love an honest account of the highs and lows of it all. I did find a couple of blogs, but there’s scope for so much more, and I really want to share our journey with anyone who’s looking for the kind of answers we couldn’t find. But I won’t do it unless you’re happy with it, and I’m certainly not going to do it until we’ve broken the news to your family.’

‘Of course I’m happy for you to do it if it helps someone else. But what about your family?’ Jase reached up, putting a hand on his cheek, and Aidan swallowed against the lump that formed in his throat every time he thought about his family.

‘I’ll tell Mammy, and she’ll tell the rest of them no doubt. But you know what my father’s like. He barely acknowledges our existence, so I can’t see him breaking open the champagne at the news we’re trying for a baby.’

‘Oh sweetheart, I wish he could see what an amazing son he’s got.’

‘And I wish he could see how happy you’ve made me.’ Aidan closed the gap between them, pressing his lips against Jase’s, before pulling away again. ‘He doesn’t want to see that, because then he’d have to admit that there’s nothing wrong with me having a husband. But it’s more than that, being married to you is the best thing that could ever have happened to me.’

‘You know I feel the same about you, don’t you?’ Jase’s eyes didn’t leave his face, as Aidan nodded. ‘But right now I need you to be strong, because when we break the news to my mother that her second grandchild might finally be arriving, after a waitof more than twenty-seven years, we’re going to get the kind of hugs that could fracture a rib.’

‘It’s a good job you’re married to a nurse, then.’

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