Page 74 of This Memory
He shrugged. “I guess I just like seeing my younger brother happy, isall.”
“That I am.”
“I can tell by that damn boyish grin on your face. When are you going to tell Mom?”
My smile instantly vanished. “Oh God, don’t you dare say a word to her.”
He laughed. “I won’t have to if people keep seeing you leave Brystol’s house in the morning. Better watch out for that aunt of hers. And God help you if Betty Lou sees you.”
I groaned as James hit my arm.
“You really need this guys’ night tonight.”
“You think so?”
He laughed. “Little brother, I know so.”
Brystol
It was ten minutes from closing, and I was tempted to lock the door, but I heard the bell above the door ring before I could.
“Crap,” I whispered, as I turned and saw my mother walking toward me. “Oh no.”
“Hi, Nancy!” Nelly said as my mother walked past her.
“Nelly, how are you?”
I turned before I could hear Nelly’s reply. I made a beeline for the back room and prayed my mother wouldn’t follow. No such luck.
“Brystol? Are you free to talk for a moment?”
Oh, how I wanted to tell her no. I loved my mother with my whole heart, but since this entire surrogate thing started, she’d been treating me differently, and I didn’t like it. Not different bad, just…different. Things felt strange between us. I’m sure it had to be hard for her to know my first child wasn’t really my child…or her grandchild.
“I’ve got to look up some inventory quick. Can it wait?”
“Evelyn called me.”
I froze. Closing my eyes, I counted to ten before turning to face her. “Why?”
“She was very upset, and said she did some things she shouldn’t have, and now she’s afraid she ruined her friendship with you. Which I told her was crazy, since you’d agreed to carry a child for her before you’d even birthed your own.”
I sighed. “Mom, I’m not getting into this with you again.”
She held up her hands. “I’m not here to talk about that. I know I wasn’t fully on board at first, but I support you a hundred percent in your decision.”
Surprised, I asked, “You do?”
“Of course I do. I’m your mother, Brystol, and I’m always going to worry about you. I admit I was initially upset, but you’re a grown woman.”
I folded my arms over my chest and regarded her for a moment. “What happened that changed your mind?”
“First, I want you to know I always admired you, even if at the beginning I thought it might be something you wished…later on…that you hadn’t done.”
Frowning, I asked, “Why do you think I’ll regret it?”
My mother walked forward and took my hand in hers. “You’re very early on in the pregnancy, Brystol, but there will come a moment when you feel that baby move inside of you. You’ll see a little hand or foot push against your belly…and you will fall in love. And then reality will hit that she or he isn’t yours to keep. Andthatis what I wanted to save you from. The hurt and disappointment I know you’re going to feel.”
I squeezed her hand. “When I did the counseling for this, that was something they talked about. Because I hadn’t had my own child yet, I might have those feelings, so I knewthat going in, Mom. I knew all of it, and I still wanted to do this for Evelyn. Can you imagine wanting a child so desperately, and your body not letting you carry that child? The heartache, the disappointment, the way I imagine you’d blame yourself.
