Page 20 of Jasper
“I will. See you soon, Gran.”
When I get off the phone, I go to my kitchen and get right to work, making my special homemade pot pie. When I’m standing at the sink, I see two men dressed in the same leather vest Jasper was wearing, walking around my property. They are so quiet that I wouldn’t have known they were there if my eye hadn’t caught their movement.
I immediately decide to double my batch, maybe as a thank you. I don’t know these men and I should be wary, but Jasper vouched for them. I won’t get too close, I decide. I’ll just leave the pies on my back porch and text Jasper to tell his guys to come and get them. I don’t know why, but this feels like the right thing to do.
My hands move at the speed of light, and I hum to myself as I cook the filling in a large stock pot, grate handfuls of cheese, and then roll out the pastry dough. I have a set of twelve pie pans my Gran used to bake pies for the state fair eons ago. I pull out five of them—one for each of us, and one to grow on. I know that’s a silly saying, but it’s what my Gran always used to say: cook enough for everyone to have a serving, and then an extra in case someone turns out to be extra hungry.
Tonight, I’m relaxed because I don’t have to deal with the Whitmores and all their unresolved control issues. I can keep the pregnancy, and Jasper has stepped up to cover my expenses. He really wants this baby, and I can’t blame him. If Jasper is any indication, his baby is going to grow up to be a smooth-talking, tatted-up badass like his dad.
I try to imagine what his baby is going to look like, and then I remember that it will look like me as well. It feels like I have baby brain and can’t stop thinking about the pregnancy. Before I know it, I’m filling up the pie shells with the chicken and vegetable mixture and covering them with my cut crust strips. Once they’re in the oven, I head upstairs to shower and get dressed.
I come back downstairs just in time to hear the timer go off for the pies. I pull out my Gran’s pie keepers and put a pie in each one. I stack three on my back porch and text Jasper, before taking the last two with me when I get into the car. I’m not thinking about anything except getting to my Gran’s house and am surprised when two motorcycles follow me.
It’s those prospects. Of course they’re escorting me. Jasper said they were like guards. It makes me sad that their pies are going to get cold before they get back, but there’s nothing for it, I suppose.
***
By the time my Gran and I are settling down to eat our dinner, it’s well after dark. We don’t care because we’ve got a lot of catching up to do. I take out the flatware and water bottles I brought, and we dig in. It’s nice to see my Gran eat so enthusiastically.
She asks around a forkful of chicken, “You said you had some news to tell. I want to hear all about it.”
I take a deep breath and swallow the food in my mouth before getting started. “Well, remember how I told you I was going to be a surrogate?”
Her expression sobers instantly. Her shaky hand wavers a bit. “Yes, of course I do. I remember telling you that pregnancies are not to be taken lightly.”
“I heard you loud and clear.”
“Is the rich couple nice, at least?” she asks. The tone of her voice suggests she doesn’t approve.
I snort a laugh. “Oh goodness, no. They were a nightmare.”
“Maybe you can still back out,” she tells me, picking at her food.
“I broke the contract. Told them to buzz off.”
My Gran’s eyes flash up to mine. “Really? You’re not going through with it?”
“Oh, I’m pregnant alright. There was a mix-up, and they used another man’s sample to fertilize my egg.”
My Gran bolts upright in her seat. “You’re really pregnant by a stranger? How did that happen? Is he going to try to get you to terminate the pregnancy? Oh, my goodness, this is worrisome.”
I reach out and grab her hand, giving it a little squeeze. “No. Come to find out, he’s really nice and offered me the same deal the other couple did to carry his child to term.”
“Exactly how nice is he?”
The suspicion in her voice is vintage Gran. She’s always been a cautious woman, and it’s saved her a fair amount of trouble in life.
“He paid me a visit today and said he’d support whatever decision I made. But he was really keen on me becoming his surrogate. He has parents and three brothers, and they apparently love kids.”
My Gran picks her fork up again and shovels another bite into her mouth, making a motion for me to continue with my story.
I tell her the best part. “He even said that I could visit with the child whenever I wanted after it’s born.”
Her eyebrows fly up. “Are you sure he’s not looking for a mama for his baby as well?”
I shrug. “I don’t think so. He seemed pretty keen to be a single parent.”
“Well, this all sounds like a best-case scenario kind of situation,” she tells me.
