Page 11 of The Lessons

He was staring straight ahead at Dr. Lerner.

“Yes. He and I will have periodic check-ins. It’s important to make sure our work is in sync, so that we can deliver the best quality service to you.”

I nodded. She could’ve been speaking pig Latin for all I cared. I was having a hard time concentrating. My eyes kept wandering over to Ryan’s shoes. I liked them—a spin on classic Oxfords. Very different from his garb the other day. Then all of a sudden, the shoes moved; Ryan got up from the couch, and I realized I hadn’t been listening.

“Natalie?”

I looked over at Dr. Lerner. “Huh? Sorry, yes?”

“I was just saying that you will have plenty of time to talk more later this week.” She turned to Ryan. “Thanks again for stopping by.”

What? He was leaving so soon?

“It was nice to meet you, Natalie.” He offered his hand again, and his blue eyes tunneled into mine.Oh. Okay. So this is how we’re doing it.

“Nice to meet you, too.” I took his hand, and the electrical charge that’d been building ripped through meagain. I shivered.

“Cold?” he asked.

“Oh, uh, no. I mean, yeah,” I stuttered. “Not used to this San Francisco weather yet.”

“The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco,” he replied, smiling.

I cocked my head at him. “Mark Twain?”

“Very good.” The corners of his mouth perked up, and I felt a rush, like I was back in school, vying to be the teacher’s favorite pupil. “I’ll see you soon, Natalie.” He turned and nodded at Dr. Lerner. “Doctor.”

And after a beat, he was gone.

I sat back down on the couch. Dr. Lerner went through the final aspects of my treatment, but I could barely hear her. I was still stuck ten minutes ago, when Ryan had first appeared in the doorway. Seriously, what were the chances? They had to be astronomical. However, he hadn't said anything. I guess that meant we were doing this. I—

Dr. Lerner had stopped talking and was staring at me.

“Is everything alright, Natalie?”

“Uh, ahem. Yes.”

She smiled. “It’s okay. It’s normal.”

Normal? What was normal? Nothing aboutThe Planwas normal. Nothing aboutRyanwas normal. Nothing aboutbumping into my surrogateon the second day of even being IN this city was normal. No, this was all theoppositeof normal. This was downright bizarre.

She continued. “It’s normal to feel strange when you meet the surrogate for the first time. That’s why we do it in the therapist’s office, so that the surrogate’s environment is clean and unmarred by any initial awkwardness.”

Okay, that was pretty smart, I had to admit. But more importantly, once again she’d given me an out for my strange behavior. “That’s great. Thank you for your reassurance.”

“Of course.” She closed her notebook. “Well, I think we’ve covered everything. Did you have any other questions?”

I took a deep breath. “No, I think I’m good. Thank you for everything. I’m really looking forward to this process.”

Dr. Lerner stood up and gave me a warm smile. “I’m glad, Natalie. That’s a huge step in and of itself. I’m looking forward to working with you.”

I got to my feet as well. “Thanks. Me, too.”

“Priya will arrange the next appointments with you at the front desk,” she said as she walked me to the door. “We can aim to meet early next week.”

I wandered back to the reception desk in a daze and calendared out my appointments for the next two weeks. As I slipped my iPhone back into my purse, I started to feel a wave of accomplishment come over me. Finally, things were back on track. I was an empowered modern woman, the master of my fate. I had exited the office and was walking toward the stairwell, feeling thoroughly pleased with myself, when a hand reached out and cupped the small of my back.

“Hey, shh, come with me.”

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