Page 44 of Carly's Heart

♥ Chapter Twenty ♥

Carly leaned back against the sofa in her condo. “Oh my gosh. I am so full.” She tore a corner off a cinnamon bun and popped it into her mouth. But this is so good.” She finished the bite and sipped her tea. They debated wine and decided that neither of them needed to suffer the consequences of too much alcohol at work the next day. Carly had yet to tell Tanya the consequences of her last dive into drinking.

“I get that you have your reasons for marrying George, but I’d like to know why so I can make sense of this disaster.” She was prying, but after six years of friendship, and sharing almost everything, she deserved an explanation.

Tanya inhaled and twisted her hands together. She stared at the coffee table. “Remember when I had all those stomach issues? They weren’t with my stomach. I have severe endometriosis. The doctor says if I don’t have kids within the next twelve to eighteen months, I won’t be able to. This was my last chance.” She sniffed and wiped away tears.

“Oh no!”

“Yeah.” The single word was pure sarcasm.

“I decided to go for it. George needed a fake wife. I needed a sperm donor. I thought, we thought, it would work. Neither of us counted on his psychotic mother getting in the way.”

“But to marry. Why not just do invitro? You know, sperm donor. Wouldn’t that work?”

“I’m a waitress. I can’t raise a child on that. You know how hard it is.”

“I sure do, though Mike is great. But didn’t you inherit some money?”

“I did, but that’s for my future. I’m saving it for .... Let’s talk about that another day. How did you know about it?” She lifted her attention from the bowl of bacon cheddar potato chips in her lap.

“Birch mentioned it.”

“How long have you known?”

“Just a couple days.”

“Did you finally get together with my brother?” She jumped up to hug Carly.

“I did. But that’s also a discussion for another day. So, you married for sperm, and money?” The entire concept was almost unfathomable. She nibbled a salt and vinegar chip and searched for something supportive to say.

“Yes. I figured if I had my child, it would be enough. We’d both get what we want. If the marriage was loveless, at least we got along well. We were friends. Besides, imagine what my parents would say if I showed up pregnant and single.”

Carly considered it. They’d be disappointed, but she had no doubt that they’d be supportive once the shock wore off. As for the rest of it, there was so much wrong with the whole charade she didn’t know what to say to Tanya.

“You know what? Let’s just call it a bullet dodged. You didn’t want to spend the rest of your life under that woman’s thumb. I could kick him in the junk for you.” She moved around the table and knelt beside her friend. “Tanya, I swear that if you cannot carry a baby to term, I’ll do it for you. We’ll find a father, or sperm, or whatever, implant me with your egg and I’ll be your host mother. I swear, I will do everything in my power to help you have a child of your own blood.”

“I can’t ask you to do that.”

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