Page 33 of Geordie

“I'm heterosexual. Why?”

The attorney steeples his stubby fingers. “I know Tim has talked to you about his journey. I'm not sure he told you it will be difficult for a single man to adopt a child, and it might be doubly hard to adopt a girl, unless you're willing to pursue children who have disabilities or older children, but even that will be difficult if you insist on a girl. If you were also thinking of foster care, this will be a hurdle. Will you only consider adoption?”

“I like the idea of providing a home for a child that's orphaned or abandoned. If that isn't possible, I'm open.”

“Good, it helps to be open. There are other options. You can go the route of Tim—find a donor, have the egg fertilized with your sperm, then have a surrogate carry the fertilized embryo. If you can find someone you know who is willing to be the egg donor and surrogate, that would work. You could raise the child alone or enter into a co-parenting agreement to raise the child together. In fact, it's a recent trend. People are looking for someone who's ready to have children and start a family or someone who's interested in just co-parenting without the bonds of marriage, or even love. I've seen cases where this approach has been successful. We're living in an age where there are many ways to be a family.”

After all this time, it feels like a betrayal that I'm not following my parents’ example of finding a wife and beginning my family.

“There are sites that match potential co-parents,” he says. “Think of it as a dating site for people who want to start families.”

“So, the people on these sites are reputable?” I’m having trouble really believing services like this exist.

“Oh yes, they're vetted. That's why you go through an agency or service. I could suggest a few for you to try.”

“Is it possible that I can pursue all routes at the same time?”

He purses his lips. “We could,” he muses, “but there might be another pitfall. If you're thinking about adopting a child and the agency finds out you're also going the surrogacy route, they may reject your application. The agency would argue that if you adopted a child and had another child through surrogacy, the adopted child would get less support and love than the child that resulted from your genetic material.”

I shake my head at the nonsense that well-meaning people will impose. “If I'm able to have a child naturally and also have a child through adoption, I would welcome both children equally. That would not be a problem.”

“Excellent, excellent. I'll approach some agencies to see who's willing to work with us. In the meantime, I'll text you names of co-parenting dating agencies. They run similar to other dating sites.”

He pauses for a moment. “Remember, you don't have to accept everyone who applies to your ad. Part of my services is to help you along this journey. Let's go over anyone you think might be a fit. A second pair of eyes is always good.”

“Aye, I will.”

“Also, see your doctor for a checkup. Make sure you're healthy enough to fertilize an egg.” He grins. “Better to know now, so we can choose the best options.”

Chapter sixteen

Bank Withdrawal

Lily

It'sbeenmorethana week and I'm still thinking about the fiasco that was my surprise birthday party. Harv pushes into my office, smiling like he just won the lottery. “You're in here early. Something wrong?” he asks.

“I thought I would tackle some of this paperwork that Tina has been bugging me to do.”

“I've taken something off your plate. I completed the application for Catriona. Marie and I went down to see it last Sunday afternoon. All I can say is, it's impressive. You're right about one thing: it's packaged like Disneyland. Somehow, they make it work and you feel you're in this place of wonder. Around every corner there's a restaurant, a shop, something that you can explore. I saw the proposed high-end restaurant row. Anyway, I'm not saying I'm in. Let's just say I'm impressed.”

I push back into my seat, defeated. I haven't told my partner what happened at the party. “Yeah, well, about that. I might have blown our chances.”

Harv chuckles like I've made a joke. When he sees I'm not joking, he falls into the chair in front of my desk. “What have you done now?”

“I guess this is another I-fucked-up moment.”

“I saw you with Geordie MacTavish at the party. You looked like you were having a good time. What happened?”

“Stephen happened. He asked to speak to me at the party. I went up to the penthouse suite he rented for the night and we chatted.”

Harv narrows his eyes. “Aha, get to the part where it went sideways.”

I grit my teeth, thinking about that night and how easily Stephen accepted the breakup, or did he? “He wanted to know about Geordie. I thought I was avoiding future problems and told him Geordie wasn't a new boyfriend.”

“Why did you even talk about Geordie?”

“He saw us dancing. You know how possessive he can be. Stephen thinks he's competition. I didn't want Geordie dragged into our argument. I told Stephen about the incident in the kitchen, where I thought Geordie was a delivery guy. That I apologized and befriended him to get a spot in Catriona, thinking it would be the end of it. When Geordie and I were leaving the party, we bumped into Stephen.”

---