CHAPTER 10
Doctor Tom was excited to see the young Swiss lady. "I see you've made up your mind to do it then," he beamed at her. Evangeline smiled and informed him her reason for coming had nothing to do with that.
"I want to know the procedure and..."
"Say no more." The good doctor said and he walked her to the hospital's laboratory. As they walked down the hallway, he pointed out. "There's no hassle to surrogacy. It's like borrowing a womb to keep your child for 8-9months.
Mrs Valdez wanted a gestational carrier where pregnancy is through IVF. But her eggs were not viable. So, they opted for the traditional surrogate and that's you. You are the donor as well as the womb. Mr Valdez' sperm will be introduced to your viable eggs. Should you accept to be the surrogate, we will run several tests. Other than the logical ones; STIs, health screening, genetic disease and physical capability, the couple requires additional tests."
"Such as?" Evan asked having a second thought about it all.
"Oh, just a few mental processing tests." The doctor stuttered slightly and Evan raised her brow, "I mean IQ."
"Really?" She threw her head back and laughed heatedly. "Let me guess, Mr Jason insisted on this, right?"
"Well..." the doctor refused to divulge the information.
"I knew it!" Evan announced proudly. The doctor's silence only confirming her suspicions. The doctor suddenly stopped, and opened a door. "The lab?"
"Yes." He replied. Stepping closer to a particular tool, he explained. "These are the equipment we use."
"This is for the egg extraction from the womb." He noticed her flinch. "Scared of the needle?" He smiled, "Relax, it doesn't take a minute. We'd be in and out before you even realize it."
"Should I choose to do it," She clarified.
"Yes, should you accept to." Then he went on to show her the sperm collecting tube. "This here is where the intending father dumps his sperm for us." He made a jerking motion, his hands lowered to his torso for effect.
Evan laughed getting the drill. "When we run the tests, and certifies both usable, we then create the miracle which is the embryo."
He showed her a big glass like container that looked like an hour glass. "Here's what holds the growing synergy. The egg and the sperm becoming one."
Evan touched the glass and marvelled at the whole procedure. "After a while, we can now transfer the baby to the womb. A successful procedure results in pregnancy."
"Wow." She breathes it in. "How long is all these to take?"
"A few days and then we wait to see if the procedure was successful or not. If it is, good. If not, we try again depending on the mother of course and the agreed contract."
"Well, thanks doctor. This has really helped." She spreads her hands out, pointing at the instruments. "You explaining it all, thank you. I'll think it through a little more and get back to you."
"Great. I'll let Jason know you stopped by." He smiled and they began to go back.
"Does he have to know? I wouldn't want to raise his hope. Should I decide not to.... you know."
The doctor nodded, "I get it. Take your time."
Evan thanked him again and was out of the hospital. She made a quick stop at the lake by their old house. A place she hadn't been in forever. The place looked deserted and serene, exactly why she had come. Needing to clear her head, she sat down and let her legs dangle in the cold water.
There were a lot of questions racing through her mind. Questions she couldn't ask anyone but herself. She wished she could talk about it with someone. Anyone. Nobody came to mind. If she agreed to this, she wouldn't only become a mother, she would have changed the course of her life.
Was it going to be worth it? She was agreeing indirectly to become a baby mama as she intends to be in the child's life too. How would that affect her and Jason? The man was obviously still mourning and doing this only as a death wish. What if he isn't committed to it? Something tells her he would. He does seem like a devoted husband to his dying wife. Would that make him a great dad? And most importantly, what kind of relationship would she have with her child's father. She would deliberate further on it before agreeing to this. That decided, she stood up and called Audrey to let her know she would be spending the weekend with her sister.
Once decided that she would be the surrogate, Evangeline wasted no time in informing Doctor Tom. He had taken the news happily as expected. He told her he would let Jason know and all morning, she had waited to hear from him.
