The Surrogate

Hearing from Joyce ruined his day and by the time he got home his muscles were all tensed and he wasn't in a good mood.

"You look like you had a bad day," Christy said when he walked into the living room.

"I've had better days and my shoulders are killing me." He walked over to the cabinet and took out the bottle of brandy and poured some into a glass. "So how was your day out with Gina? I hope you didn't overdo it."

"We had a good time and I bought some clothes. You don't have to worry because I took it really easy and I followed my diet."

"I better check your blood pressure now since I didn't do it this morning. If you'll just sit down on the couch we'll get started.

"So doc, will I live?" She asked jokingly when he was finished.

"It's still on the high side," he said, reaching his hand up he tried to rub the back of his shoulder.

"You're having trouble reaching, take off your jacket and let me give you a back massage. Come on, I promise I won't hurt you."

Standing up he removed his jacket and sat back down on the edge of the couch.

"I think it would be better if you removed your shirt and laid down on your stomach, that way I can work on your whole back." She was a little nervous about touching him after the last time, but she could see that he was in a lot of discomforts. As soon as he was positioned she straddled him from behind and started massaging his back. "I'm not too heavy for you am I?"

He let out a moan when he felt her hands massaging his muscles and helping them to relax. "I hardly feel you at all, except for your hands which are working miracles on my back. I can already feel the knots going away."

"There really are a lot of knots back here, mostly around the shoulder blades. What in the world got you so tense?"

"Joyce called and said she'd be home tomorrow night." When he felt her hands stopping he realized how he made it sound so he tried to reword it so it didn't sound so bad. "She called just before I was going into the operating room, we didn't have much time to talk but that's when she told me she was coming home."

"I'm sure you'll be glad to have her home and that way she can participate with the baby when we go to the doctor's appointment and the ultrasound."

How was he supposed to tell her that he wasn't looking forward to her coming home? If she knew how he really felt she would feel so guilty about being a surrogate for them and that would cost her stress. Instead of answering her, he told her that she could get off of him now and that he was feeling much better.

She climbed off and reached for his shirt and handed it to him. "A hot shower might help your back even more so why don't you do that while I take out your dinner and reheat it for you."

He didn't bother putting his shirt on since he was going to take a shower. "Thanks for the massage, it really did help me." He left and went upstairs he ran the shower and got in under the water. He couldn't stop his thoughts from going to her, he was thinking about what it would be like if she were to join him. Joyce was coming home tomorrow and he had to get those thoughts out of his head before then.

All the next day Christy was feeling nervous about Cole's wife coming home. She still wasn't convinced that Joyce was okay with her being there. But from what he and Gina had told her about how Joyce was always away on trips made her feel just a tiny bit better.

Cole only had half a day that he had to be at the hospital so he and Abe went golfing for a couple of hours before he went home. When he did get home he didn't see Christy anywhere so he went to her room and knocked on the door. When she told him to enter he walked in and found her laying down on the bed, she looked pale.

"Are you not feeling well?"

"Just a touch of morning sickness at night," she said, trying to laugh it off.

"I'll get my bag and I'll be right back." He returned moments later and examined her, also taking her blood pressure.

"Everything appears okay, still worried about your blood pressure though."

"Where's my lollipop?"

He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you're talking about."

She started laughing. "Sometimes I feel like I'm being treated like a child and seeing that you're a doctor and you just examined me don't kids get a lollipop when you're done?"

He also laughed. "I'll remember to bring one next time."

"Well now isn't this cozy." Joyce scoffed when she entered the home and went to the bedroom that Christy was staying in.

Both Cole and Christy turned their heads when they heard Joyce. He got off the bed and picked up his black bag.

"There's nothing cozy about it, Christy wasn't feeling well and I was just examining her."

"Oh, I just bet you were darling. Be a sweetheart and take my bags up to our room. I'd like to welcome Christy to our home and have a little chat with her."

He looked at Christy who was even paler now than she was before. "Morning sickness won't last forever, just take it easy for a while and get a good night's sleep." When he walked past Joyce he spoke quietly. "Be nice," he said just before he walked out.

Christy couldn't help but notice that there was no affectionate embrace between the two. She would have thought that with them being apart for so long that there would at least be a hello kiss or a welcome home.

"I'm glad to see that you have made yourself comfortable in my home and with my husband. I just hope you don't make a habit of having him come to your room for your checkups. From now on conduct them in the living room or his office. I'm tired so I'm going to bed, perhaps we can chat more tomorrow."

When Joyce got to her bedroom he turned around to look at her. "I hope you didn't say anything to upset her."

"Don't worry, I didn't say anything to upset your baby's mama. I still don't know why you had to move her into our house."

"I explained all of that to you over the phone. This is a high-risk pregnancy and I want to make sure that she's okay and can deliver our baby safely."

"Are you sleeping with her?"

He couldn't hold back his anger. "How can you say such a thing. You know I have never nor will I ever cheat on you."

"Well, I'm not sure I can believe that, I saw the two of you together, laughing and having fun. How do I know something hasn't gone on while I was gone or that you actually impregnated her yourself?"

"I'm not doing this with you. Maybe you should tell me why you stayed away so long and who you've been hanging around with."

"I don't feel like talking, I'm tired and I'm going to bed."

When he saw her picking up the one bag that carried her nightgowns and she started walking out he stopped her. "Where are you going?"

She stopped and turned to look at him. "From now on I'm going to sleep in the other bedroom."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to argue with you and I can sleep better alone."

"How do you think that's going to look to Christy if she finds out we're sleeping in separate bedrooms?"

"What does it matter if she knows?"

"She would not have agreed to be our surrogate if she thought that we weren't a happily married couple."

"Well she won't know that we're not sleeping together unless she has a habit of coming up here. So tell me, has she been up here, with you?"

"No she hasn't been up here, she respects our privacy too much to come up here. She has always stayed downstairs." To tell the truth he was glad that Joyce was going to the other bedroom. It's not like they were ever intimate with each other, and now he had no desire to be with her.

"Whatever," she said and rolled her eyes. "I'll move all of my things into the other bedroom tomorrow."

"There's another thing you should know."

"What is it now Cole?"

"I've hired June on full-time so she will be making our breakfast and preparing dinner."

"Oh really. I have been bugging you for ages to do that. So why now all of the sudden have you hired her full time?"

"So that Christy won't have to do any cleaning or cooking which she was doing when she first got here until I made her stop."

"Oh my God she's pregnant, surely she can cook a few meals or can't she cook?"

"Actually she's an excellent cook, but in her condition, it's not wise. I don't want her to have any stress while she's here so try and be nice to her."

As soon as she walked out of the bedroom he realized that things were only going to get worse between them. He even had a suspicion that she was cheating on him but didn't have the guts to bring it up. He sat down on the bed and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to figure out what to do. All he knew was that he couldn't keep going on like this and maybe it was time to ask for a divorce.

But what was he going to do about Christy and the baby? He still wanted the child she was carrying, but how would she feel about him being a single parent? Then maybe again he should try to make it work with Joyce. He could maybe start spending more time with her, take her out and maybe even go on a trip with her. But right now all he wanted to do was sleep.

Poor June was not happy when she found out that Joyce had come back home. It had been so nice without her, and now she was worried about how she would treat Christy. She set an extra plate and started making breakfast just as Christy and Cole entered the kitchen at the same time.

"Is Mrs. Mason joining you for breakfast?"

"I doubt it June, she got in pretty late last night so she's probably still asleep."

His choice of words confused Christy when he said she was probably still asleep. Having just left his bedroom wouldn't he have known if she was asleep or not?

"June, this was a delicious meal, and if you two ladies keep feeding me like this I'm going to start putting on the weight."

June couldn't stop laughing. "I doubt that will happen since you keep yourself in good shape in your downstairs gym."

Christy looked at him. "I didn't know you had a gym downstairs."

"Well it's not really a gym, it's just a room with some exercise equipment in it. I work out when I have the time which isn't very often."

"Have a good day at work, Cole," Christy said when he got up to leave for work. And wouldn't you know it, Joyce just happened to walk in at that moment.

"Yes, have a good day darling," she said with a smirk on her face.

When he was gone she looked over at June as she sat down across from Christy. "I'll just have some coffee and toast."

"You must be happy to be home."

She looked at Christy when she said that. "You would think so, wouldn't you? I couldn't help but notice that you are calling my husband by his first name."

"He told me to."

"Well, I don't think that is proper so from now on I want you to call him Dr. Mason. After all, you're not going to be here forever."

Christy wanted to slap the woman's face but she bit her tongue and nodded her head instead. It was so clear to her that they were not going to get along and really regretted being this woman's surrogate. But it was too late for that now and there was nothing she could do about it.

"June, when you're done washing up the dishes could you please vacuum the living room carpet once again. It doesn't look very clean to me."

"Of course madam," she replied and rolled her eyes after she had turned around and went back to washing the dishes. She knew that the carpet was spotless but she wasn't about to argue with the witch. She felt sorry for Christy who was being bombarded with questions, where she used to live and who her parents were and how old she is, and about her education and where she went to school and so on.

"I have an appointment with the doctor tomorrow and I was wondering if you'd like to go with me?"

"No I'm busy tomorrow, but I'm sure my husband is going with you so you don't need both of us there. Now if you will excuse me, Christy, I have to get ready to go to the beauty salon and get my hair and nails done. Maybe after the baby's born and you get paid you could go to a salon and fix yourself up a little. It might be easier that way to find yourself a man."

As soon as Joyce left the room June went over to Christy and placed her hand on her shoulder. "Don't pay any attention to that woman. You, my dear, do not need to go to a beauty salon, you are absolutely gorgeous just the way you are. Not only that, but you have beauty within, don't ever change."

"Thank you, June. I must say Mrs. Mason is really something else."