“Please, come in,” Nora said.
“Whoa—what is this?” said the nurse as her eyes fell on me on the bed.
Scream for help!my instincts cried.Tell the nurse to call 911!But my voice wouldn’t cooperate. If I did anything they didn’t like, who knew what they might do?
“Now, now, please have a seat while my daughter and I explain,” Nora said in a bossy, take-charge voice. “Colleen, this is my daughter, Madison. The woman in the bed is her surrogate. She is a very troubled woman who long ago agreed to carry a child for my daughter and her husband, Max. This istheir child. But she has mental issues, which we weren’t aware of, and she can be …erraticsometimes. The restraints are just a precaution.”
Madison’s eyes flickered over to me, the look in them a warning to stay quiet as the nurse approached me.
“Why is her head bleeding?” Colleen asked, her brow furrowed.
“This is what I mean—she was getting worked up earlier, getting very anxious and nervous about labor, and hit her head against the side of the door when we first got here. We should probably have you take a look at that. I’m not sure if stitches are needed.”
“This is highly irregular,” said Colleen. “Is she in active labor?”
“Yes, she is,” said Nora, “but I asked you to bring the oxytocin to help things along. The longer this labor drags out, the more agitated she’s likely to get. You understand.”
“I did bring the oxytocin, just in case. But I wanted to discuss that with you—usually labor stimulants are only used in a hospital, while the patient is monitored by MDs. They require the use of a constant IV drip.”
“Yes, I’m aware—but I’m afraid a hospital environment is too stressful for Savannah. That’s why I asked you to bring all of that equipment here with you. Youdidbring it all—right?” Nora’s tone failed to hide her underlying irritation. She obviously didn’t like her plans being questioned.
“Yes … I did. I’m just not sure about this, Mrs. Clark. This feels a little off to me.”
Madison chimed in. “There’s nothing to worry about. I work in an obstetrician’s office. I’m familiar with the labor and delivery process as well, and I can assist.”
“You already agreed to take the money. You accepted the down payment. This is the plan. You do want the full twenty-five thousand, don’t you? To help pay off your debts, and help your son pay for college?” snapped Nora.
I watched Colleen breathe in and out a few times as she obviously struggled with whether or not to go along with the plan.
“Yeah, yeah, I do,” she said finally. “But there are rules for midwives assisting with home births—I don’t want to lose my license.”
Max reentered the room and smiled at Colleen. “Hello. I’m Max, the baby’s father.” Colleen shook his outstretched hand warily. “Everything’s going to be fine. All of Savannah’s checkups so far have been excellent, so I’m sure everything will go smoothly.”
Colleen’s eyes darted back and forth between the three of them, and then over to me. I stared back at her, too frightened to react.
Finally, Colleen sighed. “Alright—but if any part of this starts to go south, I’m calling 911.”
“If that makes you feel better. But like Max said, I’m sure it’s all going to be just fine,” said Nora. “Now, Colleen, why don’t you follow me into the other room where you can wash up and start preparing. I even got a little pushcart for all your supplies … here, it’s this door on the left …” Nora’s voice trailed off as the two women left the room. I was alone with Madison and Max.
Madison approached the bed and looked down at me. Silent tears slid down my cheeks. She smiled, as though my misery amused her.
“Madison—” I choked out. “I’m not due for another three weeks. It’s too early for the baby to come. You can’t do this.”
“Nonsense. Babies are born at thirty-seven weeks all the time. It’s perfectly safe.”
“Madison—babies come when they’reready. If the baby isn’t coming on his own, it means he’s not ready. You can’t force it just because you’re impatient. I thought youlovedthis baby. I thought you loved …” Could I say it? I had to. I had to appeal to her any way I could. “… Baby Charlie.”
If me using the name she’d chosen surprised her, she didn’t show it.
“You’re right, this wasn’t the original plan. You have your friend Jenna to thank for the early delivery. If she had just minded her own business, we could have waited until forty weeks.” She stood up straight. “Max, please turn on some more lights so we can get ready.”
Max obeyed, moving about the room, flipping on the overhead lights.
I blinked in the overwhelming brightness. I had to keep trying. “Madison, this is dangerous.What if something goes wrong during labor? We need a doctor—you can’t mess around with drugs like oxytocin.”
“Colleen is a professional. We have nothing to worry about. Baby Charlie will be here before we know it. Max and I will finally have our child, and we can be a happy family.”
At the wordfamilymy head snapped up, as I suddenly remembered something. “What did you do to my mother?”
