They went back to the clinic that very afternoon. Chelsea was giggly with nerves, a fact that Miles did his best to overlook. This was going to be much more invasive for her than it was for him, after all. Dr. Barroway narrowed his eyes when Miles told him that he had found a surrogate himself, but he didn’t ask questions. He guided Miles through the next steps and what he needed to do, while Chelsea visited with her own doctor.
As they left the facility with instructions to return for Chelsea’s appointments, and the insemination scheduled for around two weeks’ time, Miles glanced over at her. “You know,” he said, thinking of his conversation with Dr. Barroway, “I would feel better about all this if you moved into my place for a while.”
She turned to stare at him. “This is the strangest first date anyone has ever been on.”
“It wasn’t a date.”
She rolled her eyes. “Sure. Because that’s what’s important here. You want me to move into yourhouse? I hardly know you!”
“You’re going to be the mother of my child,” he pointed out. “We’re a little way pastI hardly know you.”
“That’s different.”
“I don’t see how. Think about it, Chelsea. When we do this, you and I are going to be tied together for the rest of our lives. It’ll be like a business merger.”
“Like a business merger?”
How could he explain this? “When two companies merge, the leaders of those companies have to find a way to work together,” he said. “It’s a matter of balance and harmony, figuring out a way to work together for the common good. And it isn’t always easy, because everyone has their own ideas about the way things are supposed to go.”
“I’m sure that’s true, but this isn’t a business merger,” she said. “We’re having a child.”
“It’s the same in a lot of ways. We’re going to have to agree on all kinds of things about the way we want to handle it, so it’ll help us to be in close proximity, and you’ll be able to have the best support for your health and well-being,” he said. “Also, since our official story is going to be that you’re my girlfriend, it just makes sense for you to be living in the house. If you’re not, there might be questions we don’t want to answer.”
“Who do you think is going to ask questions? Your father?”
“Maybe him. Maybe the press,” Miles shrugged.
Her eyes widened, “Thepress?”
“I do get my picture taken from time to time.”
“ButIwon’t, will I?”
“We’ll try not to let that happen. A good way to protect you will be to keep you inside as much as possible,” he said. “My staff will make sure you have everything you need, of course. You’ll be able to exercise, and so on. My driver will take you wherever you might need to go, but generally, you should avoid coming and going too much.”
“You don’t think we could save ourselves a lot of trouble if I just stuck to my own house? No one would take my picture coming and going from there.”
“Maybe they wouldn’t. Or maybe the press would piece together what was going on,” Miles said. “It’s not as if you and I are going to be able to avoid seeing each other, and if all those meetings have to happen in public places, people might find out about them. It’s much better to keep you secure.”
“What about work?” she asked.
He paused. “I don’t suppose you could take maternity leave?”
“What, for the whole year?”
“You won’t need the income. I’ll be covering all your expenses.”
“Okay, but how could I expect my job to be there for me when I went back? The school would have to hire someone else.”
“Maybe you don’t have to go back,” he said. “Could you retire? Do you really need your teacher’s salary now that I’ll be providing for you and our child?”
She hesitated for a moment. “My job means a lot to me.”
“Wouldn’t you want to stay with your baby full-time, if you could? At least for the first couple of years? Once the kid starts school, you could go back to work, but…”
Chelsea looked as if she was pondering. “You’re not saying Ihaveto do that, are you?”
“I’d like you to. I guess I can’t force you,” he said. “But I did assume you’d want some time as a full-time parent.” It was his second time using that phrase.
