Chapter 11 #2
Rosalie followed Melissa along a short corridor, making polite small talk until they reached her office.
There was a desk with chairs either side, hosting nothing but a computer. Behind it were bookshelves which held more treasures – a snow globe, a fancy paperweight, a picture of Melissa and another woman smiling with their arms around each other.
‘Let’s sit on the sofas,’ Melissa said, gesturing to the other half of the room, which was set up like a small lounge. ‘Can I get you a tea or coffee? There are cookies and brownies on the tray there.’
Rosalie took a seat on one sofa whilst Melissa poured them both tea and added a brownie to the saucer before handing it to Rosalie. The informal setting relaxed her and she found herself liking Melissa as she took a seat on a sofa opposite Rosalie.
‘Oh boy, that’s a good brownie,’ Rosalie said, covering her mouth with her fingertips as she chewed.
Melissa smiled. She was warm and friendly.
Rosalie felt at ease around her. ‘So, you obviously know about Swans and what we do. Before we start, do you have any general questions about the agency – our ethos, when we started, why we started? There are no right or wrong questions or answers today. I just want us to get to know each other. If you want to slip off your shoes and put your feet up, feel free.’
Melissa did exactly that and sipped her tea from one corner of the sofa with her legs curled beneath her. Rosalie realised there had been no need to get a blow-dry or new nails. She needed to be herself, just like Melissa.
Was herself enough? Was herself responsible enough?
‘Rosalie, I can see you’re nervous. Most people are when they first come here.
I’d be more worried if you weren’t. Having a baby is a huge deal and finding the right partner to do it with is so important.
’ Melissa took a bite of brownie and set the rest on her saucer.
‘I co-founded the agency with my partner three years ago, almost to the day, in fact.’
Melissa pointed to the photograph of the two women that Rosalie had noticed on her bookshelves. ‘That’s my wife, Lauren. We married eighteen months ago but we’ve been together for four years.’
Rosalie looked at the picture again. ‘She’s beautiful. Congratulations.’
‘Thank you. Lauren and I have two children – a girl and a boy. Three and one. Both terrors and adorable in equal measure.’
Rosalie chuckled.
‘I needn’t state the obvious, I’m sure, but Lauren and I didn’t make babies together the conventional way.’
Rosalie blushed.
‘A friend of ours set us up on a blind date of sorts. It was funny because at the time we’d both sworn off relationships, but we both felt like our biological clocks were ticking and we wanted to have children.
Our mutual friend knew this and suggested we meet.
That night we discussed both wanting children and by the time we went away in our separate cabs, we’d decided to co-parent. ’
‘Wow, just like that,’ was all Rosalie offered.
Melissa smiled. ‘Yep. We met up a few more times soon after that and really got fixed on the idea. We talked through our options – adopting, donors, surrogacy – and decided that for us, surrogacy would be best. That way neither of us could be jealous of the other having carried the baby. Anyway, as it happened, we fell for each other and we were a couple before our first child was born.’
‘And that’s why you started the agency?’ Rosalie asked.
‘Exactly. We were lucky to fall in love with each other but our main focus when we met was having children. It made us think about how many other people out there were in a similar position for whatever reason. Maybe they focused on a career and suddenly found themselves in their early forties with no partner. Maybe they hadn’t found the right partner, or thought they had and the relationship had broken down.
Maybe they just wanted to have a child and co-parent but not be in a relationship.
So we started Swans. We match people who want to have children.
If those people fall in love and live happily ever after, great.
If they choose to be individuals and stick to a shared parenting schedule, good for them.
The “how’s”, “when’s” and “why’s” are up to the couple.
Our aim is simply to match you to someone you have parenting compatibility with. ’
The way Melissa explained things made perfect sense.
Rosalie understood what the girls had said – what if she met the right guy whilst she was pregnant or had a young child?
Wouldn’t it be easier to start a relationship without that burden?
But who was to say Swans wouldn’t lead to romance too?
And if she later found a man who couldn’t handle her having a child, he wasn’t the kind of family man she wanted in any event.
‘So, tell me about you, Rosalie. Where are you from? What made you contact Swans?’
‘Where to start… Well, my mom used to be a supermodel. My dad…’
Rosalie went through her life history from her birth, to schooling, to work, investments, and every failed relationship she’d endured.
At the end of it all, she asked, ‘Do you think I’m doing the right thing? People have said I’m not responsible enough. I think they see me as superficial, you know? That can’t be a good place to start as a parent, can it?’
Melissa offered her warm smile again and reached forward to take Rosalie’s hand.
‘I think you have a lot of love to give, Rosalie. In my experience, the main thing a child needs is love. We all get things wrong. There’s no rule book.
But if you love a child, they’ll forgive you for needing to work it out. ’
Rosalie nodded. She did have love to give. And she had time. Time she wanted to be filled with unconditional love. Maybe Melissa was right. She could do this. She would be a good mom.
Melissa sat back on the sofa. ‘Practically speaking, you have the means to give a child a good life too. I’d say the only thing you need to do is find the right daddy.’
‘This all feels very surreal.’
‘But exciting, too. Now, would you like more tea? Do you have any more questions? If not, we can get your DNA testing started.’
‘Mmm, I do have one question. About the, erm, the…’ Rosalie felt her cheeks blaze.
‘Conception?’ Melissa asked, taking the words out of Rosalie’s mouth.
Rosalie nodded, pleased not to have to enquire about the birds and the bees aloud.
‘Well, that’s really up to you and the father.
You should discuss what each of you would be comfortable with when the time comes.
One option is for the man to effectively act as a donor.
I have had couples use IVF so that they could choose the sex of the baby – some people feel precious about continuing family traditions. Or you could use a surrogate.’
‘Oh, no, I think I want to, you know, have the full experience.’
‘Most women do. The other option for heterosexual couples, of course, is to do things the conventional way.’
‘You mean… have sex?’
‘That’s what I would call conventional. What I would suggest is that you include your preference in the values test I send you home with.
There’s a section dealing with conception and gestational preferences.
Of course, I’d encourage you to remain open to Daddy’s views, too.
The one thing we can’t change for you is the gestational period, unfortunately. ’
Rosalie laughed. Oh heck, did they just share a baby-making-agency joke?
* * *
Later that night, Rosalie poured herself a cup of rose tea and sat on her sofa with a hard copy of the Swans morals and values test.
Q: What environment would you like your child to be raised in?
A: In the city, perhaps with weekend trips out to the Hamptons. I would like to expose my child to Europe. Trips to Italy, France, Germany.
Q: How would you like your child to be educated?
A: Reputable schools. Ultimately college.
Q: How much screen time would you allow your child?
Rosalie paused with her pen between her lips. Screen time? How on earth was she to know the right answer to that?
She picked up the receiver of her vintage-style landline and dialled Hannah.
After explaining the background, Rosalie asked, ‘So, what should I say? I don’t want to give a high number of screen hours so they think I’m not fit to be a parent and I never find a baby daddy.
Equally, I figure they have to have some time for, like, development and stuff, right? ’
Hannah laughed. ‘Hell if I know, Ros. I have a seventeen-year-old who only leaves his computer games for food and girls. My eleven-year-old stays quiet if I give him an iPad. Sometimes dinosaurs on television make TJ sleep.’
‘So what do you suggest I answer? As much screen time as they want so long as they’re quiet?’
‘If it’s meant to be an honest questionnaire, yeah.’
Rosalie laughed. ‘Thanks for the help, Hannah.’
‘Any time. And Ros, for all our sakes, don’t choose a baby daddy who answers “none” to screen time. In a similar vein, have you thought about how you would make a baby and a recording label work alongside each other? Oh, crap, I’ve got to go, TJ just face-planted trying to crawl.’