3 #2
Following Louane’s instructions, she avoids searching the internet—whether at work or on her personal phone—for information on surrogacy or its costs.
Instead, she simply listens to conversations about the subject between couples and medical staff, or sometimes between couples in the waiting room.
She quickly determines a budget range for surrogacy of between €50,000 and €200,000, with the USA being the most expensive destination—where prices can run even higher.
She has two appointments this afternoon on her way back to see new clients regarding their milk supply; Louane had made it clear that this activity must not be neglected, as it ensures the growth of a legitimate, officially declared business—unlike the future calves, of course.
Once the appointments are over, she messages Louane to say she is stopping by the farm.
She plans to use the time to clean her future living quarters and help Louane with herd care this evening.
Finally, she mentions she will pick up pizzas and ice cream for dinner.
Louane thanks her and notes that there will be four people for dinner, as Lo?c has said he is coming.
Nolwenn acknowledges the message and goes to do the necessary shopping.
She arrives at the farm at 5:00 PM and starts by cleaning the small house that used to belong to Gwendal’s grandmother; it will be a lovely place for her to stay, though she plans to swap the bed for her own, which is newer and more comfortable. As for the rest, everything is already there.
At 7:00 PM, she joins Louane in the barn to help out.
Gwendal has finished the second changing room and is now tackling the second washroom—the most technical and crucial areas for the farm's expansion, especially with Nolwenn coming on board.
There is one stall ready to go, but he can deliver five more in under two days if needed.
Louane is in the middle of milking her cows.
She entrusts the changing of Sarah and Alma to Nolwenn in the first changing room, while she goes to do the same with Hilda and Anneliese in the newly completed changing room.
Nolwenn happily agrees and starts with Sarah.
For her part, Louane starts with Hilda; once she has finished changing her, she tends to Anneliese’s diaper.
Being more experienced, she is certainly faster than Nolwenn, who is just starting out.
After escorting Anneliese back to her stall, she heads toward the new changing room.
Through the open doorway, she sees Nolwenn from behind, with Alma lying strapped onto the changing table.
Nolwenn has just freed the cow’s legs from her jumpsuit and laid them across her belly, revealing her diaper.
Nolwenn: "Looking at this diaper cover, Alma, it looks like someone did a huge pee in there. Let’s unsnap the cover and see what’s going on."
Nolwenn undoes the snaps on the plastic cover and opens the diaper. She quickly sees that both contoured inserts are soaked. She grabs a bamboo fiber wipe and begins cleaning her cow’s crotch.
Nolwenn: "No squirming, sweetie—keep those legs spread wide. The wipe is soft and not cold. I don't mind if you react a little when I put cream on your little lady-bits, but you're overdoing it now."
Nolwenn diligently cleans her cow’s vulva, removes the wet inserts, and puts in two fresh ones before snapping the plastic cover shut again. At this point in the diaper change, Louane walks through the doorway and calls out to Nolwenn.
Louane: "You know Alma only speaks Danish and English; I’m not sure she understands you."
Nolwenn: "I’m certain she does, and she’ll have to make progress in French anyway. Let me put your legs back and set you free, beautiful."
With the diaper change finished, Nolwenn very professionally leads Alma back to her stall and latches the two door bolts.
Louane has brought the bottles in a specially designed compartmentalized basket, and the two women distribute them to the four cows.
Knowing now that their cereal bottles will be quickly taken away if they don't drink them, the cows waste no time coming to their stall doors to feed.
On a tray, Louane has prepared four bowls of chicken-flavored kibble.
Once the bottles are finished, they are removed from their holders, and the stall doors are opened one by one to place dry feed into the small trough located to the right of each door.
Their work done, the two women head back up to the farmhouse.
Lo?c has already arrived, and Gwendal has welcomed him; he introduces Lo?c to Nolwenn, and vice versa.
The four of them settle into the living room with bowls of cider and some savory snacks.
Louane explains Nolwenn’s role in their project to Lo?c; he is enthusiastic, particularly about the calf aspect—the part that will generate significant revenue for every cow in which he holds a share.
He has come this evening to get the go-ahead from Gwendal and Louane.
Since he is in charge of sourcing the cows, he has the freedom to act as he sees fit, provided he adheres to the specifications and criteria defined for the animals: foreign, young, attractive, and bad-tempered.
Lo?c wants to diversify his sources. The next batch of cows will still be tourists visiting Brittany, but the season is drawing to a close.
To plan ahead—and out of prudence—Lo?c wants to reach out to a close Basque friend, Bixente.
Young Basques face even greater issues regarding tourist numbers than the Bretons do.
Lo?c: "He’s a real estate agent. They still have huge numbers of tourists in September, and those same tourists then ask Bixente to buy villas in the area—often pricing out the locals. I’m certain he can supply us with some fine specimens if you give me the go-ahead to contact him."
If Lo?c is suggesting Bixente for the job, Gwendal and Louane are confident he knows what he’s doing. They give their approval, and everyone toasts to the future Basque cows.
Before the Basque cows arrive, however, Lo?c already has his eye on several new Breton cows. He brought photos and a profile for each of them.
Lo?c: "They all meet the criteria, of course. I have a 24-year-old Australian woman named Isla. I have another Englishwoman, but she’s a redhead—I don’t know if that works. She’s 23 and her name is Abbie. Finally, I have a classic Swedish woman—blonde, long hair, very blue eyes; her name is Freja."
Full of curiosity, Gwendal, Louane, and Nolwenn lean over Lo?c’s tablet and scroll through the photos of the three young women.
Louane: "As far as I’m concerned, we need all three of them; they look great to me."
Nolwenn and Gwendal fully agree with Louane.
Lo?c: "It’s possible, provided you have the capacity to take them in quickly—I have to make a move on all three before Saturday."
In perfect unison, Louane and Nolwenn turn to look at Gwendal, making everyone laugh.
Gwendal: "It’s a good thing I got a head start on the stalls. I’ll get to work on them tomorrow, and they’ll be ready."
Louane raises her glass, and the other diners follow suit.
Louane: "To the four partners in this wonderful adventure—and long live Brittany for the Bretons!"
Glasses are raised and a toast is made before everyone sits down to enjoy pizzas and delicious artisanal ice cream.
During dinner, Louane asks Lo?c if his cousin and her friend managed to get their waitress jobs back at the crêperie after the two German women backed out.
Lo?c: "They were contacted, actually, but even though they were available, they turned it down. That’ll teach the boss a lesson about hiring foreigners."
Everyone around the table smiles; it certainly is a good lesson.
The very next day, Gwendal prioritizes building the stalls over the second bathroom so he can accommodate the three cows expected to arrive.
It is already Friday, and three arrivals are clearly scheduled between this evening and tomorrow evening.
Gwendal installs three extra stalls to ensure there are four spaces available, but then moves on to the second bathroom, which will also soon be needed.
He will finish that on Saturday morning, as he also has to tend to his livestock.
It is Friday, and since Nolwenn has no appointments that afternoon, she heads straight back to the farm from Rennes to finish cleaning her new living quarters and start moving her belongings over.
At 4:00 PM, Louane receives a message from Lo?c notifying her of a delivery—an "unit"—arriving that evening around 9:00 PM, without further details.
Louane informs Gwendal and Nolwenn; the latter will be able to witness the barn entry protocol for the first time.
That morning, during milking, Louane had the pleasant surprise of getting the first milk yield from her two Holsteins, which had taken a bit longer than Sarah and Alma to come into production.
Their difficult temperaments—especially Hilda’s—hadn't changed, but they would eventually appreciate being milked once their udders felt tight from the milk pressure.
Lo?c finally arrives at 9:15 PM, and when he opens the rear doors of his van, Nolwenn, Louane, and Gwendal discover Abbie, a young Jersey cow with a magnificent, long red coat.
She is asleep, gagged, and securely bound with ropes.
The two young men carry her down to the barn and lay her on the changing table before making way for the girls.
Nolwenn helps Louane handle her, untying the ropes that bind her and then removing the tape acting as a gag.
Once that is done, the two women handcuff the young cow’s front legs to the changing table for safety; there is no telling when she might wake up.
Louane then produces the scissors she uses to cut away Abbie’s clothes.
She is wearing jeans and a white T-shirt.
The T-shirt is quickly reduced to shreds, though the jeans are inevitably a bit harder to cut.
They don't hold out for long, however, and soon the young English cow is left wearing only her underwear—cotton panties and a bra in a pastel blue shade.
Louane’s scissors go to work again to strip the Jersey cow completely naked.
Louane: "Since she seems to be still fast asleep, we’ll take the opportunity to shave her pubic area. That way, it’s done, and she’ll be easier to clean and apply cream to later."