Viola
Cold sweat gripped me with a chilling vengeance. Another nightmare. Another episode I couldn't
wake from. My eyes wouldn't open — as if my body refused to let me leave that place.
He had hit me again. Not the first time, and I knew, deep down, it wouldn't be the last. I watched
him stagger to the table, down the last of his whiskey, and disappear into one of the rooms. I
wondered how it had all gone so wrong.
The day my dad adopted me with my mom, I hadn't been convinced that it was possible to be
happier. The orphanage had been too bad, but finally leaving it felt like freedom — much to the
chagrin of the nun who had run our little world. She had warned me that my forwardness and
outspoken nature would get me into trouble. I had shunned her warnings, because she was mean
old hag who didn't wish happiness on anyone but herself.
For five years, I was fine. I had parents who loved me. That was before cancer snatched my mom
and left me with a dad who drank away his life — and beat me as if I had taken his wife from
him.
A cold hand shook me from my memory.
"Vi, it's just another nightmare."
I sat up and sank into her arms. Cairo Sweet — as sweet as her name — my ride-or-die. In just a
few hours, we would no longer share a room. Graduation was here.
As she went to fetch water, my mind drifted back to that awful nightmare — one of many. That
was six years ago. The man? Long gone. Irrelevant now.
What mattered was this: in a few weeks, I'd officially be done. Surrogacy had been my lifeline
through school. And finally, I was about to start my real life.
ViolaMy heart thumped with joy as my name was called up on the stage. I adjusted my cap and
walked up to the stage, beaming with so much pride and joy. The applause was loud but my
friends' voices were louder.
As I shook hands with our proprietor and accepted the certificate for my degree, I smiled into the
crowd as Mariah Milano took a picture of me. She was one of my other close friends, one of the
few who supported me through it all. Like when I first decided to start with surrogacy.
I sauntered off the stage, breaking into a fast walk before collapsing into Cairo and Mariah's
arms. I didn't have any family there, just the both of them and some other people I graduated
along with. They had called up their names earlier, Mariah had a degree in Psychology and Cairo
had just bagged another degree for corporate law. I didn't understand how she did it, I barely got
through school to get this one degree, who the hell had given her the strength to do it again.
Anyways that wasn't our problem anymore, we were done. Mariah handed the camera to Khalil,
Cairo's older brother and he photographed us some more before me and my small posse hailed a
cab and drove to "CLUB LIT". Not like I was allowed to drink, I was far along and due in a
week.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur of laughter music and lighthearted chatter. Khalil and I
talked through the night and more than once, I caught his eyes on me longer than necessary, at
least much more than I would have liked to ignore. Cairo and Mariah gossiped, giggled and
drank till they could not longer see straight and the rest of the crew were on the dance floor.
For the first time in what felt like years, I lauaghed without thinking twice, my hand resting
lightly on my protruded belly as Cairo spun Mariah on the dance floor.
Viola
My eyes fluttered open, and as I tried to adjust my lying down position, the sharp pain that
shut up one of my legs let me know that the anaesthesia had worn off completely. I
scanned the room, but there was no one there, safe the empty crib in the room. I reached
across and use my thumb to to press a small button integrated in the bed rail. Few
minutes later a nurse came in followed by a pretty lady doctor. She examined me briefly,
letting me know that my vitals were good and stable. I finally gathered enough strength to
muster up a sentence.
" My child…where is it?"
She smiled a small reassuring smile.
" Well she's with her Dad." Just enough emphasis to let me know the gender.I exhaled a small breath of relief, but when said Dad entered holding the child moments
later, I could tell that something was awfully wrong.
The pretty doctor read the room and signalled the nurse to leave. They both exited and I
quickly managed to sit up. You would think a man who had been trying with his wife for over
twelve years would be more than ecstatic after getting a child.
" Is anything the problem?" I croaked
" Yes, this isn't what we agreed on."
" Pardon me?" I said, my voice smaller than the first time I spoke.
" It was stated in the contract, very clearly that we wanted a male child." He said as he
placed the little infant in my shaking arms.
I peered down at her, and for a moment I forgot that I was about to crash out on Jonathan
Heeley.
" What the fuck are you talking about?" I managed, not that he couldn't tell that I was still
weak from surgery.
He rolled his eyes in disdain. " Please tell me you didn't just sign the contract without
reading it."
I tried to speak, but I found no words. I had in fact signed without reading to the ending. I
glanced through the parts that looked important and the only thing that had stood out then
was that I wasn't allowed to meet the mother whose egg i carried and the whooping
seventy thousand dollars I was to be paid.
" I'm afraid you didn't meet your side of the deal so I can't keep mine."
I was too stunned to speak, it was as if the blood from my body was being sucked out. It
was like I was there but I wasn't .
" My wife and I have no place for that in our home and quite frankly, I can't pay you that
much when you didn't meet up."
My eyes had started to water long before he completed his statement and the room was
spinning.
" That is bull shit, crap! What sane couple rejects a child they have been trying to have for
12 years!" I spat.
" That is for me and my wife to ascertain. Meanwhile we have no legal responsibilities to
that child."I didn't realise my tone had went from bitter to pleading. " Surely you aren't serious. Can I at
least speak to your wife, we could all come to a sort of agreement."
He moved closer to the bed, an ugly snare plastered to his uglier face. I was sure that he
must have married a goddess because the child in my arms looked nothing like him.
" You are far more unprofessional than you claim to be. It is also in the contract that you
guys can never meet, under no circumstances."
He placed his right hand on the bridge of his nose and let out an exasperated sigh.
"Look Viola, this is nothing personal, just business. Out of my good will I'll give you this
though." He said as he reached into his suit pocket and handed me a cheque of thirty five
thousand dollars.
I stared in disbelief and the baby chose just then to stir from her sleep and let out the
heartiest shirek I was sure she could muster. As I tried to calm her down, Jonathan Heeley
exited the room without so much as a backward glance. The tears that had been
threatening to drop finally did and all I could think about was how I had been so stupid.
Viola
" I'm afraid there's nothing we can do now Vi" Cairo said as she adjusted her glasses yet
again. She had just gone through the contract for the umpteenth time.
" I don't just understand how I had been so stupid." I said my head in my palms.
" I don't mean there's nothing we can do at all, but not just with immediacy."
I sighed heavily, drying my years with the paper towels that Mariah had handed me
moments before.
I had been in labour all throughout the previous night and had put to bed early this morning
around 4:32am. I had then slept till ninish. That was when Jonathan Heeley had brought
hell to my life. I wouldn't have been able to stomach the thought of staying in the hospital
for another second so I called Cairo up and I was discharged early afternoon after all
medical protocols were duly observed. It was 11 pm now and the baby had been put down
2 hours ago. I was a mess, the house in fact was a mess. I didn't plan to bring a baby back
home so Mariah had bought a crib on her way over and she and Khalil had spent the better
part of the day putting it together. They were such a big help and I wished I could let them
know but I wasn't even in the right state of mind.
" So what can we do?"I asked solemnly. Khalil had gone, he would have loved to stay and help out with legal
advice. He was a corporate lawyer after all and the CEO of Sweet and Rowe firm. But he
was so caught up with work that Cairo had to practically shove him out the door. Mariah on
the other hand had dozed off in the my room since we had no baby monitor. There was only
so much she could buy before coming over.
"Well let's see… that contract isn't all black and white. You waived your rights to the child, and
there's that male-child clause he's leaning on. Technically, he's covered if he refuses — that's
why it's tricky."
" Is that all?" I asked again, I was so tired, this wasn't supposed to be happening to me. In
reality, I had zoned out.
"No… we're not out of moves. We could push for mediation, argue fairness, or even a partial
settlement. It won't be easy, but it's better than doing nothing." Her voice was trembling while
she spoke, she could feel my pain radiating off of me.
"How far can we take this?"
" We can sue…but it will cost money—real money. Filing, discovery, experts. We're talking
tens of thousands at minimum, maybe more. Even if we win, it could take months. And
you'd have to tell your story in court. Is that what you want?" she asked almost dejectedly,
like she was the one it was happening to.
"So what you're saying is that it's either I go to court with money I don't even have or keep
the baby and partial pay out.
"
"Well technically, yes. But there are some stuff we could fall back on like the loopholes in
the contract, but that takes a lot of money, time and luck. Or a settlement out of court." She
said, massaging her temple, willing it to provide another answer.
" I tried calling the bastard, he isn't picking my calls and I never got an address. The only
other places that might have his information is the hospital were I got prenatal care and
gave birth.
" I said, short of breath.
"Well they would have policies about releasing information, but we could get something
out of them. But from what you said, I think it's clear Mr Heeley doesn't care about being
found, he has no intention of coming to any settlement."
" Exactly, he has me all kinds of fucked up" another paper towel." It's okay Vi. If you really want to take this up in court, me and Khalil would be very happy to
support you with whatever you may need." She said adjusting her glasses again.
" I can't ask you to do that Cairo, you and Khalil have done enough already." I said in all
earnesty.
" Well I was thinking, maybe you could be open to the possibility of giving her up for
adoption" She said, almost a whisper.
I sucked in a deep breath, I had hoped it wouldn't come to that, and when I breast fed that
little baby this evening, I knew I wouldn't . My experience with adoption was far from
thrilling, and there was no way that I would let a child who came out of me, biological or
not, face those same challenges I faced.
"It's fine Vi, we can figure it out tomorrow or any other day, it doesn't have to be right now.
But just know that whatever decision you come to, we will all support you completely."
Cairo knew she had struck a nerve, not that she intended to.
She scrambled up from the ground where she had been sprawled, gave me a hug that felt
like a thousand and disappeared into her room. We lived together in a rented apartment off
campus. I guessed I would be sleeping on the couch since Mariah and the baby where in
my room.
I picked up the contract, legal files and wrappers of sweets that Cairo had left behind,
trying to tidy up a bit. True to her name, she had a sweet tooth.
As I adjusted on the couch, I couldn't believe that a week ago, I had thought that life was
finally showing me some love. As I drifted off to sleep, I quietly thanked God that that
beautiful baby girl didn't end up with the wrong family, I wouldn't have been able to
stomach it. Maybe the right choice wasn't always the easy one.