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Back The Surrogate Save as PDF
Chapters (65)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Epigraph
  4. Part One
  5. One
  6. Two
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Nineteen
  24. Twenty
  25. Twenty-One
  26. Twenty-Two
  27. Twenty-Three
  28. Twenty-Four
  29. Twenty-Five
  30. Twenty-Six
  31. Twenty-Seven
  32. Twenty-Eight
  33. Twenty-Nine
  34. Thirty
  35. Thirty-One
  36. Thirty-Two
  37. Thirty-Three
  38. Part Two
  39. Thirty-Four
  40. Thirty-Five
  41. Thirty-Six
  42. Thirty-Seven
  43. Thirty-Eight
  44. Thirty-Nine
  45. Forty
  46. Forty-One
  47. Forty-Two
  48. Forty-Three
  49. Forty-Four
  50. Forty-Five
  51. Forty-Six
  52. Forty-Seven
  53. Forty-Eight
  54. Forty-Nine
  55. Fifty
  56. Fifty-One
  57. Part Three
  58. Fifty-Two
  59. Fifty-Three
  60. Fifty-Four
  61. Fifty-Five
  62. Fifty-Six
  63. Acknowledgments
  64. About the Author
  65. About the Publisher

“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Vera. “Are there any siblings?”

“Oh, I’ve probably got a few half siblings by now,” I said. “But I don’t know their names.”

Sam shifted his weight and turned around to read a poster about giving the Heimlich maneuver.

“All right.” Vera paused and tightened her mouth to think. She was not going to let me off the hook. “How about a roommate or a friend?”

I thought about Sarah from birth class. I had her number on an index card at my apartment. But what could she do? She had two kids and a life.

“No,” I said. “I already signed a form giving the doctor permission to talk with you, if you don’t mind.”

“Oh,” said Vera, eyebrows raised, then smiling. “I don’t mind at all.”

“Okay,” I said, relieved.

Sam cleared his throat and moved to the door. “I should get going,” he said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You will?”

“Yeah,” he said, like that was a given. His EMT training, or maybe he wanted to see me.

Vera kept hold of the metal bar on the side of my bed. “Get some rest,” she said, pulling the blankets up and tucking me in. “I’ll be back in the morning after your procedure, when you’re waking up.” She patted my shoulder.

“Vera,” I said quietly. Sam must have noticed we were having a private conversation, because he walked out the door and into the hallway.

Vera leaned in closer to hear me. “What is it?” she said.

“I think I saw Digger,” I said. “Across the way on the other side of the hospital.”

“Really?” Vera covered her mouth with one hand, and her eyes flashed to the side. The skin on her hand was wrinkled and spotty. “I don’t think so, dear. You’ve had some pain medication.”

“Will you look for him out there?”

“I’ll do my best,” she said. “Now try not to worry.”

Then she did the most outrageous thing: she leaned down and kissed my forehead. Her lips were thin and wispy soft. I couldn’t move because my hand was attached to tubes and needles and all of me was tucked underneath the blankets. She smelled like roses and cinnamon, but too much of it. The scent was so sweet, it stung.

Forty-Six

Digger

MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2002

Night

Deena gave me directions to St. Mary’s hospital. This was the one she’d taken her little boy to when he was sick. She told me to drive faster. I told her to watch for cops. She was in the backseat with the baby. The overhead light was on so she could see the kid’s face. She was giving me updates, which I hadn’t asked for.

“Still clenched up, same color,” she said.