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Back The Surrogate
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

“Well, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, dear,” said Vera, explaining that while she’d been home, a man, whom she’d described as an “unpleasant goon,” had rung her doorbell. And when she opened the door, apparently, he’d shoved a thick manila envelope into her hands. It was addressed to me. “He snarled at me,” said Vera, imitating his deep voice, “‘Tell Caroline Ruby Scott she’s been served,’ and he walked away.”

I opened the envelope and it was legal papers. I’d seen things like that on TV; I was being sued by Hal and Ruth. The top of the first page said:

SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT

State of Minnesota

In Re: Baby Girl Olson

Harold Olson and Ruth Olson v. Caroline Ruby Scott

I skimmed the first few pages. Breach of contract. Child endangerment. They wanted their money back. “What am I gonna do?” I said.

“Call your lawyer,” said Sam.

Vera took the lawsuit papers away. “All in due time,” she said. “Don’t fret about it, just focus on resting.” She stashed the papers in her purse, but they were hard to forget about.

Sam suggested I try eating some of the food on the tray that the lunch guy had delivered. I took a few bites of cottage cheese and green Jell-O. Drank a few sips of milk. Vera asked Sam to tell us some stories, trying to change the subject and lighten the mood. “What should I tell you?” he said.

“Tell us about being a bartender,” said Vera. “You must see a lot of different things.”

Sam smiled slyly and nodded. He must have had tons to choose from. He started with funny things said by customers, pickup lines. The code language for drink orders. Pranks on the manager. Soon I was feeling stronger and clearheaded. Sam took me and my IV pole for a walk down the hallway. He told me not to leave the hospital before they discharged me. He had medical knowledge. And he seemed to care.

Back in my room, I called my voicemail. Legal Aid had found a lawyer for me who would work for free. Nothing from the police department. I called the volunteer lawyer back. I told him everything. I gave him Deena’s address. I told him about the double pregnancy. And the chance that the baby was Digger’s. About the need for a court order and a birth certificate. About the surrogacy agreement and what I had done. And I told him about the lawsuit.