Read Online HAPPILY EVER BEFORE by Aimee Pitta, Melissa Peterman - Free Book Online

knew it wasn’t a still life because her mother made her memorize the difference between a still life and a portrait when she was sixteen. A still life gave the artist more leeway in the arrangement of design elements within a composition. Portraits are often simple headshots and are not very elaborate. Grace found it disturbing that she had enormous amounts of useless information in her head. As she cautiously sat down, she wondered how her mother would classify the stork on her ass; was it a still life or a portrait?
    Clair read the menu. Grace read the menu. Diane tried to read her daughter’s mind, but couldn’t tell if Grace had made a decision yet. However, she kept shifting uncomfortably in her seat, so that had to account for something. She didn’t care what decision Grace made, she just wanted to be ready once the decision had been made. The waitress came over and as the girls placed their orders, Diane thought that maybe Grace’s choice of breakfast food would clue them in to which way she was leaning. She smiled to herself.  She wasn’t sure what she expected--that pancakes meant yes, I’ll be your surrogate and, perhaps, an omelette meant no? Diane decided she had had enough. “What the hell is going on?”
    Grace and Clair were both startled. The waitress sensing some sort of mother-daughter confrontation hurried to place their order. Grace laughed. “Well, you sure scared the shit out of her!”
    “Oh, well I didn’t mean too. Grace what’s going on?”
    “Yeah,” chimed in Clair, “what’s the deal?”
    Grace took a sip of her water and carefully chose her words. “I had another session with NG.” Diane had no idea who her daughter was talking about and looked to Clair for help.
    “Grace calls the psychologist that the surrogacy program referred to her to as the Nubian Goddess, NG for short.”
    Diane clucked her tongue, “to her face?”
    “Why, is it offensive? Should I just call her the goddess?”
    Clair snapped, “Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Grace, just tell us why we’re here.”
    “Hmm, someone got up on the wrong side of the bed.”
    “Grace,” implored Diane in her frustrated mother tone, “stop torturing us.”
    “Okay, okay, the NG had me create a pros and cons list, you know, on the whole being a surrogate for Clair and Henry thing., which wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be, but, well, I have no idea what you expect out of this.”
    Clair wasn’t sure what she meant. “You mean besides a baby?”
    Grace rattled off her concerns. “How is it going to work? Do you expect complete control over my body if the procedure is successful? Obviously, you’ll be paying the medical expenses, but what about maternity clothes? My feet are going to swell, so I’ll need new shoes. What if it doesn’t take the first time; how many times are you willing to try and really, how many times am I willing to try? Do you expect me to pump breast milk, so you can feed the baby or will we let my breasts dry up? What happens if I have to go on bed rest? I am thirty-five, so it could happen and if it does who will live with me, how will I pay my bills, who will do my grocery shopping? And, what if I don’t like your OBGYN, will you find one that I like?”
    Clair looked at her Mother and then grabbed a waiter as he walked by. “I need a Bloody Mary, now!” The waiter hesitated, saw the desperation in Clair’s eyes, and took off.
    Diane called after him, “Make that three. And make them strong.”
     
    After six Bloody Marys and one round of surrogacy roulette, the Higgins’ trio was still figuring out the logistics to baby-gate. Clair was exhausted. “I think the best thing would be for us to let your breasts dry up.”
    Grace tucked into her French toast. “But, breast milk is the best thing for a newborn.”
    “I know, but it would be too hard on you. You’d be pumping milk for a baby that isn’t yours. And, really, the kid is going to be my kid, so I should feed him or