The Old Fashioned Way
"Craig... have you ever thought about having children?" Brain asked his husband as they sat on their couch watching TV one Friday evening. Brian was an extremely successful and well-paid Ad Executive, while Craig had his own clothing line. They lived in a nice apartment in New York city, and never had to worry about being able to pay their bills at the end of the month. By some standards they were living the good life. But there was something missing. Something that they both knew would make their little family complete.
"Of course I have." Craig smiled as he leaned back into his husband's embrace. "Hell, when we were in high school I decided what our first son's name would be." He admitted which made Brian grin.
"And what did you pick?"
"Toronto." Craig said simply, which made Brian laugh out loud as he remembered the night the two of them snuck off to see a punk rock band, called New Found Glory, in Toronto for the weekend. It was a lot of fun until they came back home and they had both been grounded by their parents for two weeks.
"Nice name." Brian really loved that Craig still thought about those things. That he had known even in high school that they would still be together. But that begged the question... "So why have we never talked about them before? You know, us having kids?"
Craig turned around to look at his husband, while reaching for the remote to turn the television off. "Probably because we've both been too busy wrapped up in our careers." He said slowly. "Is that something you want to talk about? The idea of us having kids?"
"I don't know. Maybe." Brian had always wanted children in his life but he just wasn't sure how they'd fit in. Craig was in the office from dawn until dusk most days, even longer when Fashion week was a few weeks away. Brian flew off to meet clients and deal with his ad campaigns at least one weekend a month. Kids would be hard to fit into their hectic schedule, even though he really did want to be able to figure out a way.
"Well... we can talk about it now." Craig said, hoping it might bring them around to perhaps actually having one. "If... we were to have kids. What would you want to do? Surrogacy or adoption?"
"Well it seems cruel to bring another person into this world when there are so many out there that want and need a loving home... but at the same time." Brian's voice trailed off, wistfully. He'd always wanted a child of his own, one that was biologically his. He had resigned himself to giving up on that dream when he was in college.
"I've always dreamed about a small half-Greek child running around with a head full of black curly hair... just like his father." Craig, who himself was a natural blond, admitted softly, and Brian's eyes widened.
"What? You'd want me to father a child biologically?" Brian asked, and Craig nodded.
"I love you Brian... nothing would make me happier than to raise a child with you that has your looks and charm."
After another hour or two of discussing their options, and then a round of 'If we're gonna have a baby, we might as well get in all the sex we can' sex, they finally fell asleep together. Curled up into each other as they both dreamed of what the next day would bring them, and hoping that it might possibly bring them a baby.
They usually spent their evenings at home alone. Because of their careers, whenever they had a night when they weren't both busy doing something work-related, they wanted to spend it together. But every Saturday, unless there was a work-obligation such as a fashion shoot, or a business trip, they'd spend the evening with their best friends: Emma and Trish, a lesbian couple who lived close by, and had become their best friends.
The two women had gotten married about a year after Craig and Brian did with each of them stepping in as their "Best Men" It was an intimate and private ceremony - only close family and friends were in attendance as opposed to the large lavish affair that Craig and Brian had put on. Emma's Abuella had even come around a little bit. She wasn't so happy that her Latino granddaughter being so open about her relationship and love she had for her blonde haired, blue eyed lesbian lover, Trish, but she had been talked into attending by Emma's mother and father, and everyone was glad that she had.
Because when she saw how much love there was between the two young women, she quickly changed her tune and accepted their union. Trish wasn't a very bright young lady, but what she lacked in brains, she made up for with her big heart and beautiful features. She was very easy for anyone to fall in love with.
The two couples loved each other, without a doubt in the world. But they also knew that leaving Emma and Craig in the same room for too long would always lead to shouting, insults and a crying Trish. So they kept their distance throughout the week, unless there was a reason the two of them should be together alone. This Saturday night, it was Craig and Brian's turn to host as the ladies came over to their house for dinner.
Things had been going great for the first half of dinner, but Brian's excitement over the prospect of becoming a father won out over his self-restraint and he blurted out that they were searching for a surrogate right as Emma was taking a sip of her wine, which caused her to choke and spit it out, snuffing the lit candles adorning the table; which was a good thing because in her excitement at hearing this news, Trish knocked both the candles over onto the table in a clumsy attempt to give Craig and Brian a hug. "I'm so happy for you two!" She launched herself at them.
Emma was dumbstruck. "You two are having a baby?" She said after she got her coughing under control.
"Yes we are. We both want a child and we've figured now that we're both in an ideal place with our careers that its time." Brian said happily, Craig rolled his eyes at his husband. He wanted to keep it a secret for a little while, at least until they had found a surrogate, but Brian-the-Blurter couldn't contain his excitement.
"We just need to find a surrogate to carry the baby for us." Craig told them and then Trish said something that shocked every other person in the room.
"I'll do it!" She announced. "Let me be your baby baker." Emma unfortunately had just taken another sip of her wine and started choking again. Brian's eyes were alight with joy and happiness, while Craig began immediately trying to figure out a way of politely declining Trish's offer.
"Uhh, Trish. Don't you think we should discuss this first?" Emma said her voice rough from all the coughing she'd been doing the past few minutes. Trish just shrugged her shoulders.
"It'd be their baby Emma. After nine months, our lives would go back to the way they are now." Emma shook her head.
"It doesn't matter; we still need to discuss it..." Emma couldn't believe what her wife was suggesting. It's not like it never occurred to her that Trish would want to surrogate for Craig's child. Those two were incredibly close, and if weren't for their opposing sexualities, Brian and Emma might have been worried that they were too close, but as it was, they felt safe.
"Trish, we can't ask you to do something like this..." Craig said, not wanting Trish or Emma to feel that he was endorsing this in any way.
"Why not, Craig?" Brian asked, which caused Emma and Craig to stare at him as if he had grown a second head. "If Trish wants to do this for us... why can't we let her?"
"Because it's not something you just offer up to your friends without talking to your wife about it first." Emma hissed and Craig nodded in agreement.
"Not to mention that we haven't even decided what type of surrogate we wanted..." Craig loved Trish fiercely, he really did. He loved that she was able to go through life without seeing the horrors that life had thrown their way. He loved her imagination and her ability to be optimistic about any situation, but he wasn't. This was a big decision, and not one they could make so hastily. Yes he and Brian wanted a child, but Trish was also his friend. His best friend, and he cared about her too, and both pregnancy and surrogacy, were huge decisions that shouldn't be rushed into.
"Why would we want anyone besides Trish?" Brian asked, flabbergasted. "Trish is one of our best friends. She's willing to do this for us. It's better than having to pay some rando to carry our child... someone we don't know and can't trust like we do with her." Brian reasoned and Trish nodded.
"Plus this may be the only chance I have, to have a baby." Trish said softly. "I want to do this for you." She said, not looking at Emma as she did so. Emma looked at her wife, hurt tinged all over her face.
"What do you mean this may be your only chance?" Emma asked. They hadn't actually talked about children... and she wasn't completely opposed to the idea of the two of them having children in the future, but she certainly didn't want to have them right now.
"Well we've never talked about kids... I thought you didn't want them." Trish said, softly.
"Just cause I haven't mentioned wanting kids... doesn't mean I don't want them, Trish." Emma said softly. "But we're nowhere near ready for them." She argued. They didn't have as lavish of careers as Brian and Craig did, and sometimes they still had trouble paying rent at the end of the month.
"Maybe we should table this until you two have had a chance to talk..." Craig suggested, not liking the feeling that he's intruding in his own home.
"No. I want to do this." Trish was stubborn, and she didn't want to take back her offer, just because Emma was upset by it. "You two want a baby, and I want to give you one." She said and the two men sighed while Emma shook her head, dismayed.
"This is ridiculous. So you're just going to get knocked up by Baby Face, here," using the nickname Emma often used to tease Craig, "no matter what my opinion on the matter is?" Emma said incredulously. She couldn't believe that her wife was making a decision like this without her input.
"Brian's going to be the father." Craig interjected, but Emma and Trish barely noticed Craig's correction.
Trish nodded. "Yes. Craig and Brian have done a lot for us over the years. This is my chance to repay them." She said adamantly.
It was true, Craig and Brian had helped their friends out financially a number of times. Emma hated the fact that she and Trish couldn't always provide for themselves and occasionally had to rely on their friends to bail them out in tough times.
Refusing to give up her case, Emma said, "Trish... you realize this wouldn't be your baby right? It'd be theirs. You wouldn't be raising it." She said, trying to get her wife to see reason, trying to get her to understand why she wasn't okay with the whole situation.
"Yea, I wouldn't be its mother. I'd be Aunt Trish. Just like you'd be Aunt Emma. They'd do all the hard stuff, and we'd get to spoil the kid to death... where's the downside?" Trish said and Emma gave her a small smile.
"I just don't want you getting hurt once the baby is born and you can't take it home..." She said, knowing how depressed Trish could get when she didn't get her way.
