Signs of Life Read Online Free Page A

tracing his finger over the face of the smiling dark-haired woman. “And she’s a military wife, so she’s resilient and strong.”
    They selected three of the women for a face-to-face meeting, and while all of them were perfectly nice, one of them focused almost solely on the fees she would be receiving while another was so painfully shy it was hard to get two words from her. Leticia was warm and welcoming from the minute they met, asking them questions about themselves, showing genuine interest in their lives. She truly was in it to help them achieve their dream of fatherhood, and in the end it wasn’t a hard decision at all.
    Next came psychological evaluations for all of them, several different physical exams for Leticia, sperm count and motility tests for him and Brent. With the all clear given on those, the negotiations started, and finally a contract acceptable to all parties was entered into. After that there was another round of profiles and questionnaires as they looked for an egg donor, finally settling on a young college girl with an impeccable health and family history. She was fresh faced and pretty, and Brent liked her smile.
    Everything was finally in place, but first Leticia had to undergo a so-called mock cycle, where she took the IVF fertility drugs to see how she responded to them. She responded beautifully, her uterine lining thick and perfect, ready to accept an embryo.
    He and Brent had given their sperm samples and then waited tensely to see if any of the donor eggs fertilized. They wanted embryos created from both of their sperm, and to have several of each transferred into Leticia for the best chance of success. Neither Brent nor Jeremy wanted to know whom the “real” father was. They were both going to be a father to the baby and it didn’t matter whose genetic material it was.
    Leticia’s medicated cycle once again resulted in a thick, fluffy uterine lining, so the embryo transfer was scheduled within days. It went smoothly, and finally all that was left to do was wait the required two weeks to see if a pregnancy resulted. That first time there was heartbreak when Leticia’s blood test came back negative. Jeremy and Brent had viable embryos left, so after Leticia’s next natural cycle, they started all over again.
    Another round of IVF, another tense two-week wait, and then another tearful phone call from Leticia, but this time they were tears of happiness; she was pregnant. He and Brent went to every doctor’s appointment, every ultrasound, were there every step of the way. Leticia and her husband Keith always made them feel welcome, but they tried not to be intrusive on Leticia’s personal life. Leticia texted them every couple of days with updates on how she was feeling and kept them in the loop. Finally the time came where they felt comfortable enough to shop for nursery items, and they picked out a name: Zachary Evan.
    Jeremy leaned his forehead on the steering wheel and took deep breaths as fresh grief ripped through him in powerful waves. Brent would never get to hold this baby he wanted so much, would never get to be the wonderful father Jeremy knew he would have been. No more fucking crying , he told himself firmly. Brent wouldn’t want that, and he needed to be strong for their son.
    He climbed slowly out of his sleek and expensive sports car, reflecting that he needed to get a new vehicle soon, something more suitable for driving a baby around. Brent had teased him about getting a minivan, cracking up at Jeremy’s shouted “Never!” and reiterating all the safety features in the newest-model vans. If only Brent’s car had had side airbags—
    Jeremy pushed those thoughts away, knowing he could “what-if” for the rest of his life and it wouldn’t change anything. He felt like an old man as he made his way up the well-kept front walkway to Leticia’s door, ringing the doorbell and waiting, wondering how Leticia would react to seeing him. He knew she and Keith were