Prologue
“Mariposa Welsh?” The honeyed voice called, causing the bright, twenty-something woman to stand and go to the front desk. She tucked a pink folder of documents under one arm as she slid a long strand of hair behind her ear and then fixed the strap of her bag over her shoulder.
“Hello, that’s me.” She smiled, and the expression radiated an unmistakable wave of kindness. The receptionist smiled back through the glass that separated them.
“Hi there! I just need to check and confirm your identification before you can go through, dear.”
“Of course.” On her other shoulder, Mariposa had her daisy-shaped purse hanging, which she unzipped to pull out a yellow wallet. She slipped out her ID and handed it over for checking.
“I love your earrings,” Mariposa filled the silence after a few seconds of the working woman clicking-clacking away at her computer’s keyboard.
The earrings in question were gold flowers–daisies, if Mariposa had to pinpoint from the shape alone. “Thank you. They were an engagement present.”
Mariposa beamed at the response and leaned her arms down against the countertop. “How long have you been together?”
The receptionist’s hands paused, and she looked up momentarily to meet Mariposa’s gaze. “Dating for three years, engaged for six months.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you, Miss Welsh. You’re all good to go,” Amidst their light conversation, the receptionist had confirmed who she was and then escorted her to find her meeting room.
In the elevator, she returned her wallet to her bag and tried not to laugh out loud at the choice of elevator music, yet couldn’t help the faint giggle that slipped through, silently glad she was on her own to experience it.
Ding.
She stepped out, and down a long hallway were glass offices that already had clients, just like her, sitting in on their consultations. When a familiar head of long red hair greeted her on the other side of the transparent glass, Mariposa knocked and waved.
Her specialist and doctor looked up, pushing the glasses she previously wore back into her hair, the same way one would do a headband, and waving her inside.
“Mariposa, so good to see you again! My, my, you’re glowing. How have you been the past couple of weeks? Have you thought deeper about your decision to become a donor?”
“I have, and I’m still very sure. So I really hope you have good news about my test results?” The two women sat after sharing a warm hug, and Mariposa brought her long waves of hair forward so she wasn’t leaning against them when she relaxed back on the chair.
“I do.” The woman across Mariposa began ruffling through a stack of papers until she found what she was looking for and smiled when she did. “I have a few things to discuss with you, actually. But don’t stress. Today can still go as planned if you wish. I just thought that I should mention it for transparency reasons.”
Mariposa became worried for the first time since she had begun this process, and nodded, rubbing the side of her temple. ”I’m aware of what you signed up for as well as you are and we at Put You First have analysed your tests and deemed you a suitable donor.”
The relief that flooded her chest at the thought of being one step closer to possibly providing a brighter future for somebody else. Of course, she wasn’t the youngest–he’d be thirty in three years, for crying out loud–but this was something she knew she had to take a chance with regardless of all the warnings she had gotten of side effects for her age.
“However,” Mariposa’s heart stopped. “While in the testing phases of your blood work and your profile, you put it together so beautifully that your papers were mistaken for those of a surrogate. I know your parents, obviously, which is why you wrote to me personally, and your mother wrote to me too, giving me all the information that resembled that of a surrogate’s referrals.”
Mariposa tried not to get too lost and follow the conversation. But she was already confused. “Your file made it to a selection for a couple exploring surrogacy, and they fell in love with you at first sight. They were so sure that you would be their carrier, and once it was run through me, I realised what had happened. I’d like to apologise on behalf of the system turnaround. We pride ourselves on the privacy of our clients, and I assure you that this isn’t a regular occurrence. I would also never openly suggest being a surrogate; however, I wanted to ask... Have you explored the differences between surrogacy and egg donation?”
Oh.
Oh…
Now she was following.
“I–um, no. Wow, forgive me, that’s a lot to take in.” Dr Everson smiled apologetically and nodded. “I haven’t. Egg donation was just the first option that was suggested to me when I said I wanted to help somebody start a family.”
“Which is understandable. Like I said, this is an extremely unusual circumstance, and it’s entirely your choice whether you’d like to hear more.”
Surrogacy was how her parents had had her. Mariposa couldn’t believe she hadn’t considered it until this very moment, but maybe her file ending up with that couple was part of the plan she needed to follow all along.
Her parents chose her godmother the same way whoever this couple chose her. As she listened to the kind Doctor who had sat down with her godmother in this exact room over twenty-seven-years ago, go on about requirements, legalities and the overall process plus its benefits of the treatments and the appointments, the idea was warming up to her.
“I understand you have prior experience with pregnancy and delivery; doctors must consider this factor should you carry again, but the choice remains yours, as do the results of your psychiatric testing.”
“I think... that I’d like to explore this option. Can you tell me about the couple?”
Later that day, Mariposa realised she wasn’t sure if the contentment she felt in her chest would ever go away as she entered her shared apartment, sliding her bag and keys onto the round table that stood a few feet from the entrance.
“You haven’t said a thing the entire way home, Posey. Should I be worried?” Her best friend closed the door behind them and, after setting her things down beside Mariposa’s, fetched them a bottle of water each from the kitchen.
Mariposa smiled timidly because she knew it was true and accepted the bottle, twisting it in her hands without ever opening it. “I think I’ve changed my mind.”
“What?” Zoey blurted. “You’re telling me that after sitting, waiting, then leaving and coming back from your appointment—you changed your mind? What happened? Is something wrong?”
“No, Zo, nothing is wrong. In fact, my tests came back with a high success rate had I gone through with the egg donation, but... I think I found another option. I feel more connected to it.”
“What option?” Zoey asked hesitantly, not sure if she wanted to know the answer. After her friend spoke, she couldn’t tell if it was the residual shock from the egg donation or her understanding of the girl that caused her reaction. Or the lack thereof. “You’re going to become a surrogate?”
“Nothing’s confirmed yet. I still have to find out if I meet all the qualifications. Before that, I want to speak to my family before deciding if it’s really what I want to do.”
“Mariposa.” Zoey decided she was used to her spontaneous friend, but this was just... “You’re talking about getting pregnant for somebody else and giving the baby away.”
“It wouldn’t be my baby to begin with.” Mariposa reasoned, pulling all of her hair forward and running her fingers through it, which was something she did when she was gearing up to explain herself.
Usually, it went this way when she decided she needed another hobby to add to her existing list.
“You need to take a few days to really think about this,” Zoey cut her off before she could even begin.
“I know. I am.”
“I’m serious, Posey. This is a commitment.”
“So was the egg donation—”
“This time you’d be growing a human inside you. For nine months. Or more.”
“I know.”
“You know I’ll support whatever your decision ends up being. Talk to your parents as soon as possible and tell them the new plan.”
“I will, I promise. Later. I’m gonna go take a nap first, I’m so tired.”
“Gosh, I can already imagine how you’ll sound pregnant.”
The two friends laughed, and then Mariposa stood and went down the hall to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her.
As a person, Mariposa was admittedly spontaneous and adventurous all in one, but she was also smart. A known thing was that if she set her mind on something, good reasons usually outweighed the crazy, even if that wasn’t how it initially appeared.
Going to her makeup vanity, she sat on the stool and pulled forward her antique jewellery box, opening it to reveal a stack of printed photos.
As she sifted through them, she smiled at the three people in the pictures. Two women and a man. In most of the pictures, the woman in the middle was visibly very pregnant and competing with the other woman in wearing the biggest smile.
The woman who carried and gave birth to her in order to give her parents the opportunity to raise their own child. The woman became so important to her family that she became Mariposa’s godmother the moment she was born into this world.
What if Mariposa could have that? She could admit that she wouldn’t be ready to have a baby of her own at the moment, not when she was on her own and working through... stuff. Carrying one for somebody else was different, though. That was something she could do, and the gift to offer somebody else at the end just appealed to the idea even more.
Staying true to her word, Mariposa shut the box and got some sleep, preparing herself to speak to her parents and godfather about her sudden change in decision.
A four-hour nap and a short drive to her childhood home later, Mariposa had just finished telling her parents and godfather about her appointment with Dr Everson earlier that day.
It went just as she’d expected. Lots of concern, just as Zoey had shown.
“And you’re sure?” Mariposa’s mother asked for the umpteenth time that evening, gazing down at her adult daughter who sat on the floor by her father’s legs, knitting.
One of the many hobbies she’d taken up over the years.
“Mhm,” She hummed.
“Mariposa, look at me.” Her teddy bear-like eyes lifted to the blue ones of the woman who raised her and she stared at her head-on, trying to figure out if she would argue while the woman in question did the same to find out how serious she was. “Calla would be proud, my love. And if you’re sure, then we support you.”
Mariposa’s signature grin lit up her face. Deep smile lines traced her cheeks and around her eyes, which were unrealistically sparkly, particularly when she was happy or feeling playful—occasionally when she was guilty about something.
Mariposa was like no other. The innocence she had was one of a kind.
“I’ll be with you every step of the way. Just like I was for your godmother.” Her godfather, Ian, spoke up for the first time; his brown hair streaked with salt from age, but his eyes held the very warmth she remembered from being younger. A warmth she hadn’t seen in the past couple of weeks since the funeral, and yet it had returned for her.
“Thanks, Uncle Ian.”
He winked in response, and she let a smile broaden on her face.
“Okay, Miracle. Let’s discuss legalities.” Her father stood and went to get his laptop, ready to take on the more serious side of the situation as the family lawyer. Mariposa was glad to have him so close to her, especially when she was told she’d need to keep her lawyer close by throughout the surrogacy process.
When he returned, he got right into breaking down the forms. Mariposa nodded as her father spoke. He scanned the papers she brought home while she focused on her handiwork, weaving the multicoloured wool through the needles.
Whenever she was home, her family never failed to make her feel like a child again. It was a luxury she hoped she’d never have to part with. She’d been through a few unfortunate events over the years, but whenever she felt herself getting dragged down by the darkness, all she’d do was return to her parents’ doorstep and accept hugs and good vibes.
She didn’t need to ask for their permission at the suggestion of surrogacy, but they’d gone through every single thing together thus far, and that wasn’t something she ever saw changing.
