Harper had met almost everyone (and their significant others), except the newest receptionist.
‘This is Annika,’ Samuel told her.
One look at this woman told Harper she was the one responsible for the CrossFit obsession sweeping through the firm.
‘Can we get you a drink, Harper?’ asked Elizabeth Carter, one of the partners’ wives as she looked around for a waitperson.
Within seconds a boy who looked barely legal appeared wearing the standard black and white uniform of restaurant wait staff.
‘I’ll have a soda water, thanks,’ Harper said.
‘Can I grab another soda and lime?’ Annika lifted her empty glass, confirming Harper’s CrossFit suspicion. You didn’t get a body like that without treating it like a temple.
‘Don’t tell me you’ve joined this ridiculous cult as well.’ Tracey Slater, the other partner’s wife, tutted. She took a large gulp of her red wine.
Harper opened her mouth to say ‘yes’ as that would be the easiest explanation, but Elizabeth got in first.
‘Oh my goodness! Are you pregnant?’
The chatter in the room died instantly as all eyes snapped to her and Samuel. Her stomach tightened.
Samuel snorted loudly. ‘You know our stance on babies.’
Harper cringed. Of course they did. Everyone who knew them knew ‘their’ stance on babies—how due to climate change, world poverty, war, famine, blah, blah, blah, it wasn’t smart to bring more babies into the world—but it embarrassed her when he went on about it in front of people who already had children, like many of the people at this party. She’d called him out on this once and he’d retorted with, ‘Well, why shouldn’t we make them question their decision? They sure as hell try to make us question ours.’
And although he might have a point, it still made for awkward social situations, but tonight he surprised her.
‘Harper’s abstaining from alcohol because she’s in the process of donating her eggs to a childless couple. You should see how brave she is, injecting herself every morning.’
The pride that shone from his voice was new—so far he’d given no indication that he admired her for what she was doing. Aside from a few condescending remarks, he’d shown so little interest that she’d hardly told him anything about Jasper and Claire.
Was he simply using her situation to make himself look good in front of the partners?
Whatever Samuel’s reason, she couldn’t help feeling a little pissed off that he’d made this public announcement. She hadn’t wanted anyone except her close friends knowing. Although she wasn’t exactly Kardashian famous, as a public figure she preferred to keep her private life just that. And there was also Claire and Jasper’s privacy to consider.
‘Wow, Harper, do you know the couple you’re doing this for?’ asked one of the paralegals.
‘Um … no.’ She bit down on her annoyance. ‘Well, I didn’t when I first set out but we’ve kind of become friends now.’
Everyone had something to say about this. The overall consensus was that donating her eggs made her some kind of angel and although this sentiment made Harper uncomfortable, it was preferable to the alternative.
‘I could never do something like that,’ Annika exclaimed, swishing her soda and lime around in her glass.
Nobody asked you to. Harper gritted her teeth and forced a smile.
But the worst came from one of the female solicitors, who’d recently returned from maternity leave. Isobel had twins and her husband was a stay-at-home dad. ‘How can you give away your babies like that?’ she spat, the expression on her face saying she could barely even stand to look at Harper.
‘They’re not babies. They’re not even embryos. They’re just eggs,’ Elizabeth said in her defence. ‘I think it’s a very noble thing to do. Infertility can be heartbreaking and I think what you’re doing is a priceless gift. Well done.’
Elizabeth raised her glass in a toast and no more was said in opposition; no one dared voice a contrary opinion to one of the partners’ wives.
Uncomfortable with all the eyes on her, Harper whispered her thanks, then took a sip of her soda, wishing it was alcoholic.
Thankfully, two wait staff entered the room with trays of bite-sized nibbles, the circles broke into smaller clusters and the focus of conversation changed from Samuel’s announcement. Harper stood on the edge of her group, smiling and making occasional comments as she listened to Annika harp on about the virtues of CrossFit. A couple of the younger male lawyers seemed very eager—and on more than one occasion Harper caught their eyes drifting down to the high split in the young woman’s skirt.
Nearby, Isobel and some of the other women were loudly lamenting the difficulties of getting their children into the best kindergartens.
When everyone had eaten their fill of hors d’oeuvres, they migrated to the two long tables dressed in stylish gold and silver cloths. Stanley Carter sat in top spot at the end of one table and the other partner, Rodger Slater, sat on the other. As the meals—salmon or rare beef depending on where you were sitting—were distributed, the two men stood and tapped their spoons against their wine glasses in unison. Everyone looked up as they began an obviously prepared speech, alternating sentences between them. Although they praised all their employees, there was no mention of a possible new partner and Harper had to wonder if they were simply stringing their juniors along.
Once the speech was over, Christmas cards were passed around and Harper knew from experience they’d contain a rather nice bonus cheque. As everyone got progressively more drunk, their voices rose as the lawyers tried to out-perform each other in front of the bosses. Once again Harper found herself glancing longingly at her glass. Samuel’s colleagues were bearable with the assistance of alcohol but stone-cold sober she found them utter self-obsessed bores.
Dessert was the only highlight of the evening. And although she’d been so good this past month, steering clear of high-sugar items, she scoffed the decadent chocolate lava cake as if it were the last meal she’d ever have. And when Samuel finally said they should make a move, she couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
They flagged a taxi and as the driver weaved through the city streets on the way to their place, Samuel snuggled against Harper in the back seat.
‘You’re the best wife ever,’ he all but purred. ‘You don’t need CrossFit. Coco Pops are obviously working for you.’
She forced a laugh as he put his hand suggestively on her thigh, but inside she was still seething and confused over the way he’d spoken about her egg donation. If it weren’t for the taxi driver, she would say something.
Samuel, seemingly oblivious to her irritation, leant in for a kiss and moved his hand a little higher. Despite her mood and the fact she hadn’t had a drop to drink all night, her traitorous body reacted predictably at his touch. It had never been able to resist him.
By the time they arrived at the house, they were ready to rip off each other’s clothes. Harper thrust a fifty dollar note at their driver and told him to keep the change. Samuel fumbled with his key to open their door. And before he’d kicked it shut behind them, he had her slammed up against it and his hands under her dress.
She moaned as their mouths found each other again and his fingers slipped inside her knickers. After years together, he knew exactly what to do to bring her to the edge. She palmed her hands against the door, crying out as her first orgasm rolled over her. Meanwhile Samuel shoved down his trousers and freed himself.
He was about to enter her when alarm bells blared inside her head and she all but shoved him off her.
‘What the hell?’ Samuel stumbled back and caught his naked butt on the edge of the hall table.
‘Condom!’ she spluttered.
‘What? You are kidding, right?’ He straightened and rubbed his butt.
‘I’m so damn fertile that if we had unprotected sex right now we’d probably have triplets.’
A look of horror flashed across Samuel’s face and
his erection wilted right before her eyes.
‘I’m sorry.’ She smiled apologetically. ‘But it won’t be for long.’
‘Oh for fuck’s sake.’ He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
‘Excuse me?’ Harper blinked at his harsh tone and coarse words, her arousal diminishing by the second. ‘You sounded proud of what I was doing tonight when you told everyone at the party. Or was that all just for show?’
For a moment he looked slightly chastised. ‘I am proud of you, it’s just …’ He sighed. ‘Do we even have any condoms?’
As it happened, she had bought a packet of protection, but ... ‘We don’t have to have sex, you know,’ she snapped as she tugged her dress down and straightened the skirt.
‘See?’ He threw his hands up in the air. ‘This is exactly what I was worried about when you decided to do this thing. I knew it would come between us.’
‘It doesn’t have to come between us,’ she scoffed. ‘You just need to stop acting like a spoilt brat and think about someone besides yourself for once.’
He recoiled as if she’d shoved him again and she felt a flicker of guilt at the hurt in his eyes, but she’d lost all desire for intimacy with him right now. ‘Fine,’ he said, yanking up his trousers. ‘If that’s the way you feel, I guess I’ll see you in the morning.’
And with that, he stormed into the lounge room and slammed the door behind him.
Harper resisted the impulse to go after him. She wasn’t the one who’d ruined their ‘moment’. Was it too much to ask for a bit of support from her husband?
Yet, as she climbed the stairs and crawled into their king-size bed, which felt ridiculously huge without him, that gnawing feeling of guilt ate at her insides and she began to wonder if she’d done the right thing making the decision to donate her eggs. Perhaps it was an extreme thing to do in the name of trying to make her life more meaningful? But she hadn’t felt so good about herself in months. And besides, it was too late to back out now.
Chapter Fourteen
It was the morning of egg retrieval and all through Polly and Scotty’s house not a creature was stirring, except Claire who, unable to sleep, had decided to cook pancakes for everyone. She tried to keep the noise down as she searched in the cupboards for the ingredients and cooking utensils, but before long Polly appeared carrying their youngest on her hip.
‘Do you always rise and shine this early?’ her friend asked as she dumped the baby in the high chair.
‘Only on very, very special days.’
Beaming, Polly threw her arms around Claire and they jumped up and down together like two schoolgirls. ‘I’m so excited for you. I can’t believe this is actually happening.’
‘I know. Neither can I.’ Claire clung to her friend as tears sprouted in her eyes. She’d promised Jasper she wouldn’t get too emotional today, and here she was falling at the first hurdle. But she didn’t care—nothing could dampen her mood.
The baby started grizzling and Polly pulled back. ‘You’d better get used to early mornings anyway. Once you have a kid, you no longer have any control over your own sleep.’
As if to prove her point, Scotty entered at that moment—his bright red hair stuck up messily on his head and a toddler clinging to each leg. ‘I can’t believe it’s morning already,’ he grumbled.
‘You making cakes, Aunty C?’ asked three year old Daisy. She looked a hundred times more awake than her father. ‘I love cakes.’
‘I’m making pancakes, yes. Do you want to help?’
Claire realised the stupidity of her question when Daisy and her two year old brother, Jake, both wanted to assist. She had a lot to learn about parenting, but then motherhood had been thrust upon Polly and she’d taken to it like a duck to water. Claire couldn’t wait for all the lessons their baby would teach them.
The pancakes took a little longer than they usually would due to her enthusiastic assistants, but by the time the table was set and the pancakes piled high on a plate in the middle, Polly’s other son, Bobby, and daughter, Loretta, had also appeared.
‘I’d better go wake Jasper,’ Claire said as the ravenous kids all but dived upon the pancakes.
‘I don’t know how he’s managed to sleep through all this noise,’ Scotty said, nursing his second coffee in less than half an hour.
Claire didn’t know how Jasper had managed to sleep full stop, but as he was usually an early riser for work, he took the chance to laze in bed whenever he could. When she opened the door to their room and flicked on the light, Jasper groaned and pulled the sheets up over his head.
She crossed the room and plopped down on the bed, laughing. ‘Wake up, sleepyhead. Today is the first day of the rest of our lives.’
In a few hours Harper’s eggs would be inseminated with Jasper’s sperm and within days they’d hopefully have embryos ready for implantation. The thought made her giddy.
‘How long have you been awake?’ Jasper asked.
‘Long enough to make pancakes.’
‘Did someone say pancakes?’ He grabbed her into a hug and she laughed as he pulled her down beside him. ‘That must be why you smell so delicious.’
As he kissed the side of her neck, something fizzed inside of her and her body melted against his. Oh how she’d love to throw her leg over him and have her wicked way, but that was against the rules. In order to ensure Jasper had the highest possible sperm count for the procedure, they’d abstained from sex for the past week. They hadn’t been celibate for this long since they’d met and Jasper had complained about having blue balls more than once, but it was for a good cause. The very best cause.
With this thought, she pressed a quick kiss against his lips and then escaped his embrace.
He groaned again, but then threw the covers off and climbed out of bed. He pulled jeans on over the top of his boxers and she tossed him a t-shirt, which he yanked on before following her out of the room.
As noise from the kitchen wafted down the hallway, Jasper grabbed Claire’s hand and swung her round to look at him. ‘Hear that?’ he said, his eyes wide in faux-horror. ‘Are you sure you want that kind of chaos in our lives? It’s not too late to back out.’
She whacked him playfully and dragged him after her. ‘That is exactly the kind of chaos I want for us. Now let’s get this show on the road.’
Although she’d made breakfast for everyone else, Claire couldn’t eat a bite, so she snuck off to shower while the others were still busy in the kitchen. Then she and Jasper helped Polly and Scotty ready their tribe for delivery to their various day care centres and schools, which helped kill the time until they could head off to their early appointment.
‘Thank God they booked us in first thing,’ she said to Jasper as they arrived at the fertility clinic. ‘Having to wait till the afternoon would have been unbearable.’
As they climbed out of their car, a sleek black Audi turned into the car park and moments later Harper emerged carrying a small overnight bag. They waved and Claire tried to get a look at the driver—was it Samuel, her elusive husband?—but whoever it was left in a hurry.
‘Hi guys. Excited?’ Harper asked as she approached.
‘That is an understatement,’ Jasper said, leaning forward to kiss her on the cheek. ‘Claire was worse than a kid at Christmas this morning.’
Harper laughed as she and Claire exchanged hugs. ‘I was the same. I hope we get a good egg haul.’
She sounded nervous and Claire tried to put her at ease as they walked towards the building. ‘Dr Ballantine’s nurse told me he felt very positive after your scan yesterday. It’ll be fine.’
She silently prayed this was the truth, although realistically she knew that the majority of couples didn’t hit the jackpot first time.
They registered their arrival at the reception desk and then sat down to wait until Harper’s name was called. Dr Ballantine had explained to them that Harper would be taken into surgery for the retrieval and while she was under general anaesthetic, Jasper would
be given a private room to do his thing.
After what felt like days rather than minutes, a woman wearing green scrubs appeared. ‘Harper Drummond?’ she called into the waiting room.
‘Oh my God, that’s you.’ Claire felt as if she could burst into tears.
‘It is.’ Harper smiled, leant down to collect her bag off the floor and then stood gracefully.
Claire and Jasper stood as well and each gave her a quick hug. ‘Good luck,’ they said in unison, holding hands as the woman who had the power to change their world walked off to be readied for surgery.
Time dragged. People came and left the waiting room. Claire and Jasper tried to pass the time by road-testing baby names.
After making a mental list of possible boys’ names—James, Cameron and William were the highest contenders—Jasper said, ‘If it’s a girl, it has to begin with a C. We can’t break my family tradition.’
‘Yes, we can—all the good ones are taken now anyway. If it’s a girl, I like Anaya.’ She’d read it in a baby name book she’d found in Polly’s bookshelf early that morning.
‘Anaya? Is that even a name?’
She laughed. ‘Yes. It means “God answered”. Isn’t that perfect for us?’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘I didn’t think you were religious. And anyway, I thought you’d want a flower name like Clover or Camellia.’
Before she could reply, another nurse appeared and called Jasper’s name.
Claire sprang off her seat and grabbed his hand. ‘Come on, you’re up.’
After introducing herself and giving them a few instructions, the woman led them into a small, sparsely furnished room. The floor was vinyl and the air smelt of disinfectant. There was one plastic chair in the room and a pile of dirty magazines on a small table beside it. Claire didn’t know what she’d been expecting exactly but she’d hoped for somewhere a little more atmospheric. They’d had a choice between ‘producing the specimen’ here or at home, and she and Jasper had thought this would be preferable to doing it at Polly and Scotty’s place with a house full of kids.
The Greatest Gift Page 14
