The Surrogate

by Judith Henry Wall

  Yes, the pictures were definitely of a much younger Mary Millicent. Such a striking woman she had been-more stately and commanding than her daughter. She and her husband had been a handsome couple-like a duke and duchess.

  She stopped in front of the picture of Mary Millicent in a pony cart with her two young children. Amanda was sitting on her mother’s lap with Gus beside them.

  Not your usual family, Jamie thought as she studied picture after picture. Not with an oil baron, a politician who almost became president, and three generations of evangelists.

  After viewing the pictures for several minutes, she realized she was not alone. She turned around, and there was Amanda Hartmann herself watching her from across the large room. She was sitting on a cushioned window seat, a stack of file folders in her lap. “Good morning, Jamie,” she said. “You’re looking well.”

  “I didn’t realize you were here at the ranch,” Jamie said as she tentatively crossed the room.

  “I have some things to take care of here, including a baptism and a wedding,” Amanda said with a welcoming smile. “And three of the Alliance board members are coming in tomorrow for a couple of days of hunting. Freda tells me that you’re progressing nicely with the pregnancy.”

  Jamie nodded. “Apparently all is well.”

  Amanda was simply dressed in jeans and a white cotton shirt. Her shining blond hair was pulled back into a smooth ponytail. She wondered if Amanda would see her mother while she was here. And if she and her brother really had banished Mary Millicent to the tower.

  Amanda put aside the stack of files and reached for Jamie’s hand. “Come sit by me, Jamie dear.”

  Once she was settled beside Amanda, Jamie asked, “Is your husband here with you?”

  “Oh, yes,” Amanda said with a brilliant smile. “Toby and I are seldom apart. He’s out swimming laps now. He wanted me to join him-he’s not only my husband, he’s my personal trainer-but the sun is bad for my skin, and I prefer to swim after the sun goes down. It’s more romantic then, anyway,” she said and actually blushed. “Oh, my,” she said, putting her hands on her red cheeks. “You’d think I was a schoolgirl. Tell me, Jamie, have you ever been in love?”

  “Not really,” Jamie said, but then to her surprise she began telling Amanda about Joe Brammer, who came to Mesquite to visit his grandparents and had never been her boyfriend but had been very nice to her. She paused, thinking she would explain that she was a lot younger than he was and that he had fallen in love with someone else. But she changed her mind and said instead, “I probably need to let you get back to your work.”

  “Oh, I am always behind with my correspondence, it seems,” Amanda said with a wave of her hand. “Each of our donors deserves some sort of personalized response, but a few more minutes won’t matter,” she said.

  “I guess it’s too early for you to show,” Amanda continued, patting Jamie’s tummy. “You look very trim. You’re not dieting or anything like that, are you?”

  Jamie shook her head. “I lost weight while I was so nauseated, but I’ve gained all that back and more. I can’t button my jeans. I guess I’ll need to get some stretchy clothes.”

  “I’ll see to that,” Amanda said. “I was very worried about you while you were so sick and so very grateful that you had Montgomery and Freda to look after you.”

  “Yes, they were diligent.”

  “You walk a lot, I understand,” Amanda said. “And swim laps.”

  “I was swimming daily before I got sick, but now I mostly take my dog on long walks twice a day. We both enjoy it. And I’ve taken up bird watching.”

  “That’s nice,” Amanda said, stroking Jamie’s cheek. “I had forgotten what a pretty girl you are. You remind me of a young Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music.”

  Jamie liked the way Amanda smiled, liked the way she leaned forward as she listened, as though the words coming out of Jamie’s mouth were very important to her. And she liked the warmth of Amanda’s touch. She found herself wanting the woman to approve of her, to like her.

  “I understand that you’re pregnant, too,” Jamie said.

  Amanda’s smile faded. “Freda never should have told you that.”

  “You mean, it’s not true?”

  “I’m…” Amanda began then paused. “I am much too old for childbearing and having some problems, so I prefer that no one know anything about my condition just now. You know, just in case…” Her voice trailed off and her eyes were downcast.

  “I hope everything works out all right,” Jamie said.

  “Montgomery tells me that you were worried that I wouldn’t want the baby you’re carrying if I had one of my own. You must put such a silly notion out of your head, Jamie. My husband and I are thrilled about both pregnancies-the one we planned so carefully and the one that caught us totally by surprise. Now, tell me, my dear, other than maternity clothes, is there anything you need?”

  “I’d like to borrow binoculars for my bird watching if there’s a pair available.”

  “I’ll see that you get a pair,” Amanda said. “Are your accommodations satisfactory?”

  “Yes, I am quite comfortable.”

  “Now, you would tell me if there was anything bothering you, wouldn’t you?”

  Jamie nodded again, this time feeling a bit dishonest. Lots of things were bothering her. She was none too fond of Miss Montgomery, and she was lonely as all get out. A part of her wished she had never signed on for this gig, but she would see it through to the end because that was the sort of person she was and because she was tired of being poor. But she deliberately did not think about the life growing inside of her because she was afraid that if she thought about it and got the least bit sentimental, she might find herself wondering if she wanted the baby to be raised by a televangelist and a man who seemed to have no job or purpose in life other than to keep himself beautiful and to adore and serve his wife. Of course, there was a community of several hundred people on this ranch who also lived to adore and serve Amanda, which had seemed odd to Jamie, but here in the woman’s presence, she understood why people felt that way. At this moment, she would have liked to linger a while longer, basking in Amanda Hartmann’s glow.

  Probably weird old Mary Millicent was confined in the tower to keep her from wandering off or getting into mischief, Jamie decided. If she hadn’t promised Mary Millicent that she would keep her visit a secret, she would have asked Amanda about her mother.

  “You seemed quite engrossed in the family pictures,” Amanda observed, nodding toward the wall of framed photographs.

  “Miss Montgomery told me some of your family history. I find it very interesting.”

  “Yes. And sad. My father died in his prime. And I suppose that Bentley Abernathy told you about my son’s accident,” Amanda said, her gaze growing distant, her eyes filling with tears. “I have never felt such despair. I wanted to curse the Lord, but He lifted me up and told me how to survive. I wish you could have known my Sonny. He was so beautiful. So dear. No child ever filled a mother’s heart more.”

  Jamie reached into her pocket for a tissue and handed it to Amanda. “I’m sure that Sonny loved you very much and was very proud of you.”

  Jamie paused while Amanda dabbed at her eyes then asked, “What about your mother? Is she still alive?”

  Amanda hesitated before saying, “My remarkable mother is no longer the guiding light in my life. But I have my dear brother, and the Lord sent me my darling Toby. And soon we will be parents. You can’t imagine how that knowledge fills my heart.”

  Feeling a wave of discomfort at Amanda’s deceit, Jamie moved an inch or two away from her.

  “I watched you on television last week,” Jamie said.

  “I am so pleased,” Amanda said, smiling through her tears. “Did you pray with me? Did you accept our Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior?”

  “Not really,” Jamie admitted. “I just watched.”

  Amanda took both of Jamie’s hands in hers. “You must look
after your soul, child. I want you to pray with me now.”

  Jamie dutifully bowed her head and listened while Amanda thanked God for the beautiful day, for the birds that gave Jamie such enjoyment. “And I ask your blessing on this young woman and the precious infant she carries. She is a good person and accepts that you are the one true God.”

  Jamie joined her in saying “Amen.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  LENORA HAD NEVER been to the Texas Panhandle before. Most of what she knew about the region came from weather reports on the evening news. The Panhandle had more winter storms and tornadoes than the rest of the state.

  As their flight banked for a landing at the Amarillo airport, she was surprised to see the sprawl of a large city spread below them after flying over hundreds of miles of emptiness. “Why do so many people live down there?” she asked Bentley.

  Bentley chuckled. “Amarillo is a major distribution center for oil and cattle,” he said, closing his briefcase. During the flight they had been going over his notes in preparation for the Marshall County commissioner’s meeting that he would be attending this afternoon.

  “And there’s a huge facility for slaughtering cattle and a number of petrochemical plants,” he added.

  Lenora made a face. “Sounds lovely,” she said.

  Once they were on the ground, Lenora headed for the car-rental counter while Bentley made a few phone calls. Less than twenty minutes after landing, they were on their way. Lenora followed the signs that led her from the airport and soon was heading west on Interstate 40.

  “Think you can light a fire under the county commissioners?” she asked.

  “Actually, they really aren’t dragging their feet,” he admitted. “They’re having the motor rebuilt on their forty-year-old bulldozer. Your concern for Jamie Long has begun to rub off on me, though, and I took a certain perverse pleasure in prolonging Gus Hartmann’s irritation.”

  “You know, either Gus Hartmann is getting more cantankerous or you’re suffering from burnout,” Lenora observed.

  Bentley sighed. “Maybe it’s some of both. But the truth of the matter is I need Gus more than he needs me.”

  “You signed the papers on the haunted house yet?” Lenora asked.

  “Day after tomorrow. I’ve never seen Brenda more excited. She drives out there every single day, and yesterday I heard her whistling. I’ve been married to her for almost thirty-five years and never once heard my wife whistle.”

  “So?”

  “So I’m jealous of a goddamned house that would fall over if I leaned on it.”

  “I’m sorry,” Lenora said.

  “Me, too.”

  Once they had left the outskirts of Amarillo, the landscape was unvaried but majestic in its vastness and loneliness. The drive to Alma took about an hour.

  The most noticeable thing about Alma was the overpass that allowed motorists to sail over the town without even slowing down. Lenora parked in front of the Main Street Café, where they both ordered the blue-plate special-chicken-fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy.

  After lunch, Bentley headed for the courthouse, and Lenora drove north. Within minutes she had left the town far behind her, with only an occasional lonely farmhouse and its cluster of outbuildings to break the monotony of the landscape. Lenora realized as she drove along that she hadn’t seen another vehicle for miles, which she found disconcerting. She was a city girl. What if she had a blowout? Did AAA send tow trucks to such remote places? And where did one go to the bathroom?

  Her first indication that the ranch was near was a high fence posted with signs warning DANGER! HIGH VOLTAGE. Then she saw a stone tower rising above treetops. As she drove a bit farther, she could see that the tower was part of a very large stone house set about a half mile or so back from the road in a grove of trees. And some distance north of the ranch house, she could see other structures, including a water tower and a large silo.

  She expected some sort of impressive sign to tell her she had arrived at Hartmann Ranch, but all that greeted her was a closed gate and a large sign that said PRIVATE PROPERTY. NO HUNTING ALLOWED. TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED.

  She pulled up to an intercom speaker mounted beside the gate and pressed the button. Shortly a female voice said, “Can I help you?”

  “Yes, I’m here to visit Jamie Long.”

  “Just a minute,” the voice said.

  The minute proved to be a very long one. The house was not visible from this vantage point, just a curving drive lined with cedars. After five minutes, Lenora turned off the motor. After another fifteen minutes, she pressed the button again. This time a male voice responded.

  “I am here to visit Jamie Long,” Lenora repeated. “I have come all the way from Austin for this purpose and have been waiting twenty minutes for the gate to open.”

  “One minute, please.”

  After several more minutes, Lenora once again pressed the button.

  “Yes,” the same male voice said.

  “I am here to see Jamie Long, and if you don’t open this gate, I plan to climb over it.”

  “You would get quite a shock,” the man said. “And if you got inside, we would have to detain you.”

  “Are you a policeman?”

  “The ranch has a security force that has law-enforcement jurisdiction over ranch property.”

  “Okay. Let’s start over. My name is Lenora Richardson. I work for Bentley Abernathy, who is the Hartmann family attorney in Austin. I have been trying to reach Jamie Long for months. She has not responded to my letters or phone calls. I am concerned about her and would really appreciate it if you told her that I am here to see her. If she does not want to see me, I want her to call me on my cell phone and tell me so in person. Now, pick up a pencil and write down this phone number.”

  “Folks don’t have much luck with cell phones out here,” the man said.

  “Then I want to speak to the person in charge.”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” he said.

  Lenora looked around for a tree or a bush. She really needed to go to the bathroom but was afraid to get too far from the intercom. Finally, she looked up and down the empty road to make sure no one was coming, then opened the door, pulled down her slacks, and squatted beside the car.

  She had no sooner finished buckling her belt than she heard a woman’s voice saying, “Miss Richardson?”

  “Yes,” she responded.

  “This is Ann Montgomery,” a woman’s voice said pleasantly. “I am the head housekeeper here at the ranch and am so sorry you drove all the way out here to see Jamie Long. She no longer lives here.”

  “Why is that?”

  “I am not sure. She was with us for a time and then left.”

  “Where did she go?”

  “I have no idea. She had her car here at the ranch and simply packed up and left. Such a quiet young woman. I will let Miss Hartmann know that you came by. Perhaps she knows something about Miss Long’s plans.”

  “I would appreciate that,” Lenora said. “Miss Hartmann can get in touch with me at the office of Mr. Bentley Abernathy in Austin.”

  “Yes, I understand that. Again, I am sorry for your inconvenience.”

  “You know, I have been trying to reach Jamie by telephone and by mail for some time now.”

  “Perhaps she did not wish to respond,” the woman suggested.

  “Yeah. Maybe.”

  Lenora uttered an obscenity and got into the car. She backed onto the road and drove north toward the water tower and silo. As she drew closer, she realized that an entire community was spread out below the two soaring structures.

  She turned onto the gravel road and stopped at a building with gas pumps in front and went inside what proved to be an old-fashioned general store with a serve-yourself concession area. A young Hispanic woman stopped stocking a shelf with breakfast cereal and stepped behind the cash register.

  Lenora poured coffee into a Styrofoam cup. “I think I’m lost,” Lenora told the
woman as she paid for the coffee.

  “Where do you want to go?” the woman asked in accented English.

  “Alma,” Lenora said.

  “That way,” the woman said, pointing south. “Turn left at first road. Soon there is a road sign for Alma.”

  Lenora tried to look suitably relieved. “It seemed like I had been driving forever. I was afraid I’d gotten lost. So, what is this place called?”

  “Hartmann City. Is part of big ranch.”

  “I met a young woman in Austin who said she was going to live at the Hartmann Ranch. Her name is Jamie. Would you happen to know her?”

  The woman shook her head.

  “Well, thank you for the directions,” Lenora said, taking a sip from her Styrofoam cup.

  Back in the car, she drove through the community, drawing stares from children in the school yard and from a man in a pickup truck. Obviously they did not have many visitors here.

  She made a U-turn and headed back toward Hartmann Road.

  Lenora pulled into a drive-in on the way out of town. Bentley ordered a milkshake, and she requested a Coke.

  “What I really want is a martini,” Lenora said.

  “No luck, I take it,” Bentley said as she backed out of the parking space.

  “You first,” Lenora said.

  “The commissioners will rent a bulldozer from Oldham County. They hope to start the project in a couple of weeks. Now, what happened at the ranch? Did you see Jamie?”

  Lenora explained what had transpired and concluded her story by saying, “Boss, I’m really worried about Jamie.”

  “Well,” Bentley said, “the contract specified that she would be paid for her time and dismissed if she didn’t become pregnant after three insemination procedures. Maybe she drove off in her grandmother’s car and is back in college or gone back to wherever she came from.”

  “Mesquite,” Lenora said.

  “Yeah, maybe she’s back in Mesquite.”

  “Maybe so,” Lenora acknowledged. “The whole experience was spooky, though. The Hartmanns have a regular fiefdom out there, with a feudal village for the serfs. The ranch house looks like a castle complete with a turreted tower, and in lieu of a drawbridge and moat, there are miles of electric fences.”