The Surrogate

Nervous Preparations

Monday August 2nd. London.

"I still can't believe it!" Ester squeaks as she places her large vanilla latte on the table before she sits down.

Holly glances around them warily, replying with a worried "shush! You never know who's listening! Confidentiality, remember."

"Him, of all the people in the world though and he's picked out us two! I still can't believe it!"

Holly still can't quite believe it either and like her friend, Ester, she's got to make a decision - whether to meet Sebastian Vettel or not. Ester is her closest friend, she's a bubbly blonde who hails from Brighton and moved to London ten years ago, she's also a fellow surrogate and a second potential carrier for Sebastian's child. Tipping a sachet of sugar into her black Americano coffee she quietly asks, "so what are you thinking? Are you meeting him or not?"

"Well I've given it some thought and I'm out," Ester announces resolutely, she's made her decision and she won't be changing her mind.

"Why?"

"He's famous," she answers simply, dipping a finger into the icing on top of her slice of carrot cake.

Holly looks puzzled, her spoon paused in her cup, "you say that as if it's a bad thing."

"Think about it. He's a famous F1 driver, a famous sportsman, he'll probably be a diva and a control freak. He'll probably have a list of demands as long as your arm, he'll probably even want you to guarantee the baby's sex and you'll probably never see him once you're pregnant until the baby's born, you only be dealing with his people," Ester air quotes the last two words dramatically with a look disdain, "I just think it'll be too much hassle, I'm out. I've already called the office this morning and told Andrea."

"You've looked at how much he's prepared to pay, right?" She asks with a look of disbelief, thinking her friend is mad for dismissing Sebastian so quickly, "it's a quarter of a million pounds!"

"Yeah, of course but I've always said I'd never be a surrogate for a celebrity. I think it would be more trouble than it's worth, if you want to do it then it's up to you. If you ask me, he's crazy for even thinking about having a kid while he does the job he does for a living. Where's he meant to be finding the time from to raise a child?"

She nods in agreement and then frowns; maybe Sebastian hasn't thought this all through. Ester is right, where would he find the time to dedicate to a newborn baby if he's jetting around the world racing cars? She's still curious though, she's still interested in meeting him and hearing his thoughts and ideas on how he'd make fatherhood work in his current circumstances. For Holly, surrogacy isn't just a case of popping out a baby and handing it over, she has to know what kind of life the child would have, she has to be sure that he or she would have a stable upbringing with parents who were able to provide for and devote the time needed to raising a child. She certainly doesn't want a child of hers to be bought up by a paid nanny, rarely spending time with his or her parents.

"If you wanna meet him, then meet him," Ester adds, picking up on how Holly is now deep in thought, "just make sure you get his autograph for me, will you."

"Sure," she replies breezily, knowing that asking Sebastian Vettel for an autograph when he's here to discuss having his first child is kind of wrong, "I'll definitely ask for you."

She decides there and then that she will meet him, it won't do any harm to meet the guy, to ask him the questions that both herself and Ester have raised. If she isn't happy with everything he says then she knows she has every right to say no. She will not be giving him a baby for him to just pass it on and get someone else raise it.