The Surrogate

His Family Meeting

Thursday 5th August, Heppenheim, Germany.

Britta: We're here, your mom says you're out with the dog 🐶 Just wanted to let you know we've arrived. Any clue as to what this meeting is about? Your mom's quite anxious about it.

Seb reads the message from his press officer, smiling slightly at the dog emoji she's used but he doesn't bother to reply and instead moves on to send a WhatsApp message to Holly.

It's a breezy day in Heppenheim but it's warm enough to be out and about in a white t-shirt and black shorts and from where he sits on a bench in a small park, the sounds of the breeze rustling the leaves and making the branches sway is quite relaxing. This has always been his favourite place to come and sit and just people watch. When he lived here it was where he'd come to think and clear his head. The park he's in is also on the slope of a hill and he has a good view of the centre of his childhood hometown, looking down towards a small but historic market square with it's quaint old buildings that are from a bygone era.

He's not been able to get pretty, beautiful Holly out of his mind since he's seen her, she's the first thing he thinks of when he wakes up in the morning and the very last thing on his mind as he drifts off to sleep, not that sleep is easy to come by right now. He knows more than ever now that she's the one for him - as a surrogate of course. He's 110% certain; for him, there's no one else who he'd want to have as a surrogate for his first child and if he had his way then they'd be starting off the process now and not in two months time.

As he looks at her name in his list of messages, another message from her comes through. He smiles like a lovesick fool and feels those happy, excited butterflies go a little crazy inside because she's thinking of him at the same time as he is of her. Then his smile fades and he looks at Otto, his parents black Labrador who's ears prick up in an inquisitive way the instant he looks back at Seb; he can't fall for Holly, it's not allowed and it could put the whole surrogacy program at risk of coming to a stop before it's barely begun. Romance isn't allowed to come into this. Yes, they'll become quite close as the months go by, that's understandable but they're not allowed to become romantically involved with each other, otherwise Holly will no longer be allowed to be surrogate. He reads her message, it's light and friendly and there isn't an ounce of 'feelings' in it:

Holly: Hey Sebastian! Hope you had a good nights sleep! Good luck with your family meeting today, though you won't need it. I'm sure you'll have everyone's full support and they'll be excited to go on this surrogacy adventure with you 😊 Let me know how it goes! X

He can't stop himself from feeling disappointed. Even though it's wrong and they've only met once he wishing to see an 'I miss you' in there somewhere.

He stands up and shakes his head. No, he can't fall for her. He's just been sidetracked by her beauty, that's all. He has to focus on the end result, becoming a father. Nothing else matters right now, having a baby is what's most important here even though it would be wonderful to have someone to share his life with and to become a father in a more conventional way. He sits down again, Otto looks at him in bewilderment and he can almost hear the dog sigh because he probably thought he was going back home to some tasty treats. He taps a reply out to Holly;
Sleep is a little difficult, I'm so nervous that I've had to take the dog for a walk to get some air but thank you for asking and for wishing me luck, I really think I'll need it! I'll let you know how it goes, Seb x
He ends his message with a kiss, like she did with hers and sends it just as his phone rings and the word 'mom' appears at the top of his screen. He lets it go to voicemail and then taps out a quick message, saying that he's on his way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

London.

"So, how did it go with the weltmeister then?" Ester asks teasingly as they settle down at their usual table in Costa. "I bet he gave you a list of demands and stipulations as long as your arm and left you with the numbers of his people."