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“I’m not sure why I bother,” I grouch.
“Me neither, but then again, here you are. Now start at the very beginning.”
“Leah’s looking into artificial insemination. I think she wants to have a baby,” I say, almost relieved to be finally saying it out aloud.
Silence descends on the other end of the line.
“Did you hear me?” I ask.
“I heard you. What I want to know is, why are you so rattled?”
“If she has a baby, she’ll leave,” I say.
“But wasn’t she engaged? That was always likely to be the case.” I hate it when practical-Mark steps in.
“It was, but when her engagement ended.”
“People’s dreams don’t die just because an engagement ends. Didn’t you say Leah is thirty-four?”
“Yes.”
“Maybe she feels her biological clock is ticking, and she doesn’t want to wait around. Rely on the right man turning up,” he says. “One of Jen’s friends has just gone down this path. A similar situation to Leah, with a broken engagement.”
I listen.
“She’s going to co-parent. She’s met a guy through an agency, and together they are about to become parents. They are not a couple, but they will share joint custody of their child.”
“What?” I stare at my phone in shock. The thought of Leah having a baby with a complete stranger. No!
“I know. There are multiple agencies helping couples come together. Like dating sites, but different. There are as many men out there who want a child as women but, like their female counterparts, can’t find the right one. This solves a problem.”
“People do that?”
“Jen’s friend has. Maybe you could mention it to Leah?”
“Over my dead body,” I hiss. “I’m not encouraging Leah to have and raise a child with a stranger.”
Mark laughs again. “But that’s the beauty. They got to know one another over months. They became friends. Really good friends before they decided to try for a child.”
“Sounds weird.” A feeling of unease travels up my spine.
Could Leah go down this path?
“To you, maybe.” Mark pauses again. “Am I missing something?” he says eventually. “You like Leah? You want her to be happy?” he asks, making my heckles rise.
“Of course I do. She deserves to be happy, especially after everything she’s been through. It’s just...”
I’m not sure how to word what I’m feeling. Is it wrong of me not to want Leah pregnant with some stranger’s baby? Struggling as a single mum to raise a child alone. I think back to the picture she had of her mum, dad and her as a child. She grew up in a loving family environment.
“It’s just what, Gabriel?” Mark pushes.
“I worry. Raising a child alone is difficult. She clearly wants a baby. She mentioned her ex kept putting it off. She was devastated when he told her his new girlfriend was pregnant.”
It’s then I realise I’ve missed a major sign.
“I can hear your brain ticking all the way down under,” Mark says dryly.
“Sorry,” I say, my brain running at a hundred miles an hour. “I just had a realisation.”
