The Billionaires Hired Baby Mother: When the wife and surrogate are two different people Read Free Page B

mortgage and Andrea’s medication. There was
no way she could ask her mother for help. Crestfallen, she decided
she would call her good friends Abigail and Gina. She needed advice
before she could face telling her daughter that she couldn’t
go. Ettie held the letter clutched to her chest. Andrea walked in at
that very moment and nervous Ettie shoved the envelope haphazardly
back into the bread box.
    “ What was that?” Andrea asked.
    “ Nothing important mom,” Ettie replied
forcing a smile.
    “ Hmmm,” Andrea responded. She knew
when Ettie was keeping something from her but she also knew her
daughter and she knew that she would tell her when she was ready.
There was no way that Andrea would check the bread box and they both
knew it, although Andrea eyed her daughter curiously.
    Later, after lunch and when Lily went outside to play, Ettie found
Andrea. She had fallen asleep in her room with the television softly
playing again.
    “ Mom?” she asked timidly at the
bedroom door.
    “ I’m up. What’s wrong Ettie?”
Andrea called from her bed and used her remote to turn the TV off.
    “ Lily got accepted into the school,”
Ettie said softly coming to sit beside her mother.
    “ That’s wonderful news. I knew she
would. She’s smart like her mother,” Andrea beamed
proudly.
    “ Mom, she didn’t get a full
scholarship,” Ettie said handing over the letter.
    Andrea quickly scanned the letter. Her face fell slightly but then
she quickly recovered.
    “ We could raise the money in time,”
she started.
    “ Mom. Thirteen thousand dollars,”
Ettie said defeated.
    “ We’ll sell the house!” Andrea
shot back.
    “ Mother don’t be ridiculous.”
    “ You could call George. It’s about
time he…”
    But Ettie cut her off.
    “ No. I’m not calling him. This has
nothing to do with him,” she said adamantly.
    “ Well, we will figure something out
Henrietta. We always do,” Andrea replied determined.
    Andrea grabbed her hand and looked her in the eye, nodding. Ettie
kissed Andrea on the forehead. When she reached the door, she turned
to face her mother with a forced smile.
    “ I’m going to go start dinner. I’ll
let you know when it’s ready.”
    Dinner was a quiet affair. Lily could tell something was wrong but
she didn’t question it. Afterwards, Ettie cleaned the kitchen
while Lily and Andrea went to go watch a movie on DVD. Her mother
gave her a pointed look, she knew her mother was telling her to get
out and clear her head. Ettie needed to think. She needed some real
advice and so she called her best friend Gina. Gina answered on the
third ring. She could hear her godson Jordan cooing in the
background.
    “ Gina. It’s me. Can we go out for
drinks?” Ettie asked with an audible sigh.
    “ Oh honey. I don’t think I could find
a babysitter on such short notice. Abigail is still at the hospital.
Her shift doesn’t end until eleven,” Gina replied.
    “ It’s okay. Another time,” Ettie
said disappointed.
    Gina knew her best friend and former college roommate probably better
than anyone. She could hear the stress in Ettie’s voice.
    “ You know you are more than welcome to come
over and have a couple glasses of wine though.”
    “ I’ll be there at seven,” Ettie
replied.
    *****
    “ Well, what are you going to do?” Gina
asked pouring Ettie another glass of wine.
    “ What can I do? Without selling a kidney
there is no way I can come up with that money,” Ettie said a
grimace on her face.
    “ You can have a yard sale,” Gina said,
obviously being sarcastic.
    Ettie rolled her eyes. That was one thing she loved about Gina. How
so much sarcasm could fit in that tiny body of hers Ettie was
clueless. Gina was five one with a petite frame. Ettie towered over
her best friend by several inches. What she lacked in size she made
up for in her personality. Coming from an Italian background, her
olive complexion was a stark contrast to her dark hair which she wore
in a flattering bob. She was an