The Switch Read Free

many euphemisms for body parts and intercourse!" Melina exclaimed. "But the message that came through loud and clear was that it only took one time to make a baby."
    "We'll see. The doctor assured me that these were good swimmers."
    "He actually called them swimmers?"
    "I swear."
    They giggled like teenagers over a dirty joke. Eventually Melina signaled the waiter to remove their plates and ordered coffee. "What about the donor?"
    "He's only a number, selected from the sperm donor's equivalent of a Spiegel's catalogue. Of all the candidates, he best fit my preferences."
    "Hair color. Eye color. Body type."
    "Those, along with interests, background, and IQ."
    "So you just ordered a number out of a catalogue?" Melina asked wryly.
    "This is a scientific procedure."
    "Biology. Human reproduction boiled down to its most clinical form."
    "Exactly."
    "But..."
    Gillian smiled, knowing she'd been trapped. They couldn't hide a thought from each other for long. "But I'm a human being, and my body isn't a test tube. I can't be as entirely objective as I should." Staring into near space, she said quietly, "With the help of an unnamed person, I hope to create a new individual. A baby. A personality. A soul. That's heady stuff. Naturally I wonder about the donor, who he is and what he looks like."
    "How could you not? Of course you wonder. But you don't have a clue?"
    "Nothing. He's probably a med student who needed some extra spending money."
    "And who likes to jack off. But then, they all like to jack off, don't they?"
    Melina winked at the man seated at the next table. He smiled back at her, flattered by her flirtation.
    Seeing the exchange, Gillian chided her in a stage whisper. "Behave."
    "He doesn't know what I said."
    They were different in that way, too. Melina tended to speak her mind, where Gillian was more discreet. Melina said and did things that Gillian thought about but was often too inhibited to say or do. They shared the same impulses, but Melina acted on them: She plunged headfirst off the high diving board. Gillian would stand with her toes curled over the end of it until dared to dive in. Melina admired her twin’s circumspection. Gillian claimed to be envious of Melina's courage.
    Leaving the gentleman at the next table to think what he wished, Melina asked Gillian how long it would be before she knew if the artificial insemination had worked.
    "I go back in a week for a blood test."
    "A whole week! Are you under any restrictions?"
    "None. I go about my everyday activities."
    "Work?"
    "I have an appointment this afternoon."
    "Sex?"
    "Female."
    "Very funny. You know what I meant."
    "I know what you meant, and no, there's no restriction. In fact, the doctor told me that if I had a partner who would share the child, he would encourage us to have intercourse soon. That's psychologically beneficial for infertile couples who have resorted to using donor sperm when all else has failed. If they have sex on the date of the A I , there's always the outside chance that—"
    "The partner's sperm was the one to fertilize the egg." "Exactly."
    Melina pressed her temples with her index fingers. "Jeez, this gets—"
    "Deep. I know. There are myriad facets to this issue. Endless factors to consider. Ethical and religious questions to probe and hopefully resolve. But I don't regret doing it. Nor am I going to start second-guessing the decision now that I've acted on it. In fact, if I don't conceive this time, I'll definitely try again.
    "Until recently, my fantasies of motherhood were nebulous. They took place in the far-distant future. But now that I've actually taken the step necessary to conceive, those fantasies have crystallized. I want a baby, Melina, dirty diapers and all. I want one very much. A son or daughter to care for. Someone who requires my love. Someone who loves me back."
    Melina swallowed hard. "Are you trying to make me cry?" Gillian blinked back her own tears. Touching her tummy lightly, she said, "It's going to be a