Three: Gotta decide

Shanice POV

"You black woman, get your ass out of this place now! How many times do I have to warn you to not see my son anymore?! You're not his type." Mr Edwards, my boyfriend's dad, taunted me for seeing his son again. 

"I--I'm sorry sir." I turned to face the ground in complete embarrassment. "I just wanna have a word with him."

"Hey. Wouldn't you leave now? Do you want me to call the police on you?" He threatened me again. 

At that point, I became vexatious. How was it my problem that he didn't like the black race? It was his son I liked, not even him. Irritating man. 

"Sir." I called, turning to look at him in the eye, frowning at him badly. "Just because you don't like me doesn't mean you can embarrass me, or doesn't mean your son should hate me as well."

He furrowed his brow in shock. He probably didn't think I'd talk back to him. What was he? God?

"Are you seriously talking back at me?" He questioned, obviously becoming flustered. 

I scoffed. "And so? Do you think I'll let you talk to me like that? Do I look like a child that you can scold whenever you feel like?" 

"You idiot. How…" He grouched, but before he could speak further, I raised my hands in disagreement. 

"No no." I said. "If you need respect from others, learn to respect first, ok? I only came here for your son, and not to get insulted for liking your son, huh?"

He started to glare, and let out a huff. "I'll seriously make you regret it! You want my son, and you don't wanna respect me."

"Hey old man. Respect your butt!" I grabbed my bag from the seat on his porch and turned to leave. 

About to step out of his compound, I took a last glance at his enraged self, and smirked. "And yeah," I mentioned loudly from my position. "Fuck you." I added, turning to take my leave. 

He continued to yell from his doorstep, but I ignored his useless rants completely, and made my way out of the proximity. 

Sincerely, I was hurt by what I had just experienced, but I needed to forget about it. If the old man was a racist, at least, the man I loved wasn't. And Aiden even loved me so much. His dad was so unimportant then. 

The only hurtful thing was that he had to ruin my date with his son. Goodness knew where Aiden had even gone to. We both planned to go out, so why the heck was he not even home?

I halted for a while, and sighed to console myself. Everything was definitely going to be fine one day. 

Turning to the next street, I headed to Jill's house first. I needed to inform her about the job I saw online. I only wondered if she was going to accept it. It wasn't so good but her mom's surgery was so important. The woman was literally close to death. 

***

Jill

I stepped out of the kitchen after washing the plates for a while, and joined Shanice in my living room. She had been there for a short time, so I needed to attend to her before doing my other chores. 

"Sup girl?" I greeted her, as I sat on a stool in her front. 

"Hey." She returned my greetings faintly, and obviously wore a forceful smile. 

I reached her hands, and tucked it into mine, already seeming worried by her unexcited tone. "Are you ok?" I asked faintly. 

"Oh girl." She gauged an anxious laughter. "I'm fine. I'm just so tired."

"Ok." I smiled, although I clearly didn't believe her. "So...why did you come over? And without Beth?"

"Oh that." She set her gaze on me, and moved closer a bit. "I got a job for you. I don't know if you'll be able to do it, but I think you have to."

I raised a brow at her, and pouted in confusion. "What's that? You know I can do absolutely any job right now. I badly need one."

"Ok." She inhaled softly. "You're sure?"

"Yeah." I whined and poked her arms with my finger. "Go on now. I've got things to do."

She swallowed, and looked so hesitant. What was with this girl? 

"I…" She mentioned, and paused for a while, shutting her eyes like she was nervous. "I want you to do a surrogate job. An agency is seeking for it." She uttered

I lifted my brows, and sneered. "Stop joking now ok? You don't have to be a clown all the time."

"I'm serious Jill." She assured me, looking so serious. Her serious look got me a little scared. What was she even saying? Maybe she meant a different surrogacy from the one I knew. 

I released my hands from hers, and raised it a little. "Wait girl." I said. "What surrogacy are you speaking of?"

"I know how you see this Jill." She sighed again. "But I'm serious. A surrogate mother is what I'm speaking of. Try it please."

"Are you crazy?" I retorted. "Don't you know how risky that is. What about the requirements? Huh?"

She rubbed her palm against her forehead, and leaned forward to me. "Girl. The requirements are set. Your age, your health status, your mental status. Everything is set."

I swallowed, and looked away from her stare. "But w--what about a successful pregnancy?" I asked faintly. 

"Liam? What about him?" She announced, turning my face to hers. 

"But…" 

"Don't 'but' anything Jill. You aren't a child for goodness sake. You're twenty three." She tried to convince me. 

I lowered my head in confusion, and grumbled. "Oh shit. Why does this have to be me? I seriously didn't expect my life to be this horrible."

"Oh sweetheart." She moved closer to cuddle me. "Life is a weird thing that doesn't work smoothly. Everything is for a while. Believe me." She consoled, patting my back gently. 

"Thank you." I whispered in her ear, and pulled away. 

She smiled. "You're welcome."

Grabbing her bag from the seat space beside her, she stood up from the couch, and smiled gently at me.

"Alright girl," She said, turning to the door. "That's why I came. And, ensure to inform me on your decision. I hope you think wisely on this."

"Ok."

As she was about to open the door, I called her name out, and hurried to her, grinning teasingly at her. 

She corked a brow at me. "Why...are you grinning? That's weird." 

"Hmm," I poked her arm. "Tell me about your date. What's popping?"

"Oh that." She mentioned in a low tone, turning to face the floor. Something was definitely wrong. 

I moved forward, and held her hands in mine. "Is there a problem?" I asked faintly. 

She swallowed and faced me, her eyes already welling in tears. "It's Aiden's dad. He's back to complaining about his son and I. The man's just so annoying."

"Aww," I caressed her chin. "I understand that. Don't feel bad dear. At least, Aiden doesn't have a problem with you."

She sniffed. "Yes. That's the truth. It's just so embarrassing. He keeps on doing it over and over again, and Aiden isn't even saying anything about it." 

I moved forward, and hugged her tightly. "That enough dear. Don't waste your time crying for someone that isn't worth your tears." 

"Yes."

She pulled away, and rubbed her face to stop crying. "Thank you." She said. "I'll be on my way now. Ensure you give me feedback."

"Ok dear." I smiled, and waved at her as she made her way out of my house. 

Shutting the door, I inhaled hardly and brushed my hands against my face. Everything was just so hard. Surrogacy? That was damn risky for me. 

But as much as it was risky for me, not taking a fast action could also risk my mom's life. She had limited time to live. 

Oh Lord, what could I do?!