Melissa was brought back to the present by the noise of the twins awakening. They came into the kitchen to say their good mornings, and Melissa hugged them both.
She needed to be strong for them. They didn't understand what cancer meant or that it could be life threatening. They were so young and naive. She worried about her mother too, she wasn't the best mother in the world but Melissa loved her and didn't want any harm to come to her.
They went through the routine of getting the twins ready and eating breakfast, Melissa' answering the twins inquisitions with a smile on her face and after giving instructions to them and asking them not to leave the house or open the door for anyone, since they couldn't even go to school because of their health conditions
After kissing them goodbye,Melissa set out into the streets of New York, a town she had set out her mind to achieve things.
It's New York, the city of dreams. There's a popular saying that "If you can't make it in New York, you can't make it anywhere else", Melissa knew that if she didn't make it here, she wouldn't make it anywhere else and that's the more reason why she was determined.
She didn't have any place in mind to go to, all she was that she had to provide money for the medications, she couldn't go to Nate either because he already stated clearly that he had no means to help her.
She thought of going door to door, asking for help or menial jobs to do but, that would be risky and she was scared she might encounter someone who would hire her for the wrong reasons.
People were already spreading negative rumours about her, she needed to stop it before it escalated and it would be worse if she got into anymore trouble.
After walking for a very long time, without any destination, she set out for Elizabeth's house.
Elizabeth was an old friend of Melissa, not too old but, their friendship has encountered a lot of ups and downs.
Melissa met Elizabeth at the auction ground one day, she had been nice to her and offered to share her food and water during their break session. She told Melissa that she was welcome to come visit her anytime she felt like, she told Melissa that she only came to the auction for the fun of it, of trying poopout new men and experiencing new ways to be cared for by them.
As Melissa approached the alleyway that led to Elizabeth's house, she began to nurse cold feet. She feared that Elizabeth will turn her away, she was used to getting left out by everyone she came close to so now she was wary of relationships. She got to Elizabeth's apartment and rapped on the door.
"Who's there?. Coming." Elizabeth's voice rang out in her funny Texas accent that Melissa was trying hard to understand.
She opened the door and pulled Melissa into a hug. The embrace was a tight one and Melissa feared that Elizabeth would choke her to death. Their embrace lasted for a while before Melissa broke it up subtly, she didn't want Elizabeth to harbour to wrong ideas.
"Oh dear, I haven't seen you in a long time. Are you well? How's your mother and siblings? Oh, I've missed you." Lizzie continued.
Melissa couldn't speak for fear she could break into tears. Elizabeth led her into the sitting room , offered her some water and probed her some more.
Amidst gulps of water, Melissa narrated everything that had happened in the past few days, from finding out that her mother was still on drugs, to finding out the twins were in their last stage of cancer, to her mother packing up and leaving them, to Nate turning her down when she requested for money and how she had thought of giving it all up or even begging the auction agent or working menial jobs.
She couldn't hold back the tears for much longer, so when she finally let them fall, her body shook and Elizabeth feared that she would faint.
Lizzie pulled Melissa into a bear hug and rocked her whilst wiping the stream of tears off her eyes and whispering comforting words into Melissa's ears.
"Don't cry, my love. It'll all be okay. You don't have to worry so much. You're such a nice girl and this shouldn't be happening to you. I think I have just the right thing for you, yes I do."
Melissa looked up with wide and teary eyes, her lips quivering.
"You do?" She asked amidst sniffles as her eyes brightened with curiosity.
"Yes, I do. I think I know the solution. But first, we need to get you something to eat. You look so pale, my gosh." Lizzie sauntered into her kitchen and for the first time, Melissa had a good look at the house.
She observed the arrangement of the chairs, the walls and the decorations placed on different corners of the room.
It had a calm interior, the beige curtains and cream sofas matching so well. The windows had a view overlooking a bar and since it was almost evening, people were trooping in and it was a sight for days.
Elizabeth came back to the sitting room and offered Melissa a plate of rice laden with gravy. The food was nice and she wolfed it down, she hadn't had anything for breakfast because the food she prepared was enough for just the twins.
Melissa wasn't eating because she was trying hard to make sure that the twins had enough to eat, she really needed to hear this offer that Elizabeth had for her, she was curious.
"Can you tell me what it is now?" Melissa asked as her curiosity had gotten the best of her.
"No, Not yet. You have to finish your meal first. Food before work and you're aware that it's a bad habit to speak while eating" Elizabeth said to a downcast Melissa.
Elizabeth waited till she was done with the food before speaking to Melissa again.
" About the proposal I have for you,it's an underground job but I got to know through one of my sources." Lizzie said with a wink and a wry smile.
" A man, I won't reveal the name to you now, needs a lady to be a surrogate mother to his children. Word has it that he isn't looking for love, just children and he is ready to pay any amount for this" Elizabeth narrated to a very interested Melissa.
"The lady he chooses will carry the baby for nine months and care for it for how long the contract states. If you're willing to do it, my source will take you to him." Elizabeth spoke as Melissa looked at her in awareness.
Melissa looked shocked and made to speak when Lizzie cut her off.
" But you don't have to decide now, though. You can think about it for this night and when you're ready come back to the house and we'll continue from there. You need to get home now, it's getting late. The twins would be expecting you."
A shocked Melissa nodded and bid Elizabeth goodbye. Once again, she was out on the streets of New York, alone with her thoughts as she walked home.
It was past nine p.m. when she got back home and the twins were already fast asleep. She took them from the sitting room to the bed. She said a short prayer over them and went back to her thoughts. She thought about the man that was willing to pay so much for a surrogate mother, what pushed him into such desperation. She imagined him as a poor widower, who didn't get any child with his wife and now needed someone to birth a child he could bequeath his assets to.
She thought of herself, could she do it?. What would her mother think?. How was she going to tell Nate. There was no way in the world she could tell Nate about this because he would never approve. Not like he had ways to help her but he was a significant part of her life and she included him in her decision making. She thought of the struggles of surrogacy, the stigma too. Then her gaze fell on the twins lying so helplessly on the bed and she knew that she was going to go any mile for them to be well.
How she was going to tell Nate or what her mother was going to say didn't matter. All that mattered was that life could be better for the twins and she could make it happen. She laid down on the floor, eyes closed, said a short prayer for herself and for God to protect her mother and before long, she drifted off to sleep.