When Melissa and the twins woke up the next morning, they saw the black car and security detail of five hefty men that watched the house by night and all through the wee hours of the morning. It didn't take long before she immediately recognized Rock as the guard who ushered her the other day at Romano's office. He walked up to her.
"Did you come for me? We aren't supposed to meet until next week." Melissa asked, pulling the twins towards her. They looked scared and the guard wasn't smiling either, which made the meeting akward.
" Yes, the next meeting is not today. But the boss asked us to come take you and the girls here for a day out in the city. Just the three of you, all expenses on him." Rock said as he stared down at the twins making them shiver.
Melissa already knew she couldn't accept this offer. It looked too good to be true and she wasn't nready to put herself in a tight corner at the mercy of any man, she had made that mistake once and she wasn't ready to repeat it again.
Through out her existence on earth, No man has ever been kind to her without wanting something in exchange, something she couldn't give.
All Melissa wanted was to do this surrogacy job and leave it at just that. She did not want any accompanying drama, she didn't want problems or wealth. She opened her mouth to say 'No' but Rock already knew she would turn him down and he cut her off at that instant.
"He also mentioned that it was very likely for you to refuse him so he gave me this note for you." Rock passed her an envelope and she looked at him with wary eyes.
"You can open it." Rock said wearing a smirk.
Melissa looked at the envelope, it had the El Salvador seal. She tore open the envelope and the note read:
"Please let the twins go out and have fun.
They'll like it and you will also enjoy going out into New York streets just for the fun of it. Life is short, live it"
Melissa looked down at the twins who stared back at her wide-eyed. Just days ago, she was on her knees and she had prayed for God's blessings over them and now, it seemed like prayers are being answered. She couldn't deprive them of this opportunity, they rarely went out, they couldn't go to school, couldn't meet with friends and soon they were going to go and stay in the hospital for long time, she wanted them to have this outing as a memory to keep forever.
"We'll just head inside to clean up and have breakfast. We should be ready in an hour." She said to Rock as she turned to go in. Rock nodded and went back into the car. He and his men had had a long night, watching Melissa and the twins sleep. He wondered why his boss needed to keep an eye on them, he noticed his restlessness all through the evening after he read the report Rock had sent.
Rock had never seen his boss in such mood before, he concluded that Romano was falling for this woman. She was a pretty woman, no doubt, but Romano had seen prettier women. He had every woman in New York at his beck and call. Everyone wanted to be associated with New York's most eligible bachelor but the irony was he falling for Melissa. Rock smiled to himself. He knew a man in love.
In an hour's time, the girls were out and their first stop was the park. The weather was friendly and the park was filled with children, and mothers who gave the security men that insisted on coming into the park weird looks, the twins ran around playing with kites and squealing. Melissa watched them with so much joy in her heart, she felt like she had no fear in the world.
"If this is part of the benefits of agreeing to do the surrogacy, then I have no regrets at all.", She thought to herself.
They continued to other places after the park, the twins singing along to songs on the radio, Rock was an absolute sweetheart with them. One would think he didn't have a shred of empathy in him by mere looking at his build and face. He played with the twins at the park, held their hands while they were at the beauty salon, played games with them at the arcade, even Melissa couldn't keep up. She had to catch her breath most times, the twins seemed like they had new found energy.
At the end of the day, Melissa requested to be taken on a long drive, singing along to country songs,glasses rolled down, her hair blowing in the wind. She thought about Nate, he hadn't replied any of her calls in the past few days. She wondered if he was still at work or just plain ignoring her. She would have gone to visit him but the twins were taking up much of her time and she couldn't move around much. She was tired of always apologizing to Nate every time over her decisions, she knew he was never going to approve of her choice to be a surrogate mother and she didn't have the patience to sit through any of his lectures.
She wanted to confide in him but it was safe to say that Nate was extra judgemental and a tad bit controlling. She didn't like the idea of passing every of her decisions through him. She wanted him to be understanding or even encourage her in all her little endeavors.
She thought of her mother, she had been gone for two weeks and Melissa couldn't find her. She wished she was here to guide her through all this. This surrogacy was a big phase in her life and while she was grateful for the money and the treatment her siblings were getting, she was also scared of the throes of pregnancy. She was lost in her own world, she didn't know when the driver pulled up to the front of her house.
"Ride is over, ma'am.", He said with the brightest smile as he tapped Melissa awake.
Melissa looked around and saw the twins sleeping peacefully at the back seat, the seat belt holding them in place. She smiled back at the driver and was really grateful for how nicely the men treated the twins and herself. They were quite a handful today and Rock helped keep an eye on them, while Melissa's got her hair done. She was very grateful.
"Thank you sir, I really appreciate your patience with the girls today." Melissa said.
"We have to do the boss's job, besides you have lovely sisters", replied the driver. "They remind me of my daughters. I get to see them twice a month and they're always so bubbly."
"That's nice. Anytime you see them, say me hi to them. I'd love to see pictures of them too. Goodnight, sir."
Melissa woke the twins up and got them down from the car. The porch light was on, she wondered who could be in there. Her mother probably, she always showed up at odd times. The front door was also open and Melissa feared that the house was being burgled. They entered into the house and she was surprised to see Nate sitting on the couch, he looked angry.
"Nate, what are you doing here?" She asked.
"I can't come to visit my girlfriend anymore? What do you mean what am I doing here?" Nate replied getting up and coming towards her.
"No, that's not what I meant. I mean, I haven't seen you in a long time and I've called your number so many times and they all went to voicemail. I'm just surprised to see you." Melissa said as she made to hug him.
"Uncle Nate, we got new toys today." One said. "And new hair dos too."
Nate didn't spare them a glance. Melissa could see the anger in his eyes. She turned to the twins and said,
"Gina, Anna, go in now. I'll come read you a bedtime story soon. Une Nate and I need to have a discussion." She steered them in the direction of the room.
" You're working a new job now? How did you get money for toys?" Nate asked as soon as the twins were out of the room.
"A friend of my mother invited us out for lunch and gave them the toys" Melissa lied, grateful that the twins didn't mention anything about the security men or going to the park. She wasn't ready to offer any explanation to Nate. She needed to tell him at the right time and it wasn't now.
" Oh, you now visit friends? I didn't know you to be the one to enjoy company, Mel."
"That's because you don't know me, Nate. You've drifted far apart from me. I've always craved your company, craved people to talk to while I'm sinking in this dark hole. Every day things get worse, I fear for my siblings but you're not here to support me. Nate, I really wish you'll see things from my own perspective, you'll understand me better."
"Mel, you're putting yourself through all this stress. I've always told you, you can't take care of these children, take them to an orphanage, they'll get better care there. You need to live for yourself. We need to start planning on how to start our own family, but this your decision to hold on to your sisters is a hindrance to us." Nate said.
"Nate, you're being selfish by asking me to take my siblings to tge orphanage. They are the only family I have and I have promised myself that I'll be by them no matter what happens. If you can't support me, I think I'd need a break from you." Melissa said.
"You don't really mean that, do you?" Nate asked, his voice laden with surprise. He didn't expect what Melissa just said to him.
"I do, Nate. It's late, you should get going, I need to tuck the twins in bed." And with that, she opened the door and Nate walked through.
"You'll surely regret this, Mel. You will."
Melissa bit down on her lower lip, she couldn't cry in front of him. The only thing she was going to regret was leaving her siblings out in this cold world without any help. She had experienced first hand the pains of not living with one's parents and the struggle to fit in in foster homes. She wasn't ready to let the twins go through th same thing she went through.
She locked the door and she let her tears fall.
Romano sat at his desk in his spacious office with files scattered on the table. He couldn't get himself to concentrate on any paperwork in front of him. His thoughts were with Melissa, Rock had sent him a video yesterday of Melissa and the twins having fun yesterday. He couldn't get over her smile and he loved how at peace she looked. When she came to his office that day, he could see the fear and troubles on her face, her voice was shaky and she avoided eye contact all through.
In the report that Rock sent to him, he saw that she had a rough childhood, moving from one foster home to another and runaway cum drug addict mother. He felt for her, he had most of his childhood life handled by his parents, he had the love of his parents and relatives and he couldn't understand why parents left their children in foster homes at such tender age.
He was moved to give them, Melissa and the twins, a better life. E had just finished speaking with a doctor in Spain that treated children with cancer. He couldn't ask Melissa to leave them here in New York so he has to give them the best care in Spain.
His phone rang and he picked it up from the table.
"Hello, brother.", came a feminine voice with thick Spanish accent.
"Hola, Isabella." He replied.
Isabella was Romano's only sister. She was a spoilt girl who spent her whole time traveling around the world and shopping and didn't care for the family business. She graduated magna cum laude from the Harvard University with a degree in Business Administration. Their father wanted her to head the branch in Spain but after getting her degree and presenting it to her father, she begun her soujourn around the world. She always acted like she was the elder sister and Romano admired her guts. She had always been the brave one even from childhood.
"Long time, no talk, Romano. How have you been?" Isabella voice cut through his thoughts.
"Oh, I've been busy, my head is wrapped around with work and the board is driving me crazy.
Isabella laughed. Her laughter rang loud and long.
"This is the reason why I refused to head the old man's branch in Spain. I won't have anyone turn me around just because they are a member of some stupid board of directors."
"Language, Isabella." Romano said in a stern voice.
"Sorry, brother. I called you because I spoke with mom two days ago and she mentioned something about you finally deciding to settle down. I want to hear more from you. Who's the lucky girl?" Did you hook up with Rosanna?. I told you you'd like her."
Rosanna was Isabella's friend that she wanted her brother to get married to. Isabella played the role of a matchmaker in Romano's life. She was on his neck to take her friend for a wife. Romano didn't like Rosanna, didn't like any of Isabella's friends. They were all spoilt brats and he knew he couldn't cope with their air headedness.
"Calm down, Isabella. I'm no getting married and definitely not to Rosanna. She's not my type."
"So what wedding was Mom talking about?. She told me we had a wedding to plan. I don't understand what's going on." Isabella said.
"I'm going to employ the services of a surrogate mother, she'll bear my child and take care of it for a period of time before handing it all over to me. I plan to retire soon and I hope to spend my years bonding with my child. I don't think I can go through with the stress of getting married, almost all the ladies in our circle are airheads." Romano explained.
"Mother will not be happy to hear this. She believes in the traditional family, man and wife with children. Don't let all this foreign technology get into your head, man."
"I've made my decision, Isabella. All through my life I've worked hard to maintain the family name, I think it's time I ventured on my own path. Do my own thing for once. I've held back for too long." Romano said.
"I wish you all the best brother. I really want to see how this plays out. I have a flight to catch now, talk to you later." And with that she ended the call.
Romano paced the room thinking about all his sister said. He hadn't explained to his mother the whole process of getting a child. He only told her that he'd give her a grandchild soon and she assumed he was getting married. He smiled to himself. He had a long way to go.