Dr. Rao asked about the current medications Melissa took and reviewed the risks without making promises.
She explained that pregnancy could involve complications even when earlier pregnancies had gone well.
She emphasized that the clinic required independent counseling and legal advice before proceeding.
“I cannot tell you what choice to make,” she said, “but I can tell you that consent must remain free of employment pressure.”
Grant noticed Melissa straighten in her chair.
“Would my employer know whether I pass screening?” Melissa asked.
“Not without your specific authorization, and he should not be involved in a decision about your employment.”
Afterward, the couple sat in their parked car while rain marked the windshield.
“What did you think?” Grant asked.
“I think the doctor was careful.”
“That’s her job.”
“I still want to do it.”
“Do you want to do it because you believe in helping Vivien, or because Charles offered money and made you feel indispensable?”
Melissa looked offended, then tired.
“I want both things, and I don’t know why that makes you angry.”
“It doesn’t make me angry that you want to help.”
“Then what?”
“You have not been given space to decide without his attention on you.”
A truck passed through the rain and rocked the car slightly.
Melissa said she had scheduled the independent counseling appointment.
Grant asked if the counselor was truly separate from the Whitmores.
“The clinic selected her,” Melissa replied.
That answer helped, but not enough.
At home, Grant cooked spaghetti while Melissa helped Lily practice spelling words.
For an hour they were the familiar family who knew where everyone kept their socks and which child hated red sauce.
After bedtime, Melissa opened the blue folder again.
Grant sat beside her and read the first pages.
The agreement was a preliminary proposal, not a final contract, but the confidentiality clause ran longer than the explanation of insurance.
He pointed to the line allowing the intended parents to request private medical updates through a designated coordinator.
“Who chooses that coordinator?” he asked.
Melissa did not know.
She reached for a pen to underline it.
That small movement felt like progress.
By the next afternoon, Charles had sent a message asking why the consultation had not produced an immediate answer.
Melissa did not show Grant that message until much later.
Chapter 7: Joanne Remembers
Joanne had spent most of her life settling family arguments by feeding people until their voices softened.
It had worked when her daughters were children and sometimes even when they were adults.
