Maybe Baby

I was a single mom with two little boys when I met Al. I thought I was done having children. I’d promised myself while in labor with my second son that I’d never put my body through the agony of childbirth again. I even had a tubal ligation, just to make sure.

Then my marriage crashed, and a year or so later, I met Al. After we married, I decided that maybe, with him, I’d have a baby. I’d reverse my surgery. What was a little pain? Okay, a lot of pain, but still, it’s worth it when the result is something as wonderful as a child. And Al didn’t have any kids of his own. I felt like it was my job to give him at least one. 

So we talked about our options. Artificial insemination was pretty new, but we figured we’d explore alternate possibilities, in case my reversal surgery didn’t work.  

“Honey, I swear to you, I won’t enjoy it.” Al had an innocent look on his face.

“What are you talking about?”

“You know, if we decide to go with a surrogate. I won’t enjoy the sex with her.”

I appreciated the sentiment, but I couldn’t stop laughing. To this day, I don’t know if Al was kidding or clueless.

For a lot of reasons, we ended up not having a child of our own. Both of us are happy with the decision, but I still love reminding him of the day when he promised not to enjoy sex with a stranger.