Prologue
As I picked up the telephone, I realized Valerie had been crying. “Oh, Denise, I have bad news to tell you. Vince is in the hospital and the doctors are not expecting him to live. He asked me to get in touch with you and ask that you come to see him; it seemed very important to him. I know that he was always very fond of you, but something is bothering him and it has to do with you. He is slipping fast; try to see him as soon as possible. Forgive me, but I'm not in the mood to talk, I'll call you soon. He's at the Cleveland Medical Center, Room 203.”
With that, she hung up and I was left to wonder what Vince could possibly want to talk with me about. What could be so important that he wanted to see me on his deathbed? I looked at the clock; it was six o'clock in the evening, and I knew that the hospital visiting hours weren't over until eight o'clock. I wasn't going to take any chances considering his dire condition; I grabbed my coat and drove to the hospital.
When I saw Vince I didn't recognize him. He had pneumonia and had been fighting for his life for weeks. He was wasting away to nothing but bones. He looked like an old and weary man. My heart went out to him. Even though it was difficult to look at him, I moved closer to the bed and tried to appear cheerful. His eyes were closed; I touched his hand, which was only bones, “Vince, its Denise, can you hear me?”
I saw his eyelashes flicker, recognition slowly coming to him.
When he spoke, it was hardly above a whisper, I had to lean over the bed to hear him, he said, “Denise, it's good to see you. Valerie told you… “he had to stop for a fit of coughing and gradually he continued, “I need to tell you something very important that happened a long time ago; you have the right to know. Do you remember Mark Abbot? Well he's retired and has become a recluse, and now I'm dying. With my death, the truth will be buried forever. Listen closely: in 1967 when you had the second baby, you didn't have just one child; you had a set of twins. Mark convinced me not to tell you, the adopting parents, or the other associates. All these years I've lived with the guilt of having deceived you. I convinced myself that it wouldn't matter, but deep down I knew the secret was wrong. To think we did it because of greed. I didn't give a damn about how it would hurt others. I don't deserve it, but I have to ask for your forgiveness. I'm truly sorry.”
To hear those words, I began shaking uncontrollably. Vince thought my reactions were because I was finding him repulsive for what he'd done; but I was thinking about Bonnie Frasier and the two children who were about to get married. I saw tears falling down Vince's face; so I tried to control my emotions, I said, “Vince I forgive you, you're human. You helped me when no one else was there. Rest now and know that you will always be very special to me and I do forgive you.”
Vince reached out for my hand and squeezed it as hard as he could in affection. When I left, I felt now Vince could die in peace, knowing that he had set this terrible wrong right at last, I thought, ‘If only he knew the havoc his deceit is going to cause.'
The Surrogates Description:
The Surrogates is a story that looks at Surrogate Parenting from the perspective of the women who for various reasons become Surrogate Mothers; the prospective adoptive parents and their hopes and desires for a baby; the mission and commitment of the owners of Lake Shore Parenting Group, the surrogate agency; and the children borne by the Surrogate Mothers.
More than twenty years later, how all their lives are affected and embroiled in a murder investigation. Ultimately, they all have motives for murdering the two men from the Lake Shore Parenting Group. Who is the murderer?
