A House for Happy Mothers: A Novel Read Online Free PDF Page A

Doctor Swati for the first time, she had been full of concerns, and the doctor had been kind and compassionate, speaking about the ease of the procedure, the gain for Asha and her family in the end, and the happiness she would give two people.
    “Not many of us get a chance to give such a big gift,” Doctor Swati said. “You have that opportunity. But if you have even a small rice grain’s worth of doubt, you shouldn’t do it.”
    Asha had had a handful of rice grains’ worth of doubt, but she pretended and acted, and Doctor Swati had believed her. It helped that Pratap seemed so open to the idea. The only thing he had a problem with was that during her last four months of pregnancy, Asha would live at a house in Happy Mothers where all the surrogate mothers lived until they gave birth.
    “So many months without seeing my husband and children?” Asha hadn’t liked the idea at all.
    “They can come and visit. You’re lucky because you will be living in Srirampuram. We have women from Hyderabad, Vizag, Warangal, and they come to the house as soon as they conceive. They don’t see their families until they give birth and go back home,” Doctor Swati said. “Even for your own pregnancy, don’t you go and stay with your mother during your last months?”
    “My mother is dead,” Asha told her.
    “Pratap and the children can come and visit every day—unless they’re sick; then we don’t allow it to make sure you don’t fall sick and the other women in the house don’t, either,” Doctor Swati continued. “But besides that, Pratap can come by every day after work and school to spend time with you, Asha. What do you think, Pratap?”
    “Yes, yes,” Pratap said. “It won’t be a problem. My sister-in-law will help with the children when Asha is here.”
    Asha had done that for Kaveri, so it seemed natural she would do the same for Asha.
    Kaveri had said that it had been fun to get away from her house, children, and husband for four full months. She had spent time with other women like her, and they had watched movies together, eaten food that was prepared by a maid, and had done no housework at all. Someone cooked and cleaned for them, even made their beds. She had felt like a queen for those months, and it had been a rude shock, Kaveri confessed, to come home and do everything herself again.
    They’d thought about moving to Srirampuram after they had the baby and got all their money, anyway. They would buy a flat just like Kaveri and Raman had done, and enroll Manoj in a good school in town.
    With this money, Manoj could become whatever he wanted, Asha thought. Maybe he would become a doctor, someone like Doctor Swati who could chatter away in English, so poised and confident. Maybe he would become an engineer, like those they showed on television, the ones who worked for big companies in America.
    “Do you think it’s a good idea to live with Kaveri and Raman? Their flat will become very crowded,” Asha said as they waited to meet with the doctor.
    “It will be good to live with family,” Pratap said. “We will have help and they will have help. Raman is talking to his contractor to get me a job as well. Manoj can already start going to a good school with some of the money we get from Doctor Swati if you’re pregnant.”
    Asha nodded, holding her tongue. He had already decided. He wasn’t asking her for her opinion; he was telling her he had made a decision and they would just have to do what he wanted. She had thought she would be able to exercise more decision-making power, since the money they would be enjoying would come from her labors, but Pratap didn’t seem to see it that way. And what could she say, “It’s my womb, so it’s my money”? No. That wasn’t like her. She had never countered any decision Pratap had ever made. Women like her didn’t do that kind of thing. But it still chafed that he hadn’t talked to her. It was as if she were just a body, not a person with feelings and