"Brennert, Alan - Cradle" - читать интересную книгу автора (Brennert Alan)

ALAN BRENNERT

CRADLE

*
Death borders upon our birth, and our cradle stands in the grave.

-- Joseph Hall

How much?"

The girl was barely eighteen, long, straight red hair almost to her waist, a
pretty face made hard by too much makeup and by wary, friendliness eyes. She
shifted a little in her seat, too-short skirt hitching up to reveal a flash of
thigh, in a naive attempt, perhaps, to somehow influence the young attorney who
sat opposite her. Marguerite, watching from a comer of the office, smiled to
herself. Not very bright, but then, that really didn't matter, did it?

Ziegler slid the contract across the top of the big teak desk. "Ten thousand
dollars," he said, showing no signs of being overwhelmed by teen sexuality.
"Plus a per diem" -- she looked blank at that -- "a daily living expense during
the nine months you carry the child. Fifty dollars a day for two hundred and
seventy days-- less, of course, if you deliver prematurely-- for an aggregate
total of twenty-three thousand, five hundred dollars."

The girl-- what was her name again? Sondra? -- seemed to contemplate that a long
moment. She glanced casually around the expansive office with its hardwood
floors and Paul Klee prints, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the brightly
lit fountains of Century City at night, as though assessing Marguerite's worth
by the company she kept (or employed). Then, with a frown, she shook her head.
"Make it an even twenty-five," she said emphatically.

Ziegler looked to Marguerite, who kept her amusement to herself such a shrewd
bargainer: a paltry fifteen hundred extra! -- then nodded, silently.

"Agreed," said the attorney. "Now, in looking over the adoption agreement,
you'll see there are some standard provisions to which you must adhere: No drug,
alcohol, or tobacco use during the pregnancy; regular obstetrical examinations,
which we will of course provide --"

Sondra frowned as she scanned the document. "What's this?" she interrupted. "'If
circumstances warrant, surrogate agrees to domicile --'"

"At Ms. LeCourt's home, yes. That is, should there be any complications in the
pregnancy-- unlikely, but you never know -- Ms. LeCourt would feel more secure
having you nearby, with access to proper help. At which point, of course, we'd
engage the services of a full-time nurse, and Dr. Chernow" he nodded toward the
portly, balding man seated next to Marguerite -"would make daily visits." For