Showing Reluctant Miracle by Linda Sebastian

Debut fiction, winner of first place for unpublished fiction from the Florida Writer’s Association in 2006.

Maggie Reed blames herself for the death of her sister, Leslie, who was so desperate to have a baby that she became pregnant — even after she was advised to avoid another pregnancy due to health concerns. Leslie had repeatedly begged Maggie to be her surrogate; but for Maggie and her husband Gordon, the timing was not right. They had just moved and their six-year-old was adjusting to a new school. Besides, they wanted to have another child of their own soon. At Leslie’s funeral, Maggie goes against her husband’s wishes and decides to become a surrogate.

Rita Montreaux is a success in everything she does — from modeling to business to community activism. She is married to a successful literary attorney, and both Rita and her husband John are involved in black community affairs. But all their accomplishments are overshadowed by one giant failure: they have not been able to have a baby.

For ten years the repeated and arduous infertility treatments have left the couple financially and emotionally depleted. They almost surrender to a life barren of children, but they decide to try one more time to stimulate enough eggs to do in vitro fertilization and use a surrogate to carry their baby. However, the three black women who were potential surrogates fail to meet the couple’s stringent criteria. Rita and John are left with eggs about to be harvested and no surrogate.

Rita and John Montreaux are getting desperate, and Maggie seems like a Godsend. However, Rita hates white women—all white women—because a white woman stole her father from her. Relying on and trusting a white woman is almost too much to ask of Rita, even if it means a last chance for she and John to have their own child.

Maggie’s deception has almost destroyed her marriage, and when Maggie and Gordon’s six-year-old daughter Abby becomes seriously ill, Maggie’s guilt about neglecting her own child is overwhelming. But her guilt over Leslie’s death is more powerful.

Maggie undergoes embryo transplantation on behalf of Rita and John and becomes pregnant. A few weeks into the pregnancy, Maggie has a miscarriage. However, Maggie was carrying twins, and one of the babies — a girl — has survived. Over the course of her pregnancy both Maggie and Rita develop a relationship that heals them both. Maggie successfully delivers a baby girl for Rita and John.