Josh and Gemma Make a Baby(98)

“He approves,” I say.

“She,” Josh says.

I laugh, and then Josh is kissing me again, and my family is cheering, and my friends are laughing, and the puppy is barking, and our baby is kicking, and everything, everything is perfect.

Suddenly, I pull away from Josh. I’ve just thought of something. “What’s your resolution for this year?”

He looks at me, then gives me that private smile, the one just for me, and he says, “I don’t have one. I have everything I want.”

“Everything?”

He nods and says with complete certainty, “Everything.”

Then he pulls me back in his arms, and whispers in my ear, “Gemma, if you don’t let me take you upstairs and strip you down...”

I laugh and then Josh has scooped me up and is hurrying up the stairs.

“But what about the resolution writing?” my mom calls.

“And the champagne?” says Leah.

“Carly, can they borrow your island for their honeymoon?” Brook says.

“Darling, I told you, I didn’t ask for an island.”

“Do you think they’ll want a summer wedding?” my mom asks.

Josh grins down at me and I start to laugh. Then, I can’t hear my family and friends anymore because Josh has made it up the stairs and he’s looking at me like there isn’t anyone or anything in the whole world except me.

And I know exactly how he feels.

“I love you.”

He kicks open the door to my bedroom and gently drops me onto my childhood bed. “Kinky,” I say.

He lifts an eyebrow, “I figured the garage would be too cold.”

Hmm. “Maybe this summer? After the baby comes.”

His eyes light up and he grins. “Deal.”

I laugh, and he covers my mouth with his. He strips me down, and then he loves me and loves me and loves me some more. And me, I love him right back.

After all, everybody knows, love is the best gift, the best gift in the whole wide world.



* * *





*Illustrations by Josh Lewenthal





A note from the author





Infertility effects one in eight couples, and each of us or someone we know – a family member, a friend, a neighbor, the person behind us in line at the grocery store – is impacted by infertility. Even though it’s so common, we rarely talk about it or share the effect it has on our lives. The struggle, the hope, the yearning.

Every infertility diagnosis is unique and every person addresses it with their own feelings, their own views, and their own hopes.

I wanted to write a book that opened up an experience so many women, men, and couples have, but that is so rarely shared. The diagnosis, the IVF, the miscarriages, and the will to keep trying, even though.

In this book, Gemma faces infertility in her own way. It won’t be anyone else’s way or anyone else’s journey, it’s hers. I believe that hard times are always best when faced with a smile. I hope Gemma’s humor and courage brought a smile to you.



* * *



Sincerely, Sarah Ready





Acknowledgments





In case you missed the dedication, this book is for you. Yes. You. Thank you.

I don’t know if you’ve ever had a book written for you before, if not, here it is. You deserve it and so much more. You are my inspiration.

It’s always my greatest wish to give joy, happiness, and courage to others. I want to acknowledge two female writers who have done the same and inspired generations of women. Jane Austen and Helen Fielding. Thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

These brilliant women brought to the forefront of society universal questions that needed to be asked. Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice asked: is it right to marry for money and status or can we marry for love? Bridget in Bridget Jones’s Diary asked: can a woman have self-determination of her career and relationships? Both asked: what does it mean to be a woman today? I’m honored and grateful to these two writers to be able to reframe, recreate, and address this question in the pages of this book.

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby explores a new social commentary concerning so many of us today – fertility, family building, and choosing our own destiny as a woman. I hope that this book is worthy of the legacy of Jane Austen and Helen Fielding. Thank you for being an inspiration so that a new story highlighting women, our struggles, and our lives could be written.

On a note concerning advocacy, thank you to RESOLVE, The National Infertility Association, for your resources, acronym database, helpful information, and all the work and advocacy you do.

Thank you to the Reproductive Endocrinologists consulted, for your careful edits and suggestions, and your help in making sure Gemma’s story was as accurate as possible.

I’d also like to acknowledge my good friend, after thirteen tries you succeeded — a girl! Your hope, belief, and strength were inspirational.

Finally, back to you. My greatest wish is that when you finish these pages you are filled with hope and love and a sense that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. Because it’s true. Reach out, dare to dream, you have the whole world inside of you and all the love too. Take ahold of all your dreams and live them.