Read Claiming Noah for Free Online Page B

remembered him: small and round, with a smattering of white hair framing a freckled bald head and a face filled with creases.
    â€˜Diana, Liam, how are you both?’
    Diana felt her cheeks burn as Liam shot her a scornful look she hoped Father Keating didn’t notice.
    â€˜Did you know about this?’ he asked her.
    â€˜It was my idea, Liam, don’t blame her,’ Eleanor said.
    â€˜This wasn’t meant to be an ambush,’ Father Keating said as they stood looking at each other in a four-way stand-off. ‘Eleanor thought it would be a good idea if we all got together to chat. I’m glad to hear you’re thinking of starting a family.’
    â€˜But not the way we’re thinking of doing it,’ Liam said.
    Eleanor ushered them to the couches. ‘Sit, sit. You three talk and I’ll finish making dinner. We’re having veal.’
    After a few minutes of small talk Father Keating raised the subject they knew he was there to discuss. ‘So,’ he said to Diana, ‘your mother tells me you’re considering using IVF to adopt an embryo. Why don’t you tell me more about that?’
    Diana gave Liam a sideways glance, which he seemed to understand, because he answered the question for her.
    â€˜Diana and I have been trying to fall pregnant for the past year without any luck,’ he said. ‘So, we went to the doctor and it turns out both of us have fertility issues. Apparently the chances of us conceiving naturally are basically zero.’
    Father Keating leaned forward, his hands resting on his knees. ‘I can imagine that was a huge disappointment for you both.’
    â€˜It was. But we didn’t want that to stop us from being able to raise a family, so we looked into our options. Diana desperately wanted to be pregnant, and I wanted that for her too, so when we found out about embryo adoption it seemed like the ideal solution for us.’
    â€˜Did you consider other methods at all?’ Father Keating asked. ‘Adopting a baby, for example? Or becoming foster parents?’
    The clatter of pans and utensils in the kitchen stopped and Diana knew that her mother was eavesdropping on the conversation. Liam leaned back against the couch cushions and crossed his arms, his eyes pinched and his lips pressed tightly together, so Diana tried to muster up the courage to answer Father Keating’s question. She let go of the locket she had been fidgeting with since they entered the house and it fell back against her chest. Her hands were clammy, so she wiped them on her skirt before she spoke. ‘We did consider other options, and I know IVF isn’t something the Church endorses. But surely you can understand our desire to grow a baby ourselves. I want to have that time to bond with my child before it’s born.’
    â€˜Diana, the Catholic Church isn’t opposed to methods that can increase a couple’s chance of having a baby,’ Father Keating said, speaking with a patience that suggested he had had this conversation many times before. ‘On the contrary, we want to encourage our younger members of the parish to have children. Most priests support using natural methods to address fertility issues, like working out the ideal time in which to attempt conception. And there has been a lot of work done recently on something called Natural Procreation Technology, which concentrates on treating the causes of the fertility issues rather than bypassing them. I’d be happy to talk to you about that if you’re interested.’
    Diana saw Liam’s hands clench into fists on his lap and she willed him to keep his composure. She knew he wanted to yell at the priest, to tell him it was none of his business. He had a short fuse; he was always yelling at other drivers on the road or telling people off if they cut into queues in front of them. But she had known that about him when she married him, and in part it was his passion and