Kanlaon

Gee whiz, I have done it again. I have picked a novel to read that has everything to do with the zeitgeist (and I added it to the reading list way before Texas SB8, is that women’s intuition or what?).

On p. 9, Catherine and her very nice husband, Anthony, who already have one child, a boy named Theodore, discuss having another. The man wants it more than the woman. Here is Catherine expressing her ambivalence:

I go through phases. Sometimes I feel determined and ready. I can do this. Send me the needles, shoot me up, strap me down. I will do anything for a baby. Other weeks, the idea of all of those people and objects and wires and things being inside me makes me want to curl myself in a protective hunch. No, my body says. This is not right. Anthony’s more prone to baby-induced broodiness than I am. A friend’s snuffly newborn or his godchild doing something adorable will inevitably lead to an earnest declaration that we should just do it, let’s do it, what have we got to lose? Like tonight.

What do we have to lose? Everything, Anthony. I want to cry each time. Occasionally I’ll convince myself I can do this whole IVF thing but I can’t do it flippantly. For a man so keen on planning, he can be remarkably gung ho about the impact of IVF and babies or, worse, IVF and no babies, on our lives. I need an acknowledgment of the potential worst case scenario. I need him to understand how hard it’s going to be for me.

This husband will prove to be very important later, because men are dying off at an astonishing rate. In fact, this poor woman might be having to share: it’s like The Handmaid’s Tale, only opposite.

Stay tuned, dear blog readers. Stay tuned.