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Title: The Waiting Room
Author:
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goodbye_sunRated: PG
Words: 846
Summary: Wanda and Lawrence contemplate parenthood.
Warnings: Character really excited about kidlets.
 Wanda leaned against her husbands shoulder and cooed into his ear, “Isn't she lovely?” “Hmmm?” Lawrence grunted. He was trying to read the newspaper in peace, but his wife could not sit still. She was gawking at the little girl sitting across from them. He glanced over the top of his paper and shuffled it back in place. “Yes, very sweet.”  A threesome coming from the doctors offices attracted her attention away from the toddler. “Oh, look,” she sang, “Twins. Aren't they just the most precious things.” Lawrence kept his eyes on his paper but managed to grumble, “Her husband must have some good connections.” “Is that all you can think of when you see such adorable children, Lawrence?” she tisked. “It's difficult not to, considering how long we have had to wait for our approval.”  She gave him a beaming smile. “But we have it now all the same, and I think its a good enough reason to finally be able to sit back and admire what others have instead of looking at all those gorgeous rosy cheeks and wondering if we were ever going to get selected.” He gave her a wink, “And that's why I married you Wanda, you have enough optimism and joy for the both of us.”  A conservatively dressed, and slightly dour looking woman entered the waiting room not long after the two girls and their mother. She picked up a file from the receptionist, quickly glanced though its contents and called out, “Mr. and Mrs. Chester? Come with me please.” And led the couple down the long corridor dotted with plain white doors to her office. Wanda smiled to herself the whole way, mostly because of why they were there, but also because the Doctor's shoes squeaked when she walked. Lawrence was otherwise occupied with lurid thoughts of the receptionist to notice the sound of the Doctors new patent leather shoes.  Once seated the Doctor again read through their file, this time with much more care. Once satisfied, she asked, “Lawrence, Wanda, what can I do for you today?” Wanda hunted around in her handbag and produced a letter, the envelope and paper inside was crinkled and worn from what the Doctor figured was the result of the letter inside being pulled out and read and reread over and over again. Wanda passed it to the Doctor Fabrish. “It came late last week. This was the first appointment you had available. We finally have approval to have a baby.”  Again the couple waited in silence as the Doctor read over the forms. Nodding, she said, “Everything looks in order. Congratulations you two.” “Can we get started right away?” Lawrence gave his wife a sideways glance and muttered under his breath, “Wanda.” The Doctor waved away his embarrassment, “It's a perfectly natural reaction Lawrence, women are most fulfilled when they have a husband and a child to look after.”  Wanda clasped her hands together and sighed, “Its what we were put on this earth to do.” Lawrence looked at the Doctor and was relieved that she was obviously less affected by the topic than Wanda quite obviously was. “Do you have any of your own?” He asked. “Yes,” she said matter of factly, “She is nearly seventeen now.” Wanda chimed in, “Seventeen is such a wonderful age. I remember looking through the directories trying to find the perfect husband almost the instant I was home from my maturnation ceremony.” She gave Lawrence's leg a pat, “And I did.”  The Doctor rubbed her temple and winced. She could feel a headache coming on. “Shall we carry on our conversation in private Mrs. Chester?” “Oh, of course, doctor.” Wanda reached over and brushed her fingers over the hair on her husbands neck. With a delft hand she popped open his control panel and switched him off. She looked back at the doctor and smiled demurely.  “We have several options for you to choose from. We can do a straight clone of yourself, a blend of yourself and a single female outside your genome, or we could do a blend that includes up to five separate genomes. The last option is more expensive, of course, but it does create far superior clones.” Wanda tilted her head and asked, “But that does allow for some adjustment of personality traits in addition to physical ones, correct?”  Sitting back in her chair the Doctor replied, “Of course.” “Yes, that one. I would like her to be taller than me and less interested in reading. I find myself so wrapped up in books sometimes.” She paused and leaned forward to whisper, “I almost forget to make dinner for Lawrence. Some evenings I don't even have time to fix my make up before he walks in the door, and that is simply too shocking for words. I don't want my Dorothy to be as careless about her wifely obligations.” Authors note: Hope I wasn't too subtle (or blatant) when it came to the real role women play in this world. I just thought it was an interesting juxtaposition, the 50s woman in a time and place where men aren't actually necessary. |
June 24 2010, 16:30:26 UTC 1 year ago
Interesting juxtaposition indeed, with the conservative attitudes and then the robot husband, the designer babies, and the fact that government approval is needed for reproduction. This actually seems like a great concept for a movie, with both the intrigue and the social commentary.
Nice work :)
June 25 2010, 02:45:03 UTC 1 year ago
Cheers!
June 24 2010, 17:58:27 UTC 1 year ago
June 25 2010, 02:49:32 UTC 1 year ago
June 25 2010, 00:54:28 UTC 1 year ago
So, no male babies born, just men created. :) Wow, what a way to get the perfect male. ;)
I like the fact you used a less technically advanced society, for a very technically advanced idea.
June 25 2010, 08:03:30 UTC 1 year ago
XD
Years ago I read a Marge Piercy story that mentioned that for society to finally stop having gender as an issue, women would have to make the final step of giving up being the only ones capable of reproduction. I thought the opposite was for women to take it over completely, no need for men at all, and what exactly that might do to a society. So I went extreme, that it would make women crave that 50s idea of being the perfect wife and mother.
June 25 2010, 14:28:07 UTC 1 year ago
June 26 2010, 04:00:22 UTC 1 year ago
June 25 2010, 20:42:23 UTC 1 year ago
I love this. it scares me to death.
June 26 2010, 04:04:24 UTC 1 year ago
June 25 2010, 22:28:27 UTC 1 year ago
June 26 2010, 04:05:34 UTC 1 year ago
June 26 2010, 04:06:28 UTC 1 year ago
June 26 2010, 04:29:08 UTC 1 year ago
July 15 2010, 16:56:37 UTC 1 year ago
July 16 2010, 01:36:53 UTC 1 year ago