Fathoming

This trigger is from Copper Beech. The opening line, was “Boys were hard to fathom.”

Boys were hard to fathom. Ellen had come a family of five girls. Her parents had wanted only two children, a boy and a girl. As it turned out their father would have kept trying for his son until her mother said, “No. Enough is enough.” To make her point, she’d had her tubes tied.

At the time Ellen hadn’t understood till her GYN pulled little Daniel from her body a few hours before. Jason and Brett would be thrilled to have a little brother.

She wanted a daughter. She understood girls. They didn’t turn furniture into forts, or push each other in greeting. None of her sisters had ever held a miniature car in their hands and as they swooped it through the air, yelled, “Vroom, vroom, vroom.”

Boys clothes were boring and during this pregnancy she’d looked longingly at little dresses.

The doctor could have told her after the sonogram, but she wanted to hang on to her hopes for a daughter as long as possible.

She looked up from her hospital bed to see her father beaming, “Good on you, girl.” She resisted turning her back to him. He was a great grandpa, doing things with her boys, that he said he couldn’t do with the girls, whom he claimed not to understand.

Then her husband appeared. He’d been on a business trip, when she’d gone into labour yesterday. “I’m sorry honey. We can try again.”

“No, no more,” she said. She may not fathom little boys, but she understood her mother’s enough is enough.