Chapter 26 - IRIS BECOMES A MOTHER
Iris became a mother at thirty-four.
Her daughter June arrived by C-section after a long labor.
I sat in the waiting room.
Not beside the bed.
Iris decided who entered.
Torin waited too.
No arguments.
When she finally texted:
Mom, come in.
I asked:
“Just me?”
“Yes.”
I went.
June was tiny.
I did not reach automatically.
Iris smiled.
“You can hold her.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
The question mattered.
Later Torin entered.
He asked too.
Permission.
Grandparents.
Not owners.
That night Iris called me.
“I keep thinking about Delphine.”
“Why?”
“She wanted to take me.”
“Careful.”
“I know. Court would decide.”
Good.
She had inherited my addiction to precision.
Then:
“She wanted to make motherhood something she could administer.”
“Yes.”
Iris looked at June.
“That’s terrifying.”
“Yes.”
“Do you think she loved me?”
“Yes.”
“Then love is not enough.”
May you like
“No.”
It never was.
