Parental Affairs

Kara wiped the sweat from her palms on her pants while trying to maintain a pleasant smile. She felt a soft kick to her ankle. Casting a quick glance to her right, her eyes met the sharp glare from Tomas. His message was clear: stop fidgeting.

Kara focused on the tulips on the desk, admiring their pale petals and faint scent. She hadn’t seen flowers in ages. They didn’t grow in her quarter of the city.

The voice of the Parental Affairs Bureau officer brought Kara’s attention back. She bolted up, adjusting her posture in the seat.

“Thank you for all these additional documents, Ms. Cole,” the woman said, lifting her head up from the papers on the desk. Despite her friendly tone, she looked upon Kara and Tomas with stern, cold eyes.

“Of course,” Kara responded, with as much sincerity as she could convey.

“I hope they’ve proved helpful for our application. This is the third time we’ve applied,” Tomas added. He reached over and put his hand over Kara’s. “We want to be parents so, so badly.”

“I can see that, and I appreciate the determination,” the woman said, leaning back in her chair. She smiled softly, almost apologetically. The woman was older, probably in her sixties, with graying hair. Above her plain blouse was a necklace, adorned with three silver, gleaming heart lockets—badges of honor given to those with the privilege of birthing the next generation. Kara eyed them enviously.

The woman’s smile faded. “Unfortunately, there are still just too many red flags from the Bureau’s perspective.”

Kara’s stomach dropped. She tried to contain her disappointment but could feel her face melting into a look of despair. Before she could respond, Tomas spoke up. “What red flags? I’ve held a job consistently for a full year at this point. Kara has been exercising diligently and has passed every physical test with flying colors!” He looked away, trying to control his emotions. Kara’s head drooped even lower, as she stared bleakly at the ground.

“And I do recognize the substantial progress from where you were at the time of your first application, Mr. Cole,” the officer answered. “However, given the high number of applicants the city has recently had, well, the standards have increased. We now require management experience from the father, as well as at least three years of solid physical data before approval can be granted.”

Tomas jumped up from his chair and stormed to the corner of the office, prompting Kara to lift her head and look to him with teary eyes. “That’s absolutely ridiculous! We’ve been in the pipeline for two years!”

“Tomas!” Kara whispered, her face flushed with fear at his outburst.

“Mr. Cole, please maintain decorum. I do not make the rules, but my decision is final at this time. And I would remind you that how you behave in this office can only be taken as an indication of your future parental demeanor. Our office will be in touch with additional information for you both as you continue along this process.” The woman turned to Kara. “I’m sorry, Ms. Cole, but the answer today is no.”

Kara, holding back tears, nodded in understanding to the older woman as she stood from her chair. Tomas let out a scoff and stormed out of the office, and Kara followed suit.

Twenty minutes later, the pair boarded the metro to head back to their neighborhood in the Southern quarter of the city. They hadn’t spoken since leaving the office; Tomas had remained in his angry stupor, and Kara felt too weak to engage. Finding an empty seat a few yards away from him, she leaned back and closed her eyes. The high-pitched squeal of a child brought her back to reality, and she looked down the aisle to see a young girl laughing and twirling. She felt buoyed by a wave of bliss as she watched the child. It wasn’t often children were seen in this part of the city; most parents never left their sanctioned neighborhoods in the Northern quarter. Likely sensing the attention cast towards the girl, the mother quickly grabbed her wrist, pulling her daughter towards the privacy of their seats. Kara’s smile faded as the girl disappeared from her view.

At the next stop, the mother stood, now carrying the young daughter, and began rushing off the train. As Kara watched them go, she saw the mother’s silver heart locket glimmer in the metro’s fluorescent lighting as it fell from the mother’s neck.

“Wait!” she called out, rushing to grab the pendant, but the mother had moved too quickly. The doors of the metro closed as Kara picked up the locket.

She returned to the cold, plastic seat and put the locket in her pocket. I’ll return it to the Bureau tomorrow. For the rest of the ride, she kept her hand clutched around the cool metal heart. She couldn’t help but smile as she savored the sensation.

“Kara. It’s our stop, come on.” Tomas’ voice was harsh from afar. Kara stood and followed him as they continued their trek home. Walking along the dirty street, Kara glanced with indifference at the boarded-up storefronts, the people huddled around small bonfires in old gas barrels, and the many makeshift tents made from hole-ridden blankets. She could feel her depression taking on more weight in her mind. Had she really woken up today thinking she may soon be escaping this place? Finally becoming a mother? Her thoughts trailed off, as her sadness began to transition to apathy. Acceptance.

Soon she began trudging up the four floors to their dingy one-bedroom. She noticed Tomas’ hands were shaking as he tried to open the door. Then came the clinking of the keys hitting the floor as he dropped them, prompting him to slam his fist into the hard wood.

“Damnit!” Tomas leaned his head against the door. Kara reached down and picked up the keys, and then leaned into hug Tomas from behind.

“I’m sorry, Tomas. We can try again.” She spoke softly, sensitively.

Tomas shrugged her off and grabbed the keys from her hand. “Why even bother. They’ve made up their mind. We’re not the people they want having kids, Kara.” He unlocked the door and barreled into the apartment.

Kara treaded behind and quietly closed the door. “What do you mean? Everyone wants to be parents these days. It makes sense that they have to increase the standards. Afterall, they—”

“How can you even say that! That it ‘makes sense?’” Tomas yelled, spinning around to face her. His eyes were wide and his breaths deep. “There’s no reason we all can’t be parents, Kara. No reason they can’t provide the fertility medicine to the full population. They want to restrict who becomes parents.”

“Tomas, you can’t believe that,” Kara said incredulously, her face a look of pure shock. The Parental Affairs Bureau had been in existence for nearly a century. Ever since the last famine.

"Kara, use your brain. In the past ten years, the number of parents accepted into the Bureau have been limited substantially. This isn’t like when our parents were accepted. Nowadays, you must be from the highest social class. You have to have connections. You have to be someone.” Tomas went to the fridge and grabbed a beer. “And it’s only going to get worse. I heard yesterday that the city is going to start restricting any non-parents from the Northern quarter. They’re literally closing off parts of the city to us. To anyone without one of those stupid heart lockets around their necks.”

“Why would they do that?” Kara voice cracked.

“You don’t get any of this,” Tomas sputtered, taking a gulp from his bottle. “The city’s elites, they want us kept away. Gone. They don’t want us to be the ones propelling humanity forward. The normal folk.”

Kara shook her head in disbelief. “There has to be another reason.” Her voice was meek as she looked at Tomas in desperation.

“You’re such an idiot!” Tomas raged, throwing the beer bottle against the wall. Kara shuddered as the glass shattered. The dark liquid was splattered against the crumbling wallpaper, dripping to the floor. “This is all your fault! You have barely put in any effort to get us approved. These past three years have been hell being your partner and have gotten me nowhere!” Tomas sulked back into the kitchen, and Kara heard the fridge open again.

“That’s not true, Tomas.”

“It is,” he answered, coming back into the musty living room. “Being a parent was my only chance at a real life. At a good life. But it’s too late, and I’m done. There’s a protest tonight against the new city restrictions. I’m going. And probably not coming back.”

“Tomas,” Kara said, knowing she had to tread lightly. “If the Bureau finds out you were at an antigovernment protest, it’ll torpedo our parental application. We’ll never get approved.” Fear began to wash over her.

“Don’t you get it, Kara. Our application is already dead. We’re never getting approved.” He took a swig from the new beer bottle he had in his hand and walked to the door. Turning around, he opened his mouth, but no words came out. Instead, he shook his head, opened the door, and walked out.

Kara fell to the floor and began to weep. “He doesn’t have the right to abandon me!” she cried out in the empty apartment. She stood and migrated to the lumpy sofa. The tears continued flowing as she curled into the fetal position. Eventually, she drifted off to sleep.

A few hours later, Kara woke up. She slowly got up from the sofa, her skin feeling irritated, having been marred from the abrasive, tattered fabric. After pouring herself a cup of coffee, lukewarm from when it was brewed that morning, she returned to the couch and turned on the television.

She flipped through the few channels, passing over the children’s program and the adult drama program, to the sole news outlet. The camera was focused on a man in a dark navy suit midway through a speech in front of the stately City Hall.

“…while I understand the frustration regarding the new restrictions for non-parents, I urge all residents to focus on the bigger picture. We are simply working to ensure the next generation is given the best possible environment in which to grow up. The parental system is the backbone of our society…”

The screen switched to the evening anchor in a newsroom studio.

“That was Director of the Parental Affairs Bureau earlier today, speaking in defense of the new city movement restrictions. In retaliation, many non-parent citizens have begun to protest. We’re getting reports that violence is swelling in the city center. We take you there now.”

A hectic scene was shown. Throngs of people chanting, their faces flush with fury. The crowds were moving down the main city street towards City Hall.

“Damnit Tomas, don’t be in that mess,” Kara said out loud. She tightened her grip on the mug, trying to find security in the last traces of heat from the liquid.

On the screen, the anger of the people was palpable. Kara began to feel terrified. Once she couldn’t take it anymore, she switched off the television and let out a sigh. She went to her bedroom to change out of the stiff pantsuit she had put on for the application meeting. As she folded the pants, the silver locket fell out of the pocket.

Kara stared at the heart on the floor as her mind began to reel. She had completely forgotten about it.

This could be my ticket out.

Before she could reconsider, she grabbed the locket and tossed some clothes into her old, frayed suitcase. She put on her nicest dress, the one she only wore to her friends’ baby showers and ran out of the apartment. With urgency, Kara headed North.