Angry Moon

Chapter 3a

"Mummy! The telly's not working!"

Samantha Kumiko was concentrating on listening to what her guest was saying, and so tuned out her daughter's complaint. The six year old girl had to cry out twice more before her mother finally turned to see what was wrong. "Quiet, please, Lily! Mummy's talking!"

"But the telly's not working!"

"Well, play with your tablet instead." She turned back to her guest.

"But I want to see the cartoons! The cartoons are on!"

"You can see the cartoons later. Play with your tablet. Mummy's trying to talk."

Her guest was looking at the television, though. The screen had turned blue and there were some small words in the upper corner. She put down the small, china teacup and got up from her chair to get a better look. "It's not getting a satellite signal," she said. "Probably clouds in the sky or something."

Samantha looked out the window. It was heavily overcast, but it usually took heavy rain to block the satellite signal. Maybe it was raining to the south. The satellite would be low on the horizon from this latitude. "Yes, probably," she said. She picked up the remote control and switched to the terrestrial channels, then handed it to the child. "Here, find some cartoons." The girl took it and switched between channels, a pouty look on her face.

"They're delightful at that age!" said Connie, her guest, watching with a wistful smile on her face.

"Are you still trying?" asked Samantha.

"Still trying. Still no luck. Tim keeps talking about trying IVF, but..." She looked out the window again.

"You've never liked hospitals, have you?"

"They're so... Cold. I don't mean cold in the temperature sense. I mean..."

"Antiseptic," said Samantha helpfully. "Clinical. Impersonal."

Connie nodded. "That's no way to create a child. Children are made with love, not with syringes and test tubes. The thought of our lovely child being created in a place like that..."

"Lots of people use IVF these days," pointed out her host. "It's not as awful as it used to be. My cousin had her son by IVF. She wasn't overjoyed by the process, but she has a son now. A son she wouldn't have had otherwise."

"I know, and we will do it if that's what it takes, but I'm not ready to give up on the natural way yet." She smiled. "I remember my mother taking me to Kenlinton once. She took me to a house in this small back street, pointed up to a window on the first floor and told me that that was where I was conceived. That was where I began. I want to be able to do the same for my child one day. What am I supposed to do, show him a test tube and tell him that he began in there?"

"You could show him the place where you and Tim first met. That would be where he first began, in a very real sense."

"That would be the end of the pier in Southend. The pier doesn't exist any more. The sea rose and swallowed it up."

Samantha nodded. So many places lost to rising sea levels. "Sometimes it just takes time. Jin and I were trying for three years before we were blessed with Lily. Maybe if you just keep trying..."

"And trying is certainly fun!" Both women laughed their agreement. "Do you still see Jin at all?"

"No. He's got a new life in Japan now. He doesn't seem to miss anything here." She glanced over at her daughter, still flicking through channels in search of something worth watching. "Not even me and Lily."

"He must still keep in touch with Lily, surely. No matter what differences the two of you had."

Samantha shook her head. "It's been over three years since he last saw her."