It was a great shock to me when our application for a second child was refused. We had really expected to get the license.
I'm a respectable citizen; pillar of the community; all that kind of stuff. I was a little old, maybe. Josie--my wife--may have been past her best childbearing years. So what? We know other people worse off than us, older, trashy in character, who--Well, never mind.
We had one son, Charlie, and we really wanted another child. Boy or girl, it didn't matter. Of course, if there was something wrong with Charlie, if he developed some illness, maybe then we could license a second child. Or maybe not. And if we did get the license, they would probably take care of Charlie as a defective. You know what I mean; I don't have to say it
The trouble was we were late getting started, and that was Josie's fault. She had irregular periods and you never knew when to get her, if you know what I mean. And we couldn't get any medical help, either. How could we? The clinics said if we couldn't have children without help, that was great for the world. It's patriotic, or something, to be childless.
But we fooled them and had a child after all. Charlie.
When Charlie was eight months old, we started applying for a second child. We wanted them pretty close in age. Was that so much to ask? Even if we were getting a little old for it? What kind of a world do we live in, anyway. No matter how much the population drops, they say it has to drop further, and if life gets easier and people live longer, it has to drop still further.
They won't be satisfied till they wipe out humanity alto--
--Well, look! I'll tell this just the way I want to. If you want the story, officer, you'll have to take it my way. What can you do to me? I really don't much care if I live or die. Would you in my position?
--Look, it's no use arguing. I'll tell it my way, or I'll shut up and you can do your worst. You understand?
--Well then, okay.
As it turned out, we didn't have to worry about Charlie being sickly, or anything like that. He grew like a bear, or one of those other animals that used to hang around in the woods and places like that in the old days. He came of good stock. You could see that. So why couldn't we have had another child? That's what I want to know.
Intelligent? You bet. Strong. Knew what he wanted. Ideal boy. When I think of it, I could--I could--Oh, well.
You should have seen him with the other kids as he was growing up. A natural leader. Always had his way. Always had the other children in the neighborhood doing what he wanted. He knew what he wanted and what he wanted was always right. That was the thing.
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