The Choice Era. Part 1. Nata Kay

herself any «relaxation», including in her own apartment. Her hair was always gently done, her outfit was picked out with such style, as if each day Mona was waiting for guests. Her innate sense of style had been polished over the years. She used to say that the most important thing in a person was the inner world, but why wouldn’t one frame it with something visually attractive? In her opinion, most people had no real reason to look bad.

      Now that her belly was about to grow, Mona was trying to get used to the thought that she had to forget about fitted clothes for a while.

      In fact, women accept a lot of changes in themselves during motherhood. Someone accepts them as if there were no changes at all, others find it difficult to accept everything. For now, Mona had no idea how motherhood would affect her, but she did everything she could to ensure that no one would accuse her of losing herself after childbirth. Modern manuals were glad to help with it. All Mona had to do was to follow the instructions correctly.

      Luckily, the Nelsons had a lot of time until an addition to the family, and today Mona went out into the hall wearing light trousers and a shirt that was hinting at a half-open neckline. It seemed like she was glad to meet Harry in such clothes.

      Harry considered Mona an embodiment of femininity, that made him feel like a gentleman with her. Sometimes he was afraid if he stopped being attentive to her as on the first date, he would have lost his wife and would have watched with horror her leaving for another man. At the same time, Harry was absolutely confident that Mona and he were made for each other. He woke up and went to bed thinking about this immutable truth every day.

      «Are you all right?» Mona asked with a faint note of anxiety and interest. «Did everything settle at work? You were gone so long. I was worried and missed you.»

      They went into the kitchen where they could smell deliciously cooked dinner and hear the sound of boiling water in the kettle.

      «I missed you too,» Harry replied. At home he connected to some kind of invisible source of energy. Even if he was terribly exhausted, when he crossed the threshold, he began to feel better. «Everything is all right at work, everything has settled. I couldn’t finish one project for a long time, literally felt stupor because of it, but in the end everything worked out for the best. I think next week we are going to win an important tender. And after work I met Ivy. We walked in the park for a while.»

      «Oh!» Mona let herself show surprise for just a second. «I haven’t seen her for ages. I hope she’s doing well.»

      Harry decided not to share all the news about his sister yet. He still hoped Ivy would change her mind, and no one else would know about her crazy ideas. Perhaps later, in the future, when Ivy receives an award for her great contribution to astrophysics, she and Harry would meet at an event on this occasion and laugh at how one day the star academic decided to go into another area, but in time came to her senses.

      Harry sat down on the chair, but instantly got up and walked over to the stove to help set the table. Mona laughed and sat him back down with her hand gesture. She was dealing with domestic chores perfectly well on her own.

      «Ivy’s okay,» Harry nodded sitting down comfortably. He wanted to ease up as soon as possible. «She is chirpy and cheerful, as usual. Her exams are coming soon. I think she’s going to pass them.»

      «If everything is good,» Mona reasonably remarked, opening drawers and taking out dishes. She could do all this with her eyes closed. «Then, why are you so thoughtful?»

      «I don’t know…» Harry said. «It just turned out to be a strange and some kind of endless day. It seems like a lifetime ago since last weekend. Well… It’s no big deal… After dinner I’ll be fine. This isn’t the time to be dull. So many things happen.»

      He paused.

      «By the way, you won’t believe…» Harry chuckled and continued. «Bob brought me books, after all. A lot. I even started reading one.»

      The aroma of rosehip tea spread all over the kitchen. According to the short text on all its packages, it had a calming effect. Mona put two cups down, came to Harry and carefully sat down on his lap. He immediately hugged her. It was amazing to think that a loved one was growing and developing inside another loved one. This awareness inspired Harry to more love and tenderness.

      «Even started reading one? What for?» Mona screwed up her nose. She did it in a childish naive way.

      «To lay him off of me…»

      «Well,» Mona smiled. «This is a reasonable and acceptable explanation. But be careful with that, okay? I don’t really want to see my beloved husband immersing himself in reading. I’m sure there is something charming in this performance from the outside, but we may handle it without this charm.»

      «I’m not going to immerse in it,» Harry protested and stretched out his hands. Mona was about to stand up, and Harry wanted to stop her, but Mona was already standing.

      «Dinner won’t put itself on a plate,» she said in half whisper and winked.

      At dinner the topic of books and everything relevant didn’t come up anymore. Harry and Mona were fond of talking, but they also learned to keep quiet with each other long ago, when they just started living together. As did many other people, they believed that keeping quiet from time to time was a sign of true compatibility.

      Now the Nelsons were hardly speakingю They were just eating dinner, and the most frequent sound was the tap of forks and knives.

      There was a lot going on the day, and Harry was doubly pleased with it. He finally could take a rest. Tomorrow would be a new day, and it’s hard to imagine what Bob would do again. Maybe he would stop stuffing his colleagues with books or maybe he would be inspired by the idea of fostering everyone’s love of literature.

      Harry wouldn’t resort to the latter option in Bob’s place. Such an option could lead to losing job accidentally. As well as friends, relatives, personal beliefs, life position and, sadly, mind. The internet was giving articles about people who decided to dive headlong into literature. As a rule, there were nothing good for those people lately.

      After dinner Harry reminded himself it was time to stop thinking about books and tomorrow, as well as about Bob and his eccentricity.

      People can’t help thinking about anything at all. They lost this skill during the evolution. It may be said that they gave it as part of the price for a complex functioning brain. For some people the price was too high.

      Harry failed at getting rid of his thoughts, but he didn’t give up. He started thinking about his earlier memories not to remember the events of the day. Now he focused on one, which could challenge many events in terms of importance.

      It happened two days after the doctor confirmed Mona’s pregnancy.

      As it should be, Mona immediately started receiving medical care, scheduled check-ups, vitamins and got recommendations about trainings devoted to healthy eating, breathing, psychological development and all other important things.

      However, apart from the checkups and virtual information processes, Mona had to do something that would excite any pregnant woman – visiting a kindergarten. Mona wasn’t supposed to go there alone. Harry’s presence was also required.

      All future parents visited kindergartens. The authorities made it clear that such an experience gave couples clear understanding of what they would have to face after childbirth, and when kindergartens would come to the rescue.

      After this visit the couples took tests, according to the result of which they were authorized or not to raise a child. These tests were carried out on a regular basis in the future. Any problems with them could lead to consequences ranging from modest visits to specialists to deprivation of parental rights. Of course, the latter took place only in the most extreme cases.

      Kindergartens admitted children from six months. There was no shortage of places. If the statistics showed