The Monster's Daughter by Michelle Pretorius

Author:Michelle Pretorius [Pretorius, Michelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-61219-539-1
Publisher: Melville House
Published: 2016-07-19T04:00:00+00:00

Tessa

She dried her hands, put her wedding ring back on her finger, and practiced a nonchalant smile, preparing herself mentally for what was to come. She had the face of a woman in her mid-twenties, thinner than she should be, perhaps, blond hair cut short in an attempt to fit in with the times, but her eyes betrayed the world-weariness she felt in every thought. Outside the bathroom door, Dean, his hair thinning, his middle-aged paunch spreading, would unwittingly wait for her to disappoint him again.

Tessa picked up the black sash she had sewn for herself and draped it over her shoulder. The solidarity she felt with the other women while protesting on the parliament steps gave her courage. She went as often as she could. Women protesting apartheid did not achieve much in a world run by men, but at least she felt like she was not passively watching the country go to hell.

She found Dean outside in the garden, fiddling around in the dirt, taking a break from the mounds of case files on his desk. “I’m off, darling.”

“Ah, my conscientious objector. Be careful?” Dean stood up and dusted his hands off.

People sometimes got physical against the women of the Black Sash. Tessa had had a narrow escape the week before, when someone flung a rock that missed her by centimeters.

“I will.” Tessa looked at his dirty hands. “How are the tomatoes?”

“It’ll be another week or so. If I can keep Rupert out.” At Dean’s feet, a golden spaniel wagged its tail. In the year since they got a dog, Rupert had managed to destroy the garden, two leather chairs and so many shoes that Tessa had a hard time finding matching pairs.

“We don’t spend enough time with him,” Tessa said.

“I know.” Dean went on his haunches and rubbed the spaniel behind the ears. “But the kids love it when I bring him along.” He often hosted community-outreach events in the townships and Tessa went with him, translating, helping where she could. The people called her Nobantu. Mother of humanity. Tessa thought it ironic.

“Makes one wonder if we should even bother having our own,” she said casually.

Dean looked at her, a subtle sadness clouding his easygoing demeanor. “Again?”

Tessa nodded. Without warning she started to cry. It surprised her that she still had it in her to be disappointed after all the months of prodding and poking by the doctors amid reassurances that there was nothing wrong with either her or Dean.

Dean had his arms around her. “Perhaps we should give in-vitro a try?”

Tessa shook her head, scared that if the doctors looked too close, they might find the truth.

“Listen, Lilly, don’t give up. If they can transplant a heart, they can certainly find a way to give us a baby.”

“It won’t work.”

“It might.”

Tessa looked away, unable to meet his eyes. “I can’t even do this one thing that’s supposed to happen naturally.”

“Nonsense.” Dean took both her hands in his. “Listen, we’ll take a holiday, go away. It would do you good to relax.

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