Matronly Duties by Melissa Kendall

were only good for working, breeding, and the occasional sexual encounter. He was the first man I ever saw who made me even consider the latter. Every time I saw him, this sensation—as if my whole body was tingling—would come over me. I would feel happy. I didn’t know what the feeling was, only that I felt it when I saw him.
    “About a month later, after work one day, I was walking home when I rounded a corner and slammed into something solid, almost falling on my arse. I realised it was a person when a pair of arms grabbed me and stopped me from falling. I was mortified until the person let me go and I looked up and saw it was Anthony. I stood there mesmerised by his blue eyes, my hands gripping his shirt for far longer than was appropriate. When I stepped away, Anthony asked me if I would like to have a drink with him.”
    Listening to her story, I can’t help but think of my interactions with Howard. They’re somewhat similar in nature.
    “We spent the next few months getting to know one another and, eventually, we did have sex. It was at that point that I decided I wanted to be a mother, and I wanted him to be my donor. We conceived Howard in the modern method, and during my pregnancy, Anthony and I became very close. We both knew we were in love, but it felt somehow incomplete.”
    I interrupt. “How did you know it was love?”
    “I can’t speak for Anthony, but for me it was a combination of things. First, there was this constant yearning whenever I wasn’t in his presence. It felt like a piece of me was missing. Second, there was how happy I felt when I was around him and how my body felt alive.”
    I nod at her explanation and she continues.
    “We both felt like we wanted to tie ourselves together, but weren’t sure how to do it. After Howard was born, I wanted Anthony to be a proper father to him like we read about in books, not the kind we have so often now—the ones who are only about when the mother deems it necessary.”
    Thoughts of my own father pop into my head. I realise he wasn’t like that at all. He lived with me and Mum.
    “So we moved into a domicile together and started raising Howard as a couple. It wasn’t long after that we met a family called the Robinsons. It was a meeting that would change our lives. They were traditionalists, and the more they talked about love, relationships, and families, the more Anthony and I knew that was how we felt about one another.
    “They introduced us to the Bible, and it opened our eyes to the possibilities. They also explained to us the government’s deceptions.”
    “What do you mean ‘the government’s deceptions’?”
    Rhonda takes a sip of her tea, looking at me over the lip of her cup. “You take your concoction of vitamins every morning.”
    “Yes, of course.”
    She leans in and whispers, “They are not what they tell you they are.”
    “I still don’t understand.”
    “Some of them are vitamins, but one of the tablets is a hormone that stops women from getting pregnant. The injection the doctors give you when you ask about becoming a mum counteracts the pill and starts your natural reproductive system working again.”
    I am shocked and slightly disbelieving at first, but when I think about it, it kind of makes sense.
    “I have to say I am a little surprised, but I do kind of understand why.”
    It is now her turn to be shocked. “But how can you say that? They are lying to us.”
    “Yes, and that is not right, but I can understand why they do it. When the ancestors built these cities, they had no idea how long we would be stuck underground. Although they were designed with some room for expansion, there isn’t a lot. If all of the families in Oceania were allowed to have as many children as they wanted, we would be packed in to overflowing. There isn’t the room.”
    The look on her face tells me she understands what I mean but still doesn’t agree.
    “I have been told that before, but I don’t think anyone has ever