Luffs (Transcendence 1.5)

“Yes.”

“Make sure you’re careful. There are poisonous plants around as well.”

“I’ll be careful.”

Dad takes out several bottles and a syringe.

“Vitamins,” he says, shaking the bottle. “Prenatal, multivitamins, and extra vitamin C and D. They should help keep all of you healthy and make up for anything you might lack in your usual diet. There are also antibiotics in case one of you gets sick again.”

“They should be easy enough to crush into everyone’s food,” I say with a nod.

Lee wakes and crawls his way over to me. He takes a long look at the baby at my breast and scowls.

“Ma, ma, ma!” He reaches out and tries to push Lah away from his food source.

“You’re going to have to learn to share.” I shift Lah over to one thigh and Dad helps Lee get situated to grab onto my other breast. He continues to scowl but seems to relax once he has some milk.

“I also brought this,” Dad says.

I wet my lips, feeling suddenly nervous as Dad picks up the syringe.

“This is for you,” Dad says slowly. “It’s to…to keep you from having any more children.”

“A birth control shot?”

“Not exactly.” Dad sighs and leans back a little. “It will cause you to bleed for several days, and I doubt it will be pleasant. Once the bleeding stops, you’ll be sterile.”

“Oh.”

“You should go ahead and use it so you won’t risk another pregnancy,” Dad says. “It’s too dangerous here.”

“I know.” I let out a long sigh. “It scares the hell out of me, but so far everything has gone well.”

“So far. Don’t risk it again, Elizabeth. I might not be able to convince you to come back with me, but I need to know you’re are going to be…that you are going to be as safe as you can be. I need to know you’re going to live a”—he pauses and fights back tears—“a long and happy life.”

I glance over at Ehd and then down at our two babies.

“I’ll use it,” I say, “but I won’t use it now.”

Dad is clearly displeased, but he also knows how stubborn I can be. He nods and reaches for the briefcase again.

“Your mother had me include this,” Dad says with a sigh. He pulls out a scalpel and a small cylinder. “This is going to hurt a bit.”

“What is it?” I ask.

“Birth control implant,” he says simply. “It will last about five years.”

I stare at him, not sure how I really feel about it.

“It won’t last forever,” Dad says, “and it will be healthier for you to let your body recover for a while, especially since you’ve already had two children.”

I’ve already been wondering how I’m going to take care of both of them at once, and I see Dad’s logic. It would be better for me to hold off for a while before having another one, and all my rhythm method plans haven’t worked out so well.

“All right,” I say. Both babies have fallen asleep on my lap, and I want them out of the way in case this hurts more than Dad is letting on. “Give me a minute.”

I start to stand slowly.

“Da, da, da, da!” Lee mutters, and I wait a moment for him to latch back on. Once his eyes are closed, I gently remove the nipple from his mouth and take him to the sleeping furs.