Modern Lover

A young girl of just seventeen sat in the social worker's office, hands folded over her slightly protruding stomach. A movement from inside her stomach made her eyes widen slightly, and she now focused on her belly. The social worker's mouth was still moving, but she didn't pay attention to what she said. I only have a few months left with them.

"...are you?" The woman's voice was no longer on mute, and the small girl before her was suddenly aware that she had just been asked a question.

"I'm sorry, but what did you say?" Another small foot, or perhaps it was a hand, pressed against her abdomen. Were both of them kicking, or was it just one?

"Are you considering an open adoption?"

The young brunette shook her head quickly. "I couldn't... I... don't want to see them." And again, a small pressure was felt in her abdomen, as if to say 'why? Why don't you want us?' She took a deep breath, and removed her hands from her stomach. "It would be harder to see them... and know that they'll never be mine. It's not that I don't love... my boys." The last two words were painful to say, and so they were whispered oh so gently. The twins she carried... they were her boys now, but they wouldn't always be.

"Oh, sweetie. I hope you know that I would never judge you." She offered her a sympathetic smile. "So, a closed adoption it is?" She nodded her head at the adoption social worker, who jotted something down in her notebook. "Have you given any thought as to whether or not you want to see them after they're born?"

"I have actually," she said in a voice as small as herself. "I don't want to see them." She glanced down at her lap, as a few tears began to fill her eyes. "I sound so horrible," she whispered, "but it would be easier. If I saw these two," she placed a hand on her stomach as a tear escaped her eye, "I might get attached, you know?"

The middle aged woman gave her another sympathetic smile. "I understand, sweetheart." She took another note down on her pad, and glanced back at the girl. "You can go, if you'd like. I think we're good for today."

The petite Asian girl stood up and made her way to the door, and paused before opening it. She turned back around, and faced the social worker. "There is one thing I want, though." The graying woman nodded her head at the girl, signaling for her to continue. "I want to name them."

She cocked an eyebrow at the girl. "You want to name them? That's a bit unusual, considering you're giving them up at birth. I'm not sure how many couples, if any, would agree to that." Seeing the desperate look in the young girl's eyes, she quickly added, "I'll see what I can work out."

The teenage mother nodded and opened the door. She found herself slipping back into her native language as she slipped out the door and muttered a quiet 'arigatou.'

Two beautiful baby boys lay together in a single crib. One boy was fast asleep, while the other lay wide awake. His brown eyes stared at his surroundings with curiosity. He blinked a few times before yawning, and looking to his right at his brother. Something like a smile found its way onto his face, and he slowly crawled to the boy sleeping next to him.

He curled into the slightly bigger child's side and shut his eyes.

True to her word, the social worker had found a couple willing enough to allow the twins' biological mother to name them. Above their crib was a small blue plaque with their names written on it in cursive.

Kou and Kiyoshi.