Dreams Die

When I married Mr. Morton, I knew that my dreams of having a baby were gone. He was very upfront about not wanting more children. I thought a lot about this before we got married. I'd always thought I'd have three or four children. As a little girl, I dreamed of my wedding day, my house, and my children. I, always, wanted to be a mother.

So, when I fell in love with a ready made family, I knew that my dreams were going to change. We talked about the future and he was very clean about his desire to not have more children. He promised to share his children completely with me and I decided that would be enough.

I have, as of this point, not been sorry I made that decision. Having Paprika and Pepper are not the same as having my own children. In fact, often, I feel like the stranger in my own family. They have memories as a family that does not include me. In those moments, I wonder what it would have been like to be Mrs. Morton the first instead of Mrs. Morton II.