Fonda Lee

“Um, sure, okay. Just let me get dressed.” A rustle of movement. “You want to do something?”

Anden said, fiercely, “I want to fuck.”

A moment of silence passed. Cory said, “I’ll come get you.”

Jaya, at six months old, was not the fussiest of all Wen’s children. She would not stand to be put down in the carriage for even five minutes. Hilo joked that she would grow up to be even greener than her brothers, but Wen responded irritably that the ridiculous superstition existed only to prevent desperately frustrated mothers from smothering their most unmanageable children.

Children were completely honest and lived in the moment; they were demanding, but also easy to please, asking only for simple love and attention.