Image by Tú Nguyễn from Pixabay

Ina stared at her husband. “You want to what?” she asked incredulously.

“I want to start a family,” Leo said.

“Leo, do you realize how much work that is?” Ina asked.

“Yes,” Leo said. “Bri and Hank just went through it. They’ve got a gorgeous baby boy now. We’ve been married five years, two years past the required limit. I make five times the amount necessary for the family income bracket for one child. We just need to take the parenting class, and the next one starts in a week. We could do it, Ina. We could start a family.”

Ina thought about it for a few minutes. She had to admit, Leo’s sister Bri had an adorable son. The infant was the talk of the family right now. The child, a boy they’d named Jake, was the perfect blend of Bri and Hank’s genetics. She idly wondered what a child made up of her and Leo’s genes would look like.

“All right, Leo. But I don’t want a boy. I want a girl,” Ina said.

“Okay,” Leo said. “I’m not partial to a particular gender. We can have a girl if you want.”

A week later, Leo and Ina were sitting in the parenting class. Leo had taken the day off from work and Ina had set dinner to start cooking at five so it would be ready for them when they got home at eight. From eight in the morning to seven thirty that night they learned what it meant to be a good parent according to the government. They took the parenting test at the end of the evening and both of them passed with flying colors.

“Congratulations,” the proctor said. “This is now noted in your identification file. You may proceed to genetic processing at any point in the next five years to produce a child commensurate to your family income level.” They went home, had dinner, and went to bed.

A week later, Leo took another day off from work and he and Ina went to the genetic processing center. “Good morning,” the perky blonde behind the counter said. “How can I help you?”

“We’re here to discuss producing a child, specifically a daughter,” Leo said.

“Wonderful,” the woman said. “You’ve certainly come to the right place. You’ve taken the class, correct?”

“We have,” Ina said.

“Please place your IDs in the slots there,” the woman said, indicating two thin, narrow bands on the counter. Ina and Leo inserted their IDs. “Oh perfect. You are in the right income level for one child, you’ve passed the test, and your home size is the correct one for one child. Neither of you have any genetic abnormalities in your records. Your family has a history of a healthy line going back three generations. Ah, I see. It seems we had someone from your line, sir, in here not that long ago.”

“My sister,” Leo said.

“Excellent,” the woman said. “Please take your IDs and have a seat. One of our specialists will be with you shortly.”

They took their IDs and sat down. Holographic images of children flickered across the walls. About fifteen minutes later, a woman in a lab coat, a dress shirt, and a pair of slacks and flats came out. “Leo and Ina?” she asked, looking at them. They stood up. “Come with me.” They followed her into a back room. “Now, I understand you want a daughter. Is there any specific reason?”

“I always wanted a daughter,” Ina said. “Leo said I could pick the gender and that’s what I want.”

“I just want a healthy child,” Leo said. “Gender doesn’t matter to me.”

“Perfect,” the woman said. “I love it when parents are so easy to work with. Now, we’ll just need genetic samples from the both of you.” She put on a pair of gloves and took genetic samples from the both of them. “Your daughter will be processed and ready for you to pick up in three weeks.”

“Thank you,” Ina said.

“Yes, thank you,” Leo said. The two got up and walked out of the office.

“That was simple,” Ina said.

“So much easier than it used to be,” Leo agreed.

“We should go home and set up the nursery,” Ina said.

“Let’s go,” Leo said. The two walked away hand in hand.