Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down

by Melanie George

  “I’d better go,” Cora sighed, standing up. Her belly was so ripe Ronda wouldn’t be surprised if she gave birth to twins. “Olaf and I are to sup with his parents this eve.”

  “Fun, fun,” Ronda teased her daughter.

  Cora frowned. “If Olaf’s sire tells another boring ode of his warrior days gone by, I will throttle him.”

  “Ahhh,” Nikolas chastised his eldest child, “leave Otrygg to his musings. At his age, ’tis all he has left.”

  Cora smiled her agreement as she lifted her satchel and prepared to leave. “Oh!” she said, looking back at her parents. “I almost forgot to show you something my husband wanted you to see, Papa.”

  Nikolas lifted one dark eyebrow as Cora fished out an aboveground newspaper and handed it to him. “I don’t know how I could forget something like this,” she said. “One of Olaf’s scouts retrieved this from the Outside.” She took a deep breath. “Alas, the prophecy of the ancients is coming to pass. Olaf thought you would want to know before the rest of the Underground is abuzz.”

  Frowning, Ronda stood and read the newspaper by her husband’s side. She stilled, the article jarring:

  One year ago today, after twenty-five years of research, scientists perfected the ability to choose the gender of babies to be conceived. Detractors, including many feminist groups as well as the pope, are trying to get genetic tampering barred in Congress, so far with no success. The detractors cite statistics from last year’s pregnancies, which suggest that for every female that was born last year, ten male babies had been born…

  Ronda felt dizzy. Was it true? Could those old prophecies she’d thought of as rubbish actually be coming to pass? Goose bumps formed on her arms.

  “Have no fear, my love,” Nikolas murmured, sensing his wife’s distress. “The Underground is safe.” He wrapped a secure, powerful arm around her. That vein-roped arm was as comforting now as it had been two decades ago. “And we always will be.”

  A smile of admiration and love formed on Ronda’s lips. “No matter what lies ahead for any world, above or below the ground, I will always be by your side.” She leaned into him, needing his strength and warmth. “I love you, Nikolas Ericsson. I will always love you.”

  “I love you too, Ronda Ericsson.” He waited for her to look up at him, then he winked. “I’ve always thought you to be very cool.”