For years I tried to convince my girlfriends that procreating was a hopeless mistake. I told them that children, no matter how sweet and loving they were in their best moments, would always represent a limit on their freedom, an economic burden, not to mention the physical and emotional cost they bring about: nine months of pregnancy, another six or more of breastfeeding, frequent sleepless nights during infancy, and then constant anxiety throughout their teenage years.
-- Laura (Pages 1 - 61)

Importance: At the beginning of the novel, Laura demonstrates a lack of compassion and understanding toward her friends who would like to become parents. She does not put any effort forth to understand why they would want to have children and the goals and love they are hoping to experience. As she watches Alina struggle through a high-risk pregnancy and the pressures of mothering a disabled child, she grows to love her neighbor's son, Nico...