Regret

Laura’s journey as a childfree woman has included a constant weighing and re-evaluation of her decision and a lurking fear that she might regret it. The first time she felt the twinge of motherhood was when she dated Juan and lived in Paris. Once he expressed an interest in having a child, she loved him enough that she considered it too but ultimately could not go through with it. After their relationship dissolved, not “a long, drawn-out ending, nor a particularly painful breakup, but simply the realization that we had different plans for their lives,” Laura started anew. She stood against the tide of social pressure that tried to convince her she would surely regret being a mother. At the time, the fear of regretting becoming a mother helped her hold to her convictions.

As Alina grows her family with Aurelio, Laura is again confronting...