Scribner – March 2012
In the second story, we get a doctor who is treating two types of animals at his veterinarian’s office – different sick pets, and his wife. He is giving her an ultrasound when we’re introduced. You see parts of this child, and if you’ve been in this spot as a parent, you know it’s a really wild moment. The mother is usually very vulnerable, and you hear the heartbeat, it’s nuts. We get that here, but in a kind of fiberistic way.
The narrator’s husband is named Wood, which seems almost intentionally funny, and Ms. Bergman once again gives readers a kind of relationship insider gossip, and captures what it feels like to have a partner that cares more about himself than his unborn child. But is it real until it’s real?
We’re told that it might take a few days for the birthmother to love the child. This part of the story moves like falling confetti, drifting around and landing here and there, these glorious little details of the story, the animals that are being taken care of, and Mom who isn’t ready to be that person.
Which animal are we talking about here? It’s very clear to me that we’re reading a story about both, and the differences are hardly unique. There is a sadness in a sick animal’s eyes, and that ripe scent hangs on this story like freckles.
