This story is the property of the writer Kalimaxos.
Any unauthorized reproduction or reprint without the express authorization of the author is strictly prohibited.
Like real life, it's often a shitshow.
Warning: You are in an erotica site reading peoples' smut. No one. And I mean, NO ONE needs to hear your judgmentalism, hateful comments or rude reviews. I moderate comments and remove anything I find in that manner. And if you post violent and or hateful comments, you will be reported. (And LIT doesn't like to keep around people who do that.) So just read or not.
***
Why won't you...
"Luke, why won't you commit to a nice girl and have some kids?"
Yeah, Luke. Why won't you commit? Why not find a nice girl, fall in love, and father kids? After all, men have been doing so through the ages. Right? Be a good boy and commit. Shudder!
"We hereby
commit
his body to the deep."
Commit! That word again. The bane of my existence. And I am not talking about making a commitment to something of importance with your word as your bond. Although, that is what is expected in all "commitment" cases.
To me, the word meant one and one thing only back then: submission.
Surrender all control of my life to someone else. You may think I am paranoid. But I knew well enough for the hair on the back of my neck to stand each time I heard that word.
So hear my story.
***
Family dinner
"Luke, why won't you commit to a nice girl and have some kids?"
There my mother repeated it, again! Like nails scratching a blackboard! I must have heard that from her a thousand times in the last two years. And it was grating on my nerves. It wasn't a question. It was a statement, and order, a demand.
My name is Luke Stanton. Son of Joyce and William Stanton. Brother of Amber Stanton-Boyce. I'm single, and my sister is not. She is married to Reggie Boyce, and they have two children. Maggie, five, and Anna, three. So yeah, I'm the unmarried uncle, son, and brother.
"Again, with that, mom?" I roll my eyes.
"You're not getting any younger, mister," mom replies as she picks up little Anna and gives her a hug and kiss.
Maggie gets jealous and runs to me for a hug. What can I say? I'm a sucker for my nieces. They are both so cute and innocent. Womanhood at its finest. Once they grow up, it's all downhill from there.
"Let him be Joyce," my dad says as he smiles at the scene of my nieces cuddling up to uncle Luke and Grandma Joyce. "How are you, son?"
"I'm just fine, dad," I reply as Maggie decides she wants a hug from grandpa. And just like that, I become yesterday's lunch to her.
'Another symbolic moment,'
I think to myself as I look at little Maggie.
'And so it begins.'
"Let me guess," he says as he takes Maggie in his arms. "Mom hassling you about still being single?"
"You got it," I reply as my mother shakes her head at us.
"What happened to that girl Sherry you were seeing?" Amber snickers.
"Amber," Rob, my brother in law tries to intervene on my behalf.
But my sister just waves him off dismissively as she waits for me to answer.
"It's been over for a few weeks," I reply, hoping they stop the interrogation.
"Who broke it off?" Mom asks.
Amber scoffs as she stares at me. I can see Reggie shaking his head with disapproval. Most likely, of the way, our women are pushing the issue. My dad doesn't like it either but nods to me for reassurance.
"I did," I reply as mum shakes her head, and my sister chuckles.
"What was it this time?" my mother asks. "She seemed like a nice girl."
"Same as always," Amber cut in. "He got scared and ran."
"Why?" Mom asked.
"Blame her," I said, pointing to my sister.
"Me! What did I do?" Amber protested.
"It's you and your profession," I replied. "The culture people like you have created."
"Divorce lawyer?" she feigned shock. "My profession has made you incapable of committing to a woman?"
She looked around at everyone and laughed. I noticed a few polite smiles, but no one joined my annoying sister in her display of mirth.
"Remember that story you told us last time we got together?"
Amber had a puzzled look, but my dad knew the one as he shook his head and let my niece run away from him. Her attention now focused on her stuffed animal.
"Refresh my memory," my sister replied, sitting on the kitchen table. The rest of us followed as mom poured coffee.
"You told us about the wife you represented in her divorce proceedings. She had an affair and decided to divorce her husband, yet still got the house, the kids, and child support. Remember now?"
"That sounds like most my cases, Luke," Amber snickered.
I noticed that her husband winced at that. He was obviously not a fan of his wife's methods.
"Exactly, Amber," I replied. "They are all the same. The wife gets everything, while the ex-husband gets the shaft. He loses his kids, their home and has to pay child support. Not to mention the mortgage of the house he doesn't live in. The wife often has cheated and gets to bring her boyfriend or boyfriends in the house where the kids live. You must be so proud of yourself."
You could cut the tension in the room with a knife as Amber and I stared at each other with cold eyes. Neither giving in.
"You are right. I am proud of my work," she replied, leaning in. "I make sure that the legal system upholds women's rights...."
"At the expense of the fathers," I rebutted. "And the kids."
Amber sneered at me.
"You are living in the past, Luke. The fifties are over, and so is the patriarchy."
It was my turn to scoff. Patriarchy. It meant the rule of society by men. The go-to word of feminists and man-haters in our modern times. According to them, everything wrong in women's lives was caused by men and their patriarchal rule. But patriarchy ended way before any of us in the room were born. Now it was just a myth the feminists used to justify their man hatred.
"Oh, spare me the neo-feminism lectures. You make money off the destruction of families."
"You are right," she snapped back. "Plenty of money. More than you. The days of a male-dominated society are over brother dear. It's time you accept it."
"Oh, but I have, dear sister. You made sure of that."
She looked back at me quizzically. Not sure where I was going with my point.
"You and all the stories you tell us about your legal prowess has made me realize that marriage is a sucker's bet for a man. Let's say I do find someone and get married. Eventually, we have a kid or two, and then she is in the driver's seat legally while I have nothing but liabilities. If she decides the marriage is over, I lose everything while she gets everything. Do I have it wrong?"
She didn't reply, just stared at me with a slight smirk.
"If I do want to have children, I have to submit to your... matriarchal system. How is it called these days? Oh yeah... fem-dom. Feminist domination."
"We are merely making the playfield even," she spat back.
"Bullshit!" I replied. "Your kind controls the system. In modern marriage, there are no consequences for a woman if she cheats on her husband. No legal penalty. So, the system practically encourages it."
"A woman is finally in charge of her sexuality," Amber shot back.
"Oh, she is in charge, alright," I replied. "The minute she has a child with a man, his life is in her hands. And no matter what she does, your legal system is on her side. So, tell me again why I should submit? Excuse me... commit?"
"Luke," mom cut in. "So what? You are never going to get married because a woman may take you to the cleaners?"
"OK, mom, since you asked. It is quite clear from all my lawyer sister says that the law is on a wife's side in marriage. She can cheat, and the kids go to her, so does the house, and the husband has to move out, pay child support, and the mortgage until the kids are eighteen. With close to fifty per cent of marriages failing and women asking for that divorce seventy per cent of the time, what man in his right mind would get married? Why would he jump off that cliff when that is what he has to look for down the road?"
"So that's it?" Mom asked. "You quit? You will never get married and have children?"
"As things are right now, marriage for me is out of the question."
"You are a coward," Amber scoffed.
"I'm a pragmatist," I replied and picked up my keys. "See you guys next week."
And with that, I left the weekly family dinner gathering.
***
How I got there
Things for young men of my age group were bleak when it came to marriage and having children. I had seen married friends, neighbours, coworkers, and even an uncle go through it.