Step One:

Have a baby. When the nurse offers skin to skin, say yes. Watch as the baby mewls and pulls her way along your torso. Marvel at how she homes in on your nipple, rubs her face across your breast until she finds purchase. Feel her need snake its way through you. 

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Step Two: 

As she grows beyond the potted plant stage, notice how she hungers for your flesh. Let her hold onto your leg, step on your toes, climb you. When she sinks teeth into your shoulder, your arm, your leg, wave your finger and say, “No. No. No.”

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Step Three:

A toddler now, she follows you from room to room, demands hugs while you sit on the toilet. She pulls on your shirt while you make lunch, stands on your feet and forces you to walk around the house in this position. Sigh. Use terms like “touched out” to others but think “parasite.”

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Step Four: 

Create boundaries: lock the bathroom door to poop. Step inside closets to eat the last piece of chocolate. Lie in bed for an extra twenty minutes each morning. Even as she screams. Especially as she screams. Buy earplugs to protect your brain. Try not to count the minutes you have alone.

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Step Five: 

When she runs at you, arms open, ready to devour you, slip to the side, inches from her grasp. When her hands close on open air, when she moans at the near-miss, don’t pause. Prepare for the next assault. When her disappointed cries no longer devastate, you are ready. 

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Laura Leigh Morris is the author of The Stone Catchers: A Novel (2024) and Jaws of Life: Stories (2018). She’s previously published short fiction in STORY Magazine, North American Review, Redivider, and other journals. She teaches creative writing and literature at Furman University in Greenville, SC. To learn more, visit www.lauraleighmorris.com.