Mother Mayor Hortense Willows looked down her pince-nez lenses at the rebellious couple.  Her eyes gleamed vivid blue, her face loomed long and narrow, but her curvaceous figure presented a youthful shape.
        She was called “Mother Mayor” by everyone in town.  Even her husband and their three children, two boys and one girl, addressed her this way.  As did her husband’s seventy-nine other wives and their one hundred or so offspring. Mother Mayor Hortense Willows was the town’s only authority, and she took her duties quite seriously.  Her power was unquestioned by all who lived within her jurisdiction.
        “Monogamy, indeed,” she snorted.  “You two should be ashamed of yourselves.  In all of my forty years, I have never heard of anyone in this town who wanted to make such a terrible choice.”
    
Bridget and Edward held each other’s hands tightly.  Bridget’s blondness appeared ethereal, while Edward had a regal quality that was nothing less than aristocratic.  They were both twenty years old and deeply in love.
        “Why can’t we set a precedent in this town?” Edward asked.
        Mother Mayor Hortense Willows cleared her throat, which rumbled harshly.  “You both know that’s not possible under any circumstances.”  She slammed her delicate fist on her ancient mahogany desk.  “Reproduction, reproduction, reproduction. This is what our society is all about.  Why do I need to remind you?”   She pointed a long index finger at the couple.  “Do you need to view a film about the plagues, which left only five-hundred thousand people alive on this planet a century ago?  Five-hundred thousand, out of eight billion.  Shall I arrange such a film for you right now?”
        “No,” Bridget said.  “We’ve seen plenty of films.  They haven’t changed our minds.  And you don’t have to tell us about the shortage of male babies.”
        Edward stood tall, lean, and fierce.
        “Just let Bridget and I marry each other.”
        “We belong together,” the girl added.
        “Selfish, selfish, young people.”  Mother Mayor Hortense Willows began pacing panther-like before the couple.  “How can you let him sacrifice his responsibility to humanity?”  Her glare knifed Bridget right between the eyes.
        The angel-faced girl looked stoically at her beloved.  He responded by hugging her.
        “Well?”  Mother Mayor Hortense Willows waited patiently for a reply.
        “Because we love each other, Mother Mayor.”
        Bridget looked adoringly at Edward.
        “Forever and ever,” he said.
    
Mother Mayor Hortense Willows stopped pacing.  “Love is not important.”  She looked frail for a moment.  “Re-populating this planet is.  Nothing else.”
        “We will have children,” Bridget replied.  “Many children.”
        Mother Mayor Hortense Willows shook her lofty head.  “It’s not the same as being part of a large polygamous family unit.”
        “We will not live that life,” Edward said.
        “Not for any reason,” Bridget included.  
        “Poor misguided young people.”  Mother Mayor Hortense Willows’ pointed face twisted into an even sharper countenance.  “Therefore, your application for a marriage license is denied and shall never again come up for discussion.”
        Edward’s chin jutted forward in defiance.
        “Let’s go, Bridg.  Good day, Mother Mayor.”  
    
    
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“Not so fast.”  Mother Mayor Hortense Willows motioned to her attendants to guard the door.  “Since you two lovebirds refuse to commit yourselves to a healthy future involvement in a polygamous union, I order you to take these.”  She removed two transparent vials from inside a safe in her desk.  Each vial contained a large capsule: one was brown, the other black.
        Bridget gasped.  “Infertility drugs?” she asked.  “I’ve heard about them.”
        “Of course,” Mother Mayor Hortense Willows answered.  “I can’t allow you to have children with only each other.”
        “What if we refuse to take them?” Edward asked.
        Mother Mayor Hortense Willows saw Edward study the tall windows behind her desk, as though he were sizing up an escape route.
        “You have no choice,” she said.  “You will not leave this room until you do.”  Her voice trembled a little, a display uncharacteristic for her.  “Please, my children.  Please reconsider the joys of polygamy.  I’m certain you don’t want to swallow these pills, and yet we will force you to take them, if necessary.”
        In response, Edward reached out for the vials.
        “The brown one is for her, the black one for you,” Mother Mayor Hortense Willows rasped, the growing knot in her throat making speech difficult.  “Swallow them now.”
    
“No, I won’t take them,” Bridget said.  
        “We’ll always have each other.”  Edward wrapped his arm around her shoulders.  “We don’t have to be parents to be happy.”
        Bridget snuggled into Edward.  “You’re right.  It really doesn’t matter. We’re together, that’s what counts.”
    
Mother Mayor Hortense Willows watched the young couple consume the pills.  While the knot in her throat grew even larger, she reminded herself that their sacrifice was best for their town, their society, and for civilization itself.
        Without another word, Bridget and Edward left Mother Mayor Hortense Willows’ office.
    
No, not infertility drugs, my dear, the woman thought. Something quite different, and appropriate.
        Immediately the thud of two falling bodies resounded from outside her office door.  She motioned to her attendants to retrieve the bodies of the young couple.
        “Bury them quickly, and make certain they’re together in one grave.”
    
Alone in her office now, Mother Mayor Hortense Willows allowed herself some tears. And as she sobbed, she felt grateful no one would question their disappearance.  It would be assumed they had fled to some barbaric, remote part of the world where, it was rumored, monogamy still existed.  She knew all too well that the young couple had both been ostracized by their huge families; and Edward, Mother Mayor Hortense Willows reflected, though she was loathe to admit it, was her older son.
    
  
                       About the Author
     
        Susan Liev Taylor writes poetry and short stories, many of which have been published over the past twenty years. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, going to libraries and bookstores, and almost anything to do with the creative arts.
        Her last contribution to Calliope, a short story, “Flight,” appeared in the Summer 2008 issue (#120).