Victoria was somewhat surprised. "Do you think you'll regret losing that possibility when you're in your fifties?"
"That's the most annoying part!" Stella laughed. "You turn around and ask her, 'What? Do you regret it now?' and she'll only tell you, 'We're only talking about a possibility that's disappeared'—because in the end, it's still my decision to make."
The two returned to the main hall, looked over the electronic map, and ultimately decided to sit down at the water bar on the first basement level.
"When you said 'possibility' just now, you meant 'having children,' right? I didn't misunderstand?"
"You did, but not entirely." Stella brushed at the hair over her shoulder. "Have I ever told you that I have an older sister?"
"Yes. You said she works in the AHgAs system too."
"She doesn't just work in the system. She's also a Quicksilver Needle, though she never joined the combat ranks. Everything I first learned about Quicksilver Needles came from her... She had her first child last year."
"Oh, congratulations."
"Do you know what shocked me most about it?" Stella sat down at the bar with Victoria, and they casually took the soft drink menu. "Some time ago, my sister told me that her father—my adoptive father—had suddenly left her a message. He said he'd recently been reading some parenting books and found them very enlightening, so he mailed her a few."
"Mm-hmm."
"My sister was surprised, because our old man had always put very little effort into anything involving children. She said she'd wondered at the time whether it was because he cared more for the next generation, so he was willing to spend time on his grandchildren. But when the books arrived, she was dumbfounded—she'd thought they'd be practical guides like The 0–3-Year Parenting Encyclopedia. After all,