A Father's Pride

Author : D. Ahren Bell

Just watching him play brings a tranquil satisfaction. You hear about the joys of fatherhood, but its impossible to truly understand until you have a child of your own. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. The love, the trust, the warmth shared between father and son is a bond beyond compare.

I love the way Simon looks up at me with my eyes, happiness radiating from his smile. Everyday is a new joy. He is always learning, surprising me with his intelligence at every corner. I can take credit for very little of his achievements. Almost everything that he learns is learned on his own.

I love his cute little nose, cute little teeth, cute little toes. It’s so wonderful to see all of those little features, minutiae of my own.

Truly. The reason he looks so much like me is because he is me. My friends gave me a hard time about it; my mother and father were nearly furious. They all told me it was selfish, that I should find a mate and produce a child in the old fashion way. My sister hounded me, reminding me of the millions of children around the world in foster care while I felt the need to make a copy of myself.

But I wasn’t the one to make that decision; it was my other love, Simon’s mother. She insisted that I make a clone of myself. She wanted a little Simon. She didn’t think any changes in my genome were necessary for perfection.

I queried Siri, “What time is little Simon’s pediatrician appointment today?”

Her body-less voice came back as it always does, calm and a little flat, “Little Simon’s appointment is at 9:30.”

“Thank you Siri. I love you.”

The voice rang through the speakers throughout the apartment. “I love you too, Simon.”