Marriage with Melinda

Travis knew some of the best immigration attorneys in New York, so the couple were able to navigate the tricky terrain of preparing to marry someone from another country. Yet there was a potentially more difficult road that Melinda wanted to journey on with Travis.

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Occasionally, Melinda brought up the idea of possibly having children once the wedding took place. Travis was less than enthusiastic about the idea.

“Having kids is so expensive,” he asserted. “I would want to put them in the best schools, and the best schools are the priciest!”

“I know, but…”

“And what about college? It took me years to make a dent in my debt!”

“Good point, but…”

“And, well…”

Travis didn’t know how to explain to Melinda that he was nervous about their children confronting bigotry in the U.S., so he came up with a euphemism.

“We’d probably have to raise them in Australia. Not that I’d mind moving, but wouldn’t you miss America?”

Melinda indeed understood what Travis meant, but she held fast to her idealism. She believed that things would get better in the U.S., and that they could not be governed by their fears.