Chapter 88

• Nathalie firmly believed that Elise wouldn't face the same questions that her mother had always encountered. "How do you manage? Don't you feel guilty about leaving your child? Don't you regret prioritizing your career over your family?" Or perhaps even worse, people would suggest she was lucky her husband permitted her to work after having his children.
• These thoughts fueled Nathalie's anger as memories surfaced of her mother returning home in tears after yet another judgmental remark from those stay-at-home moms. Her mother had worked part-time when Nathalie was young and didn't return to full-time work until Nathalie was in high school, yet she was often treated as if she were neglectful. Even if her mother had chosen to work every day since Nathalie was born, it wouldn't have made her a bad parent.
• Nathalie resented the societal norms that made her mother feel inferior. Her father had worked full-time his entire life without criticism, as it was expected that men provide for their families while women tended to the home. She found this expectation unfair, to men as well, as many fathers likely wished they could work less to watch their children grow, but society frowned upon such desires. Tradition, she thought, could be quite stifling.