In her debut short story collection, Wait Here, Lucy Nelson demonstrates a depth of feeling for a very diverse group of women whose only link is their status as ‘not mothers’.
In several stories, babies and children are not even mentioned. Many of Nelson’s characters create lives outside the nuclear family unit. In ‘Chances Are, We Were High as Kites’, elderly twin sisters set a plan in motion with their ‘chosen family’: Best Friend Lionel and Downstairs Patricia. In one of my favourite stories: ‘Ariel. Marvin. I Don’t Want a Boyfriend.’, Casey, unhappy with the name her mother gave her, meticulously chooses a name for her new car, the closest she may get to an act of mothering.
These stories have won awards and appeared in literary publications. Some explore what is said and unsaid. In the title story, ‘Wait Here’, Ivy sees a psychiatrist weekly, knowing what her husband wants her to talk about, but never mentioning it. She admires the huge painting of a woman in the waiting room and begins to enjoy the waiting time more than the sessions. ‘I am always waiting for things, anyway,’ she muses, giving the reader a clue to the reason for her visits.
In the final story, ‘I am Five, I Am Twelve, I Am Twenty’, a woman traces the history of her body; her sex education; the expectation that one day she’ll give birth. Throughout her life, the opportunities she has to ‘mother’ change in ways she would never expect. Definitions of the role of motherhood, even the definition of a ‘family unit’, shrink and expand during her lifetime.
Nelson’s stories are extraordinary. She creates dialogue that is humorous and characters who are insightful about their own limitations. I also enjoyed the bonds between women in the stories – best friends, colleagues, roommates and sisters. This is the best story collection I’ve read in 2025.
