Summary

Forty and single, Tomasina decides to undergo artificial insemination by using a baster. She goes on a search to find the best specimen and throws a party to celebrate the find and insemination date. The story is narrated in the first person by her ex-boyfriend and good friend, Wally Mars, who contemplates the value of his body in the face of her meticulous selection process.

The short story centers on Tomasina’s decision to become pregnant, but Wally’s first person perspective presents us with an unreliable narrator. The story begins by describing Tomasina’s concerns when “her body started falling apart” as she aged (65). Tomasina and Wally meet at a restaurant and have a conversation regarding what she is looking for in a man, which is nothing short from “the whole package” (70). This prompts Wally to compare himself to Tomasina’s other boyfriends...