A young woman, staring at the positive pregnancy test on her bathroom counter, tries not to cry.
She flips through contacts on her phone, hovering between her mom, dad, and sister. In the end, she takes the elevator downstairs and talks to her doorman.
About halfway through the first episode of Amazon Prime’s Modern Love, viewers learn that this first story isn’t about romance, really. It’s about familial love. The new show is based on the New York Times column “Modern Love,” which publishes stories from various contributors with unique experiences in dating or parenthood. It may be “modern,” but the message of the show is often more time-honored than you might think.
The first episode is based on author Julie Margaret Hogben’s 2015 column, “When the Doorman Is Your Main Man.” Hogben writes about getting pregnant by a man who eventually fades out of her life. When she decides to keep the baby, the doorman in her apartment building is perhaps her biggest ally. “He upheld and honored me for my choice, and protected my dignity and self-esteem,” she writes.
Hogben and her doorman, Guzim (Guzmin in the show), had a two-hour conversation the night she found out she was pregnant. In her column, Hogben doesn’t elaborate on what was said, but their conversation in Modern Love ends with a beautiful celebration of life.
Hogben’s character in the show, Maggie, worries that she won’t be up to the challenge, saying, “I can’t bring a baby into the world with a man that I don’t love or trust, you know. A baby needs two parents. A baby needs a mom and a dad.”
Guzmin dismisses her concerns as “conservative nonsense,” adding that if she chooses to have an abortion, “No one is going to judge you.” But despite the show’s disclaimer, it’s clear Maggie never wants to give up her baby, and Guzmin doesn’t want her to either.
“Do what you wish,” he says. “But don’t do it because you’re scared. You must own your actions in life. … A village brings up a child, and New York is a very great village.”
Getting back on the elevator, Maggie tries one more effort to argue with Guzmin, who has always frowned upon her deadbeat suitors. “You have made such a big thing out of protecting me from all these bad men,” she says, “and now it’s like you’re encouraging me to live life alone.”
“But,” he explains as the elevator doors close, “you’re no longer alone.”
Though the show goes to lengths to demonstrate that Maggie doesn’t have to keep her baby, it’s clear that her life is better off for doing so. In her column, Hogben writes, “My baby was a gift.”
Even before Maggie gives birth, she and Guzmin see the baby in her womb as a baby, not a mere clump of cells. When she rides home on a bike one day, Guzmin demands to know why she would take such a risk. She may be wearing a helmet, but, “That little child, only the size of a small fish, is he wearing a helmet?” he asks.
Maggie then shows him the ultrasound photos she’s just picked up. She points out the baby’s spine, then its head.
“It’s like the whole universe in there,” Guzmin says, in awe.
Overall, “When the Doorman Is Your Main Man” is a delightful short story, and it’s guaranteed to make a large number of viewers cry, especially when the camera pans at the end to Guzmin’s desk, where he keeps the ultrasound photo years after Maggie and her daughter leave the city. Modern Love may not have intended to share a message about the dignity of human life inside the womb, but simply by telling Hogben’s story, the show can’t help but reveal life’s value.
Maggie makes the powerful choice to keep her child, but importantly, she might not have done so if it weren’t for a friend who promises to support her each step of the way.
“My daughter held a special affection for Guzim,” Hogben writes, “almost as if she understood the role he had played as someone who welcomed her into this world with open arms, an open heart, ready and willing to guard and protect her, just as he had guarded and protected her mother.”
