She waits.
What else can she do?
Her husband grabs the soft, espresso-colored blanket from the back of the couch and spreads it out over her.
Inside, he’s terrified, but also strong. The strength isn’t false – or entirely for her. It comes from somewhere he isn’t even fully aware of.
The dog barks its little bark and jumps up on the blanket to curl up with her. She smiles a small smile, because she’s grateful for the distraction and the allowance to focus on something else. Even the constant licking doesn’t bother her tonight.
They had so many plans and so many dates set on the calendar. Now there are missed appointments, missed workdays, missed friends and big question marks. Thanksgiving is this week. A big family event will be hard for them to participate in, and that’s not what they had expected. Her birthday is next week and they aren’t sure how to celebrate that either.
She has been forced to slow down from her normally active life, her normal schedule and her normal way of doing everyday things. She has never liked to ask for anything – especially for help. She’s so used to doing things herself and making everything fit into the allotted time. And she is used to doing everything well.
He asks her if he can get her anything, and she gives him that same look she has given him for years, as she looks into his brown eyes while slightly biting her lip with that half smile. It hadn’t taken him long to figure out exactly what that meant. By the second time she gave it to him, he knew it meant frozen yogurt – the Nilla Wafer kind with chocolate chips on top.
He kisses her forehead as he brushes her blonde hair out of her face, holds her cheeks in his hands and looks into her gentle eyes. She puts her hands on his and they both inhale together.
The dog’s nose is wet as it rubs against their hands, trying to join in and be part of the interaction. It tickles her. She chuckles and lets go to pet the dog so it will stop.
She says goodbye and he tells her he loves her. She thanks him in advance for the yogurt, and he hands her the remote on his way out, just in case she feels like flipping through the channels while he is gone.
He grabs his keys, unlocks the door and heads out to the garage. He looks back one more time, tilts his head slightly to the left and nods his head a little as he looks at her.
She takes a deep breath and puts her hand over her heart as she watches him leave.
This night is just like the night before and the night before that.
He has been faithful and kind to her.
They both want to meet their little girl so badly, but it’s not that time yet. It’s just too early. All they really want right now is for their little girl to be healthy.
It hasn’t been the roughest pregnancy, but it certainly hasn’t been the easiest. They have had enough scares for their girl already and they don’t need any more.
She cups her hand across her belly through the blanket, and prays a quick prayer for protection and safety.
And they wait – patiently – for their little one to make her first appearance.
For Meghan, Matt and Ava.
*Fiction