I tried to talk to him, to share my thoughts, my plans, my fears… but my name wasn’t there, my words weren’t there. Ryan no longer noticed me.
“Call me when your water breaks,” he muttered one evening, barely looking up, as if it were that simple.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Shutterstock
For illustration purposes only | Source: Shutterstock
I nodded, but inside, I felt him already gone. Not just physically, but in his thoughts, in his heart.
***
It happened on a gray morning that smelled like rain. Wet, cold air snuck under the kitchen door and made me shiver. Jenna, my friend, was leaning on the counter, sipping coffee.
“Hey,” she said, watching my face. “You okay?”
For illustration purposes only | Source: Shutterstock
For illustration purposes only | Source: Shutterstock
“My back,” I breathed. “Feels like a rope pulling me open.”
“That’s it, Em.”
I called Ryan. Straight to voicemail. Called again. Nothing.
Jenna grabbed my maternity bag before I could speak.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Shutterstock
For illustration purposes only | Source: Shutterstock
Jenna wrapped me in my old denim jacket, the one that smelled like fall, and steered me out the door.
