Chapter 4

The checkup was at three in the afternoon.

I went by myself and sat in the waiting room. All around me were pregnant women with big bellies. Their husbands sat beside them. Some were on their phones. Some were talking.

The woman next to me had a belly much bigger than mine. Her husband carried her bag and a thermos, checking in every few minutes to see if she was thirsty.

She smiled and shook her head, then glanced at me, her eyes lingering on the empty seat beside me.

"Are you here by yourself?" she asked.

I nodded.

She…