Passing the Test

“Hey beautiful,” he said smiling, grabbing her as she walked in the door. But he could feel the tension in her body and stopped short. “What is it?”

She tried to let herself enjoy his strong arms around her and let out a sigh. “Lets just have dinner. We can talk later,” she protested weakly.

“No, something is bothering you, what is it?”

She looked up at him, but didn’t take the time to soften the blow. “I’m late.”

He swallowed hard and stared at her. “How late?”

“About 10 days.”

“Have you taken a test?”

“Yeah, two of them. Nothing conclusive. I’m going to the doctor tomorrow.”

“Do you want me to go with you?”

She smiled, and for the first time in a week, relaxed. “No sweetie, I’m sure it’s nothing. Probably just stress. We'll deal with it when we have a real answer, okay?”

They ate dinner and then snuggled in front of the tv. He honored her refusal to discuss it further. But for the rest of the evening, in the back of both their minds lingered the nagging thought: what if...?

***

“So, have you had a significant amount of stress lately?” the doctor asked.

“No more than usual.”

“Well, sometimes these things happen.”

“I’m usually like clockwork,” she countered.

“Try not to worry about it. I’ll give you a call tomorrow after the results come in.”

***

After the doctor called to let her know the tests results were all negative, she hung up feeling relieved. And yet, also an inexplicable, if slight and distant, sense of disappointment. She dismissed it while she called him.

“Hi, honey. Yeah, everything is fine. Just fine...”

***

He brought her flowers. He kissed her head. He stroked her hair and wrapped his arms around her. She imagined she felt safe and happy.

That would not last.