Chapter 3
CHAPTER 3 — This Is Not a Pregnancy
Dr. Salcedo’s voice cut through the exam room.
“Everyone out. Right now.”
Arthur stepped forward.
“We’re her family.”
The doctor looked at him with a sharpness that finally made him shut up.
“Then act like it in the hallway.”
A nurse guided the children outside and closed the door.
Larisa stared at the ultrasound monitor.
Gray shapes moved across the screen.
She searched desperately for something familiar.
A head.
A hand.
A heartbeat.
Anything.
The diaper bag slipped from her lap and fell to the floor.
The yellow socks rolled beneath the chair.
“Doctor,” she whispered, “where is the baby?”
Dr. Salcedo took her hand.
That frightened her more than anything.
Doctors only take your hand before saying something that cannot be softened.
“Mrs. Morales,” he said quietly, “this is not a pregnancy.”
The words did not enter her at first.
They stayed above her, meaningless.
Not a pregnancy.
Then what had she been feeding with her hope?
What had she been speaking to in the dark?
What had she knitted socks for?
The doctor turned slightly toward the nurse.
“I need emergency imaging. Full abdominal scan. Bloodwork now. Prepare transfer.”
Larisa’s mouth went dry.
“Am I dying?”
He paused.
Not long.
But long enough.
“You are very ill,” he said. “But we found it today. That matters.”
Her eyes filled.
Outside the door, Monica’s voice rose.
“What is happening? Why won’t anyone tell us?”
Larisa turned her head toward the sound.
For months, they had laughed.
Now they wanted answers.
Dr. Salcedo pulled the curtain slightly closed.
“Mrs. Morales, did anyone tell you to delay specialist care?”
Larisa thought of Arthur laughing over the phone.
Monica telling her she was embarrassing.
Julian ignoring her messages.
The neighbors whispering.
The receptionist smirking.
Even herself, holding the baby socks and choosing hope over fear.
“No,” she said softly. “I delayed myself.”
The doctor’s expression gentled.
“Sometimes people delay because they’re scared.”
Larisa looked at the socks on the floor.
“I wasn’t only scared,” she whispered. “I wanted the miracle.”
The nurse picked up the socks and placed them beside her hand.
Larisa held them against her chest and began to cry.
May you like
Not for a baby.
For the part of herself that had needed one so badly.
