"You will not believe this, Nor."
"What?"
"The guys finally booked the beach trip." He held up a confirmation email like a winning lottery ticket. "Five days."
Five days.
"What beach trip, Colin?"
"The one we've been talking about for years." He was already checking flight times. "One last trip before life gets completely insane."
I genuinely thought he was joking, right up until I saw him comparing seat upgrades.
I looked down at my own stomach. Then back at him.
"My surgery is in four days."
"I know."
"I can barely walk to the mailbox. The doctor just told you, an hour ago, that I'd need help."
My surgery is in four days.
"I'll be home before the surgery, I promise. My flight lands the night before."
"You'll be exhausted."
"I'll manage. I really need this, Nora."
I couldn't believe we were still having this conversation.
"A break from what, exactly?"
"You know." He gestured vaguely at my stomach. "What's coming."
I didn't answer him, because for me, what was coming had already arrived. I was living inside it every single hour.
I was living inside it every single hour.
"I don't get why you're making this such a huge deal," Colin added. "I'll be back way before anything actually happens. Call your mom if you're bored."
He kissed my forehead. "It'll be fine, Nora."
The morning he left, I stood in the driveway trying to wave. Halfway through raising my arm, my lower back seized so hard I had to grab the porch railing just to stay upright.
Colin didn't see it. He was already backing out.
I watched his car disappear around the corner of Larkin Street.
Then I called my mother.
"Can you come?"
She didn't ask why. She just said, "I'm already grabbing my keys."
I'm already grabbing my keys.
Mom arrived that afternoon, took one look at me, and asked, "Where's Colin?"
"Destin."
