Meadow slipped inside and shut the door behind them. “You actin’ like you never peed on a stick before.”
Tia paced barefoot across the tile, hands shaking just a little. “Not since I been married. This feel different.”
“Girl, sit down before you fall.” Meadow caught her arm and guided her to the little bench by the window. “Where’s the test?”
Tia pointed to the counter.
White plastic…face down.
Meadow stared at it, then back at her friend. “You want me to flip it over?”
Tia had been putting off taking a pregnancy test as long as she could. She wanted to enjoy her girl without sadness just in case she wasn’t pregnant. Now, with her leaving in the morning, she knew she needed to get it over with.
Tia tore at a hangnail nervously. “I don’t know. Yes…Maybe…No.”
“Tia.”
She covered her face. “Okay…yes. Flip it over…damn!”
Meadow didn’t rush. That wasn’t how moments like this needed to move. She walked to the counter slowly, picking up the test with two fingers like it was fragile. “Tia…look at me.”
Tia lifted her head.
Meadow flipped it.
She didn’t speak immediately. Stillness settled across the bathroom. Even the air felt softer.
Tia’s chest dropped. “It’s…negative?”
Meadow nodded.
No hesitation...no shock…just truth.
Tia covered her mouth with both hands as tears rushed forward faster than she could blink them back.
“It’s okay,” Meadow whispered, reaching her quickly.
Tia shook her head hard. “No, it’s not. I thought…I really thought I was. I let myself believe it and I shouldn’t have.”
Meadow pulled her in close, letting Tia fold into her chest. Tia cried quietly at first, then harder, her shoulders shaking. Meadow held her tighter, one hand on the back of her head, the other on her back.
“You’re allowed to want things,” Meadow told her. “You’re allowed to hope for things. That doesn’t make you foolish.”
Tia sobbed harder. “Don’t tell Blain. Please don’t tell him. I didn’t want to say anything until I knew. I didn’t want him stressing or rearranging his whole life on a maybe. I just… wanted to know first.”
“You did the right thing,” Meadow assured her. “And when you’re ready, y’all will try again.”
Tia wiped her face but the tears didn’t stop. “It’s just…the timing felt right.”
“I know, babe.”
“It felt like God was nudging me.”
“Maybe He is,” Meadow said, voice calm. “Maybe He’s preparing you…Maybe He’s getting something ready behind the scenes. You don’t know yet.”
Tia’s face crumpled again.
“Sit,” Meadow urged, guiding her down to the floor with her. The rug was soft, the cool tile sending chill bumps over their bodies. Meadow took her hands and closed her eyes. “Bow your head.”
