Amai:I’ve been reading.
I stopped breathing.
I’ve been reading.
He’d been researching.
Looking up pregnancy symptoms.
Learning what to expect.
Not because he had to.
But because hecared.
I stared at the text for a long time.
Felt something crack open in my chest.
This wasn’t clinical.
This wasn’t contractual.
This was something else entirely.
I didn’t know what to say.
So, I just typed:Thank you.
The three dots appeared again.
Then disappeared.
No response.
I waited.
Five minutes.
Ten.
Twenty.
Nothing.
I set the phone down.
Told myself it didn’t matter.
Told myself he was busy.
Told myself this was just part of the arrangement—he checked in, I responded, we moved on.
But itdidmatter.
And I hated that it mattered.
Day Nine
