My Wife Was Seven Months Pregnant When She Stopped Leaving Bed—Then I Lifted the Blue Blanket and Realized My Mother Already Knew What Was Underneath

Her ribs were sore.

No fracture there either.

The baby kept moving.

I sat beside Clara while machines made soft electronic noises around us.

I wanted to say:

Everything is okay.

I did not.

I no longer trusted myself to make promises about outcomes I could not control.