Stretched out on her side in the emergency room of the local Lakewood Hospital, Laura waited for the doctor on call. Andy was standing just behind her, as she’d rolled to her side, giving him her back for two reasons, one being she’d long since lost the ability to breathe while lying on her back, and the other being that she couldn’t face him any longer. The elastic in her maternity jeans was digging into her side. They were nothing fancy; she had picked them up at the second-hand store along with her orange flowered maternity shirt, but at least they were comfortable.
She yanked on the elastic a second time, and it snapped. “Oh, great.” She held the dark elastic and then struggled to sit up.
“Laura, what’s wrong?” He slid his hand over her shoulder, and she dropped back on her side.
“I
