Chapter 24: Twenty Weeks

The heartbeat filled the exam room, and I did not cry this time.

I laughed, and Knox's hand tightened around mine.

"Strong," the nurse said, rolling the wand over my stomach. "Everything is exactly where it should be."

She tapped the keyboard, and the screen showed a profile, a small nose, a curled hand held up by the face.

"Would you like to know what you're having?"

I looked at Knox.

He did not answer for me.

He only raised his eyebrows and left it to me.

"Yes," I said. "Please."

"A girl."

I put the back of my free hand against my mouth.

"A girl," Knox said, quietly, and his voice cracked on the second word, as it had the first time.

The nurse printed two copies of the picture.

She handed one to me and one to Knox.

"For Dad's wallet," she said.

Neither of us corrected her.

Outside, in the parking lot, the January wind was cold and bright.

The spot where Nicolette had fallen was just a parking space, with a puddle in it.

I did not look at it for long.

Knox stood by the truck with the photograph held flat against his chest.

"I want to say something," he said.

"Say it."

"I'm not going to ask you anything today. It's not the day. You've been asked enough, by enough people, in enough parking lots."

Keep reading free with an account. Start Daily Habits of Another Woman from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.