Her husband, Marcus, tried to reassure her.
He told her pregnancy could make the body behave in unexpected ways and reminded her that every previous appointment had shown their baby developing normally.
Nia wanted to believe him.
Then her mother saw her stomach.
She had come over one Sunday afternoon while Marcus was working outside. Nia was changing into a loose dress when her mother walked past the bedroom door, stopped abruptly, and stared.
For several seconds, neither woman spoke.
Nia immediately noticed the expression on her mother’s face.
It wasn’t surprise.
It looked like recognition.
“What is it?” Nia asked.
Her mother looked away and told her it was nothing, but Nia refused to let the subject go. Finally, the older woman admitted that Nia’s grandmother had experienced something strangely similar during her last pregnancy many years earlier.
