5 weeks and 6 days

5 weeks and 6 days marked on the calendar. 

The excitement of crossing off the days made Rebecca feel like a child waiting for her next chocolate in the advent calendar! As this was her first, names had been chosen and designs for the spare room were being drawn up. Her husband, a timid man, was more subtle about his excitement at the prospect of being a father, but enjoyed watching Rebacca fuss and flounce around the house. It had only been 5 weeks, oh wait almost 6, and you would think it had been almost 6 months!

 

They had agreed to keep it quiet, but the hysterical happiness bubbling up inside Rebecca was making it incredibly difficult for her to keep it a secret from her work colleague and best friend Tracey. That day she had decided that she couldn’t take it anymore and intended to drag Tracey in to the toilets during their lunch break, away from other prying ears, and tell her the incredible news. She knew exactly how she would react, a big bear hug and multiple screams of joy.

 

Rebecca worked in a call center where she endured 7 hours of abuse and wailing, five days a week. It wasn’t the greatest job in the world and she was hoping that once Mike got promoted she would be able to stay at home with their gorgeous new baby.

 

At 11:30 Rebecca was on the phone to a particularly grumpy gentleman who just wasn’t listening and had been shouting down the phone for 3 minutes and 20 seconds. After rolling her eyes to Tracey, who had been lucky enough to have a polite, calm customer, she felt a stabbing pain shoot through her stomach.  This being her first she wasn’t sure what to expect when she was pregnant but surely this early on it shouldn’t be this painful. That was unless…

 

Running to the women’s toilets, she wasn’t sure what had happened to the grumpy man on the phone and she couldn't remember explaining to anyone where she was going. Rebecca, now in the cubicle, trembled at the fear of loss. The fear of starting all over again. The fear of never getting to cross off another day on the calendar. Tracey ran in to the toilets as Rebecca’s body told her of the tragedy that had occurred. Floods of tears escaped her heavy eyes and as she finally released herself from the confinements of the toilet cubicle and entered the arms of, an also crying, best friend whose bear hug had previously been expecting to wrap her in joy, was now the only thing keeping Rebecca from collapsing to the ground.

 

5 weeks and 6 days. 

Reviews

[JBlanchard]

Wow, that hurt! Great job, a really raw subject tackled tactfully but with confidence. Love the motif of time throughout the whole thing, with advent calendars, hours, phone-calls and weeks; really makes the final topic hit home. I might say that it could've been good to hold on to the idea of Rebecca being pregnant until later one, that way the edge might've been sharpened a little, but other than that, loved it!

[Lauren Fox]

I love the title being repeated at the end. It really hits the reader. I like the beginning, the way you set the characters up. It reads really easily and you really feel for Rebecca at the end. Also, love the comparison when the friend is hugging her when she finds out she's pregnant and after when she finds out about the miscarriage. Overall, great job!

[Laura Williamson]

This is absolutely amazing. It is so full of emotion and you can actually feel your heart break a little at the end!