“Whatever happens. God is with us, He’ll help us, we can trust Him.”
She exhaled, nodded, and their torturous wait continued.
Lord, please…
The phone alarm beeped, and they studied each other. “Ready?”
She shook her head.
He smiled, swiped her hair behind her ear. “God’s got this, no matter what it is.”
“But it won’t be, because I was bleeding last week.”
“Let’s see what the test says.”
She drew in a shaky-sounding breath. Nodded.
And they turned back to the stick.
* * *
Sarah helda special secret inside her. No-one, apart from Daniel and Dr. McKinnon knew. That first test in Muskoka had seen Dan rush out to buy another two, and they all said the same thing. She was pregnant. With none of the tests holding the wavery pink lines of the previous three times. They’d returned to Toronto and made an appointment with Dr. McKinnon as soon as possible. The bleeding she’d thought was her period he’d put down to implantation bleeding. And while he’d said her blood test result indicated her hCG level was healthy, it wasn’t until last week’s ultrasound had showed a little heartbeat that she’d dared believe this could actually be real.
Still, Dr. McKinnon’s cautions about their history, and the likelihood of spontaneous miscarriage given their supposed incompatibility, or health issues should she carry their baby to full term, threaded fear into what otherwise would have been pure joy.
Because they’d been here before. And while they knew God was good, there was always the chance that—miracle though this may be—that God’s timing would see heartbreak much like before. Faith was a hard place to live in. And so once again, the hard challenges of faith meant they hadn’t told anyone yet, despite their recent attempts to be open.
“You almost ready, Sar?”
“Yes.” She pinned her hair behind her ears, her movements flattening her dress across a stomach that revealed no telltale sign of a bump. That was no surprise. She’d been sick most days, so she’d been losing weight, even if her chest was fuller than usual. That was a good sign she supposed. Something must be working okay.
Dan entered the bathroom, his eyes widening at the dress. “Is this new?”
“It’s another vintage piece.” Also known as second-hand designer. The world didn’t need to drown in more cheap cast-away clothes. She’d bought it when she’d been less busty.
“Well, I like.”
He drew close, as if he wanted to kiss her, but she inched away. “You’ll have to wait.”
“Okay.” He grinned. “You look great.”
“Thanks.”
It was nice to have this feeling of accord. He hadn’t liked it yesterday when she’d said she still wanted to go on the Heartsong tour. “But this is our child’s health you plan to risk.”
“I don’tplanto risk anything,” she’d snapped. Man, hormones that exacerbated her tendency to fly off the handle were the pits.
“I just want you to be careful, Sar,” he’d said, caressing her stomach. “I love you, and I love this child, and I don’t want anything to happen to either of you.”
“I don’t want that either.” And she’d kissed him in a way that soon ended that argument. Or at least put it on pause.
She was trying to enter into Dan’s excitement, to paste a smile over the fears. God was good. She knew that. God loved her. Yes, Amen. But still… still…Oh, Lord, could we please have a better outcome this time round?
“Hey, Princess, are you ready for your birthday surprise?”
She nodded, pushed aside the worries, focused on the now. “Sure am.”
He pulled out a tiny, gift-wrapped box. “Ta da!”
