CW: Miscarriage. While we thumbed outdated magazine pages in the doctor’s waiting area, we wondered if our baby would be all right, if there were additional vitamins or a prescription we might need. When we were called back to the office, we were not prepared to hear, “We’re sorry. There is no heartbeat.” On the way home the radio music didn’t soothe us, and I wondered why Hitler and Ted Bundy survived when our baby would not, wondered what he or she might have been: an Einstein or a Mother Teresa. We would never know, but we knew we would try again.
Niles Reddick is author of a novel, two story collections, and a novella. His work has been featured in over four-hundred-fifty publications including The Saturday Evening Post, New Reader, and Citron Review. Find Niles at nilesreddick.com and on Twitter @niles_reddick.