Jane Doe by Kay Peterson

Author:Kay Peterson [Peterson, Kay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: GKJ Publishing
Published: 2023-09-04T16:00:00+00:00

Stacy knelt on all fours waiting for the wireless router to come back on. She felt winded but her back appreciated the reprieve from sitting or standing. She felt her belly’s weight hang from her body, feeling all of her wanting to give into gravity’s grasp. For the last couple of minutes, the power light on the tower modem flashed back and forth between green and red as if trying to make up its mind. None of the other lights even appeared. Then she heard a click, and the power light locked into an electric green glow. The other lights began flashing now, rapidly cycling on and off. Amid the intermittent flash of green, she caught sight of the wireless indicator flashing a blue-white pulse, the color not unlike the one she saw Monday night over the house a few blocks over. The blinking mesmerized her, drawing her into a hypnotic state.

For a moment, she thought she heard a voice, or maybe a chorus of voices. At first it sounded like the electronic static silently hissing from the modem, but then it became distinct as she encountered a mandibular clicking amid the sibilances. The more she stared at the light, captivated by its flickering and otherworldly sound, the more immobile she felt until a sharp painful sensation spread across the front of her massive bump. It started around her navel, reaching across her midsection in wagon wheel spokes. She felt paralyzed until the pain subsided, and she was able to finally place a hand against it, feeling the baby kicking hard.

“Oh, man,” she exclaimed in a whisper. She felt she had enough air to breathe.

She heard someone speak behind her.

“What?”

“I asked if you were okay,” Stacy’s mom said. “I’ve been trying to get your attention for the last half hour.”

Half hour? But I’ve only been on the ground for a couple of minutes.

Stacy looked at the digital clock sitting on the desk next to her mom’s laptop. Sure enough, thirty minutes had flown by since she unplugged the router and plugged it back in to perform the reset.

“What the hell,” she exclaimed.

“Are you okay, Stacy?”

“Yeah, I’m fine… I think I just had a cramp.”

“In your stomach,” her mom asked. “You mean a contraction? Are you going into labor, sweetheart?!”

Stacy sat on the floor and leaned against the wall. She breathed heavily, waiting for any more pain in her midsection.

“No… I don’t know… it felt like it was centered right in the center of my belly and spread outwards… no squeezing or pressure, just… a sharp pain.”

“That could be a Braxton-hicks contraction,” her mom said. “I had those a lot when I was pregnant with you.”

“Good to know,” Stacy sighed. “Help me up?”

Bing-bong!

“Who could that be,” Stacy’s mom said, pulling her daughter to her feet.

“Might be Sam,” Stacy said.

“Sam?”

“Yeah the computer guy-al… computer gal who lives across the street. She’s really good with this stuff.”

“Have I met her before,” Stacy’s mom asked.

“I don’t know,” Stacy replied. “Maybe. She hangs out with Lisa all the time.

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