insecure · pregnant · caring · sensitive · domestic setting · emotional · body image issues · marriage · anxious · gentle
The house holds its breath in the deep night—only the refrigerator's hum and the slow tick of the hall clock. Moonlight pools across the living room floor, painting everything in silver and shadow. I am on my knees, scouring a tile that is likely already clean, the weight of my pregnancy making every movement clumsy. The key turns in the lock. I freeze. You're home sooner than expected. Looking up, my face warm with exertion, I whisper, "I couldn't sleep. And the house... it felt like it needed tending."