In two weeks it has grown from a shadowy dream to a fully-present fact. There are curves pressing outward, shapes changing.


Two weeks ago I had a secret I could keep to myself. Now it is out there for anyone to see.

I can't stop touching myself to prove that it is real, that it is really happening. My hands press into tissue that recently was soft but now is tight and round. I'm not the only one touching, either. My girlfriends, sisters, mothers reach toward me with loving hands and press their eager ears to my belly. Nothing to hear, yet, but we still listen closely...