She showed the photos to her husband. “See? Look at me before the delivery. Nothing.” He squinted, then shrugged. “Bodies change, love. Skin stretches, marks show up. You’re still healing.” His casual dismissal felt like a dismissal of her sanity. She wanted an explanation, not platitudes.
Her friends tried to soothe her worries, too. Over coffee visits, they shook their heads and told her she was overanalyzing. “Pregnancy does weird things,” one said. Another added, “You’re probably just noticing lines that were always there.” Their words didn’t land. Her instincts screamed otherwise.