Unborn

The air held the scent
of sheets on a close line.
Hundreds of lady bugs swarmed
in the yard.
The hum of wings soothed her—
she waited for a sign.
His blue pickup was parked
……………..sideways in the driveway
like his bare body
on the bed.
Three years together
made his lips seem like hers,
made his hands her second hands.
She placed her fingers on
her belly,
it bulged like a melon.
Inside her
a body shifted.
She listened to the constant breath
of summer and thought
what he would say
when she told him
………………It wasn’t his.

*Emily Paquin was born in Worchester, Massachusetts. This is her first publication.