Abi walked home from the pharmacy followed by the black cat

when she opened her front door the cat sat in the driveway

she knew the cat was there to find out if she was pregnant

I’ll tell you the results in s few minutes she yelled at the cat

she went inside to use the test kit returning a few minutes later

the cat was still sitting in the driveway

you can tell Gail I am pregnant she said smiling

the cat immediately took off and ran down the street

Abi sent Andrew a short text – congrats dad

he responded immediately with a happy face

they went to their favorite restaurant that evening to celebrate

Abi put her hand over the wine glass to stop the waiter pouring

Abi was the happiest she had ever been

she still walked every morning through the pregnancy 

always looking along the trail for the mysterious black cat

who seemed to appear at every critical moment her life

Abi worked from home as a technical writer

preparing manuals and operating guides for medical equipment

she had never seen the equipment in use

until she went for an ultrasound check on her baby

Abi watched the technician type commands into the keyboard

she could have operated the machine herself

its ok you can tell me the sex 

the technician smiled and said its a boy

Abi had been friends with Judith since her schooldays

Judith came round more often during the pregnancy

Abi got very tired easily and had to rest a lot

Judith would make dinner for the three of them and frequently stayed over

Abi woke up one morning in a hospital bed

she recognized the monitoring equipment beside her

from the sad faces around her she knew she had lost her baby

the black cat was watching from the hospital window