I scratched my head, wondering what may have occurred. Perhaps she was just taking care of her own personal matters, or maybe I had unintentionally done something to drive her away.
However, there were no hints, indicators, or words that would have allowed me to draw a reasonable conclusion. We arranged lunch after some prodding, and for a brief time I thought I had overreacted.
Everything seemed to be going well at lunch, but I knew it wasn’t. Even though it wasn’t forced, our discussion seemed different, but nobody brought it up.
Between us, the air seemed thicker. We made vacuous promises to get together again soon after saying our goodbyes and parting ways after lunch.
Even though I was unaware of it at the time, it would be the last time we would meet in person after five years of friendship.
After a month or two, our friendship took a last turn, and I had some news to share at last. She was aware that I was a few months pregnant and that we had been trying for a child.
