My Best Friend

Deja Vu

Mindy frowned as she wiped the sweat from her eyebrows. She and Thomas barely arrived at the meat factory and already she was sweating.

"Something tells me this is going to be a bad day", Mindy whispered.

Thomas looked at her concerned. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and laid his hand over her flat belly. He looked at the other workers glaring to let them know he was going to hurt anyone who bothered Mindy. Mindy smiled and gently stroked his cheek.

"You don't have to worry about me, honey", she said. "I'll be alright. If anything happens, I can always scream for you."

He didn't like leaving her alone in the factory, especially in her condition. He shook his head and pulled her close, hugging her tightly.

"Hewitt! Bailey!" the boss yelled from his office. "Get to work!"

"I hate that guy", Mindy growled.

She kissed Thomas' cheek.

"I'll see you at lunch", she said. "I love you, Tommy."

He nodded as he kissed her back.

"I'll be careful", Mindy said as she walked off.

She stopped in the locker room to put on an apron. She smiled as she tied the strings in the back into a loose knot. Mindy looked down at her stomach and put her hands on it. It made her smile to know that there was a baby growing inside her. A little boy like Thomas or a little girl like her.

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Mindy continued smiling as she worked happily. Just the thought of the baby was helping her get through the day. Her coworkers noticed her smile and couldn't help but be curious.

"You seem to be in a good mood."

"I am", Mindy said. "I'm in a very good mood."

"May we ask why?"

She giggled as she held out her left hand showing the ring on her finger.

"I'm married!"

"Well, that's something", one of the workers said. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"Tommy."

"Hewitt?" they asked. "You married that huge brute?"

"He's not a brute", Mindy frowned. "He's my husband. He's also the father of my child."

"Child? You're pregnant?"

"Mm-hmm", she smiled. "At least a month along."

The workers looked at each other nervous. It was almost an experience of deja vu.

"What's wrong?" Mindy asked confused.

"You remember that story we told you about?" one of them asked. "Sloan?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"You remember we told you she was pregnant and died giving birth right where you are?"

Mindy gasped. Thomas' mother died giving birth to him. Now here she was pregnant with Thomas' child, working in the same place as his mother. What if the same thing happens? What if she goes into labor at work and dies giving birth to the baby.

"I... I think... I'm going to be sick", Mindy said at nearly a whispered. "Boss! I need a bathroom break!"

"No!" the boss said. "You just got here! Suck it in!"

She frowned fearfully. No way she could focus on work now. Not with the thought that she could possibly die in eight months' time.