Drowning in the Shallows

The pool at the Miramar Resort was empty at 7 AM, which was exactly why Elena chose this hour. She floated on her back, staring up at the pale blue sky that matched the water, clutching the small bottle of prenatal vitamins in her hand like a lifeline. Three months ago, these tablets had represented hope. Now, they were just another reminder of what she'd lost—the baby, her marriage's momentum, the future they'd meticulously planned.

She heard the gate click and turned to see Marcus, her husband of seven years, walking toward the edge. He held his padel racquet like a weapon, the mesh bag slung over his shoulder sagging with balls he'd bought yesterday to impress someone—she wasn't sure who anymore.

"Your sister called," Marcus said, setting down his equipment but not meeting her eyes. "She wants to know if we're still coming to dinner Sunday."

Elena treaded water, feeling the heavy knit of her oversized hat pressing against her skull. It covered the hair she'd stopped bothering to style weeks ago. "Tell her we're busy. Tell her we're... doing something."

"Like what?" The question hung between them, heavier than the humid air.

"Like pretending our lives haven't become a series of medical appointments and empty rooms," she said, then immediately regretted it. Marcus's face contorted—hurt, then anger, then that careful blankness he'd perfected since the D&C.

He stripped off his shirt and dove in, slicing through the water with powerful strokes. She watched him surface at the far end, gasping. They were like two bears in hibernation, he'd told her once during a rare moment of vulnerability—curling around each other to survive the long winter. Now they were just animals sharing a habitat, avoiding eye contact.

Marcus swam back, stopping close to her. "I signed us up for couples counseling," he said quietly. "Tuesday at six."

Elena let herself sink beneath the surface, the silence wrapping around her like a embrace. When she resurfaced, she saw him still waiting, still watching. She held up the vitamin bottle, shaking it. The pills rattled like tiny bones.

"I'll go," she said. "But I'm not taking these anymore."

Marcus nodded once, understanding. He swam to the ladder and pulled himself out, water streaming from his skin like he was being baptized. Elena stayed floating, finally ready to stop drowning in the shallows.