A Clover and a Bee

 Life hasn’t made the drastic improvement that Lark had been hoping for. In fact, it seems to be spinning out of control: in Nikolas’ absence, laundry has been piling up, the refrigerator has begun to empty, and Lark’s patience is wearing thin. Her agitation is also fueled by exhaustion. Every other day, Nikolas would get up with Bjorn so Lark could sleep in. It was a small luxury, one she enjoyed deeply. But now she has to go to bed early every night in preparation for a 6 AM wake up call from Bjorn. Furthermore, her new role as single mother has rendered her unable to work. She doesn’t like the idea of leaving Bjorn with a babysitter--nor can she afford to pay one--and she can tell he wears out her parents. She’s currently relying on a small savings to make it day-to-day. She’ll have to come up with a long-term plan sooner or later. And then there’s the matter of how to explain the change to Bjorn. Lark initially planned to rely on the poor memory of toddlers in order t...

“Hurry the fuck up,” Lark pleads with the pregnancy test, “please!” It’s early in the morning, barely past sunrise. She had stayed up all night kept awake by two questions, only one of which could be easily resolved. In pursuit of that resolution, she drank almost a liter of water and then waited until morning, when hCG levels are supposedly at their highest. After three intense minutes, the results are clear. She’s pregnant again.