Delicate Condition

Anna calls Dr. Crawford and Dr. Hill, both of whom suggest that what Anna is feeling is psychosomatic. Regardless, Anna makes an appointment to see Dr. Hill next week. Anna calls Dex, who offers empty consolations, and when she gets off the phone with him, she sees that her stalker has left a message for her on her calendar. The message is a warning: “They did something to your baby” (177).

Anna responds to the stalker, asking if this unspecified “they” killed her baby, and the stalker responds by asking if Anna is sure it’s dead. The stalker stops responding to questions after this, and Anna hypothesizes about how it would be possible for her baby to still be alive when Dr. Crawford couldn’t find a heartbeat. Anna decides to go to CVS for a fetal heart rate monitor. On her way out of the house, she smells the corpse of a raccoon that died in the empty swimming pool; she’s disturbed to find that the scent makes her crave eating the raccoon. Unnerved, Anna hurries to the CVS, where there are no fetal heart rate monitors. When the store clerk puts her hand on Anna’s belly without Anna’s permission, though, she claims to feel something kicking inside.