Delicate Condition

The narrator, Anna Alcott, reflects on the moment she knew that her pregnancy journey would be complicated and unusual. She remembers a night early in her pregnancy when she felt someone in her bed who was not her husband. The stranger, a woman, whispered the word “baby” in Anna’s ear before absconding with the fetal photo Anna kept by her bedside.

Anna, an NYC-based actress undergoing IVF, climbs out of the shower to find that she’s missed several calls from her husband, Dex. He’s already at the fertility clinic, and she should have been there an hour ago in preparation for her egg retrieval surgery. Anna is confused because, according to her phone’s calendar, she’s not late; she hurries out regardless. On the way to the subway, a woman in a blue baseball cap stands just outside her apartment. The woman rushes off when Anna sees her.

At the fertility clinic, Dex expresses his frustration with Anna; he had to convince the hospital to keep Anna’s appointment. Anna notices women watching her in the waiting room. She’s convinced their gazes are due to the unexpected success of her recent film, The Auteur, which has catapulted her into the public eye.