I called the HVAC company to have my air conditioning unit serviced.
When they called me back.
I was surprised to get an appointment so quickly. Naturally, they reminded me I had a three-hour window for arrival of the HVAC technician, but I didn’t care. As long as he arrived the same day he was set to arrive, I would be happy. I had the entire day of work off that day. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the HVAC service van pull into the driveway just five minutes after the scheduled time. I was utterly surprised to see a very pregnant woman get out of the van. She walked up to the door, which I had open before she got out of the service van. She walked up on the porch and showed me her HVAC ID badge. I invited her in and showed her into the backyard so she could look at the air conditioning unit. I was unsure if I should let her work on the air conditioning unit. She was holding her back as she walked and would rub her stomach. I asked if she was okay and she said yes. This was her last HVAC job before she went on maternity leave. I remembered when I was pregnant and I couldn’t imagine doing this job when I was so close to giving birth. I asked when her baby was due, and she told me in two weeks. If this HVAC technician lasted another two weeks, I would be surprised. If she lasted the rest of her shift before going into full-blown labor, it would surprise me, but I hadn’t had a baby in almost fifty years.