Summary

Ariel wants one last adventure before becoming a mother. When she is five months pregnant, she accepts an assignment in Mongolia. Her doctor assures her it is safe to fly until her third trimester.

Ariel's friends discourage her from making the trip, but she is convinced it will not affect her pregnancy. Other journalists have continued to travel and work while pregnant and women have been having babies for centuries without modern luxuries, Ariel argues. "If a doctor tells me there's nothing wrong with doing something, then I consider the matter settled" (138).

Ariel begins to feel an ache in her stomach a week before the trip, but everyone tells her it is the normal pain of the uterus expanding. Despite the discomfort, she flies to Mongolia for her assignment.

In Mongolia, Ariel connects with her local contact and they go out for dinner. The...