“I froze. They said…”
“Sit down. This is serious.”
My heart was pounding. I kept thinking—what did I do wrong?
HR looked at me, then at a folder on the table.
“Amy filed a complaint.”
That hit me like a brick.
“A complaint? About what?”
They exchanged a glance before answering.
“She said your behavior made her uncomfortable. That you were constantly hovering, taking over her tasks, carrying things without asking… and making it seem like she couldn’t do her job.”
I couldn’t believe it.
I was helping.
At least… I thought I was.
“She also said,” HR continued, “that you kept bringing up her pregnancy in front of others, which made her feel singled out.”
My mind went blank.
Then it clicked.
Monday.
No belly.
I hadn’t even thought about it in the moment—I just assumed something was off. But to her… everything had changed. And I was still treating her like she was fragile.
HR sighed.
“She’s no longer pregnant.”
That sentence sat heavy in the air.
Suddenly, every look she avoided, every word she didn’t say… made sense.
I wasn’t being kind.
I was reminding her of something she had just lost.
I left that room feeling smaller than ever.
Sometimes, help isn’t help—
If you don’t understand what someone is going through.
