“B’sha’ah tovah.” Augusta knew what the words meant. It was customary, when wishing a pregnant woman well, to refrain from congratulatory language. Mazel tov, Augusta had been taught, was appropriate only when referring to something that had already occurred. Pregnancy, on the other hand, was the expectation of something yet to come, a potential yet to be fulfilled. Esther had chosen the more prudent phrase, which, translated loosely, meant “all in good time.” It was a wish for the future, rather than a blessing for the past—a wish that the pregnancy should be smooth, the baby healthy, and the
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