PART5: She Came Home After Giving Birth, and I Asked, “What’s for Dinner?” — What Happened Next Changed Me Forever

PART 5

At 2:37, Allison said quietly, “You can put him down.”

I nodded.

I carried Mateo to the bassinet.

Then I came back.

“Allison?”

“What?”

“Can I ask you something?”

She looked tired.

“What?”

“Do you still want me here?”

She didn’t answer immediately.

Finally, she said, “I want you to want to be here.”

I swallowed.

“I do.”

“Then show me.”

I nodded.

She closed her eyes.

I went into the kitchen.

For the first time in three days, I cleaned it.

I took out the trash.

I washed the bottles.

I put the towels in the dryer.

I wiped the counter.

Then I opened the refrigerator.

There was almost nothing inside.

So I made a list.

Groceries.

Medicine.

Baby supplies.

Breakfast.

Lunch.

Dinner.

Then I looked at the list.

I added one more thing.

Call Teresa.

I hated the idea.

But I called her anyway.

She answered on the second ring.

“Is Allison okay?”

“Yes.”

“Is Mateo okay?”

“Yes.”

A pause.

“Then why are you calling me?”

I closed my eyes.

“Because I think I need help.”

Silence.

Then Teresa said something I wasn’t prepared for.

“I’ve been waiting for you to say that.”

I leaned against the kitchen counter.

“Does Allison hate me?”

“No.”

“How do you know?”

“Because she keeps making excuses for you.”

That hurt.

“What did she say?”

“She said you were tired. She said you were overwhelmed. She said you didn’t know what you were doing.”

I stared at the floor.

Teresa’s voice softened.

“But I told her something.”

“What?”

“That being a new father doesn’t excuse being an absent husband.”

I nodded even though she couldn’t see me.

“I understand.”

“No, Daniel.”

Her voice became firm.

“You’re beginning to.”

I didn’t argue.

She told me she would come in the morning.

I thanked her.

Then I hung up.

I returned to the living room.

Allison was awake.

“You called my mother.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I asked her to come tomorrow.”

She stared at me.

“Why?”

“Because you shouldn’t have to do this alone.”

She looked away.

For a moment, I thought she might cry.

Instead she said, “Thank you.”

It was the smallest thing.

But it was the first thank-you I’d earned.

I sat on the floor beside the couch.

I didn’t ask for forgiveness.

I didn’t promise that everything would magically change.

I simply stayed.

At 4:11 in the morning, Allison finally fell asleep.

I watched her breathing.

Then I noticed something.

Her phone was on the floor.

The screen lit up.

A message from Teresa appeared.

Did he tell you about the appointment?

I frowned.

Appointment?

Before I could think about it, another message appeared.

You cannot keep this from him forever.

I looked toward Allison.

She was still asleep.

A third message appeared.

The doctor said the bleeding is not normal.

My heart stopped.

I picked up my phone.

Then I looked at Allison.

She opened her eyes.

She had seen me holding her phone.

“What did you read?”

I didn’t answer.

Her face changed.

“Daniel.”

“What bleeding?”

She sat up too quickly and immediately grabbed her stomach.

“What bleeding?”

She stared at me.

Then she whispered the words that changed everything.

“I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d panic.”

I stood.

“What is happening to you?”

She looked toward the hallway where Mateo was sleeping.

“I’ve been bleeding since yesterday.”

My mouth went dry.

“How bad?”

She didn’t answer.

“Allison, how bad?”

She pulled the blanket aside.

There was a dark stain on the couch beneath her.

My entire body went cold.

She looked at me.

And for the first time since Mateo was born, I saw fear on her face.

Not anger.

Not exhaustion.

Fear.

“I think something is wrong.”

I grabbed my keys.

“We’re going to the hospital.”

She shook her head.

“Daniel—”

“No.”

I picked up Mateo’s car seat.

“You don’t get to protect me from this.”

She stared at me.

I looked at her and finally understood what she had been trying to tell me all night.

She didn’t need a husband who knew what to say.

She needed one who noticed when something was wrong.

So I opened the front door.

And this time, I didn’t ask her what she needed.

I carried the bags.

I carried the baby.

And when Allison struggled to stand, I reached for her without being asked.

But as we stepped into the cold darkness outside, I had no idea that the hospital visit ahead of us would reveal something even worse than a complication from childbirth.

Something Allison had been hiding from me for months.

Something that had nothing to do with Mateo.

And everything to do with why she had been so afraid to come home.

CONTINUE READING PART6…