- 5.
I automatically called out.
“Mark?”
But no one answered.
I looked at Jessica’s bed. It was empty, too.
A bad feeling was growing inside me. But I
needed to take care of the baby first.
I tried to sit up, but I didn’t have the strength.
My stitches hurt.
く
If the nurse hadn’t come in to change my
bandages, I wouldn’t have been able to do
anything.
“Don’t move. Let me help you.”
The nurse helped me get comfortable, then
checked the baby’s diaper.
He was wet.
The nurse cleaned him up and made some
formula.
It hurt when she pushed on my stomach.
But I held it in and said, “Thank you.”
As the nurse was leaving, I stopped her. “Can
you grab my phone?”
It was in my suitcase, because I couldn’t have
it during surgery.
Now, I couldn’t reach it.
The nurse wasn’t busy.
I told her where the phone was and asked if
she had seen Mark.
She hesitated.
She looked at me with pity.
I knew she wasn’t telling me everything.
“Jessica’s water broke. Your husband took
her to the delivery room.
“Her mother–in–law got here. They’re giving
her the shot and trying a natural birth.”
That was fast.
If her baby had problems, she’d start causing
trouble again.
I took my phone.
The first thing I did was call Mark.
The nurse saw my phone.
She said, “You can only trust yourself. Take
care of yourself and your baby.”
I looked at her. She was gone.
L
The phone started ringing.
I wanted to ask Mark if Jessica had her baby
yet.
But I asked, “Where are you?”
There was no sound on Mark’s end, but I
heard an echo.
He was in the stairwell.
“I’m having a smoke. What’s wrong?”
He only smoked when he was stressed.
I had a baby. That was supposed to be good
news. And we could afford a baby.
His stress was weird.
<
I suspected something.
I asked, “Where’s Jessica?”
“Her water broke,” Mark said quickly. “She’s
in the delivery room.”
“You took her there?”
“Yeah.”
Didn’t I tell him I’d traveled back in time?
If Jessica’s water broke, she could call for a
doctor and nurse. Why would Mark have to do
anything?
