Chapter 1: The Night Everything Cracked
My husband and I were sitting in the ER with our sick baby when my MIL walked in, grabbed my husband's coat, and screamed, "He didn't sign up for this much stress!
You're the mother!" — what I did next was the last thing she expected.
Last night, our four-month-old daughter spiked a 104-degree fever.
When it wouldn't break, our pediatrician told us to go straight to the emergency room.
It was 2 AM.
I was seated in a hard plastic chair in the crowded waiting room, rocking our screaming infant.
My husband, Ethan, was pacing the floor, sighing heavily.
"This is ridiculous," he muttered, rubbing his face.
"I have a massive presentation at 9 AM.
I can't be doing this all night."
"Her fever is still going up, Ethan," I whispered, bouncing the baby.
"We just have to wait for the doctor."
"Well, I'm exhausted," he snapped.
He pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and stepped a few feet away.
I assumed he was leaving a message for his boss.
Twenty minutes later, the automatic ER doors slid open, and his mother, Sylvia, rushed inside.
She didn't even glance at her sick granddaughter.
She marched directly over to Ethan, snatched his winter coat off a nearby chair, and shoved it into his hands.
"Let's go.
I'm taking you to my house," she told him firmly.
"You can get a few solid hours of sleep in your old bed before your presentation."
I stared at her in absolute disbelief.
"Sylvia, what are you doing?" I asked.
"We are waiting for the doctor."
"He is exhausted," Sylvia snapped, glaring at me.
"He can't just sit in a waiting room all night."
"She is his daughter," I said, my voice shaking.
"I'm exhausted too."
That's when Sylvia completely lost it in front of the entire waiting room.
"He didn't sign up for this much stress!" she screamed at me.
"You're the mother!
Figure it out!"
I didn't argue, and I didn't cry.
I just stood up, shifted the baby in my arms, and did something she completely didn't expect.
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What did she do next — and will Ethan finally choose his wife and daughter over his mother?
Comment **"NEXT"** if you want Part 2.
