When I Returned from the Hospital with Our Newborn, My Husband Had Changed the Locks – Twenty Hours Later, He Showed Up, Pounding and Screaming

I tried again, thinking maybe exhaustion was making me clumsy.

I stood on my front porch holding my two-day-old daughter.

My husband’s car was in the driveway. The lights inside were off. Everything looked normal except for the fact that I couldn’t get into my own house.

I knocked gently at first, then harder.

Then, I heard footsteps.

“Raymond?” I called, shifting the baby in my arms. “Ray, the key isn’t working. Can you open the door?”

Silence.

Everything looked normal except for the fact that I couldn’t get into my own house.

His voice came through, muffled.

“Penelope… please just go.”

I froze. “What?”

“I need space. Please don’t make this harder.”

I laughed because the whole thing felt so absurd.

“Space? Ray, I just gave birth to our child. This is our house. Open the door.”