When I Returned from the Hospital with Our Newborn, My Husband Had Changed the Locks – Twenty Hours Later, He Showed Up, Pounding and Screaming
There were blackout curtains. A sound machine. A changing table stocked with everything we’d need.
I turned to Ray, who was standing in the doorway and watching me with red-rimmed eyes.
“I wanted to give you rest. A place where you didn’t have to worry about anything except our daughter.”
We sat at the kitchen table while the baby slept in the new bassinet.
Ray explained everything, but this time he didn’t just tell me what he’d done… he told me why it mattered so much.
“You did this?”
“When they said you’d have to stay two extra days at the hospital, I saw a window,” he began.
He’d used all his vacation time. Called in every favor. His brother helped with the painting. His coworker’s wife helped plan the nursery.
“But it wasn’t just about getting it done,” Ray continued. “Penny, I watched you carry our daughter for nine months. I saw you tired, sick, and in pain. I saw you go through labor.”
He wiped his eyes.
“And I felt useless. Like I hadn’t done anything. Like you’d given everything, and I’d just… stood there. This was the only thing I could give back. The only way I could show you that I see how much you sacrificed.”
“So when you showed up, and the house wasn’t ready… I panicked. The crib was still in boxes. The paint in the nursery had to be redone. There were tools everywhere. And I thought if you saw the mess, you’d know what I was trying to do, and it would ruin the surprise.”
He looked at me, tears streaming down his face.
“This was the only thing I could give back.”
“I figured you’d go to Vanessa’s since she’s close by. She already knew about my plan. I told myself it’d just be one night. But I didn’t stop to think about how it would feel for you… how scared you must’ve been.”
“Ray, I thought you’d abandoned us.”
His face crumpled. “I know. And that’s the worst part. I was so focused on making this perfect that I didn’t realize I was hurting you. I thought I was giving you a gift, but instead I made you think I didn’t want you.”
He reached across the table and took my hand.
“I should’ve answered your calls. I should’ve explained. But I was covered in paint… and I convinced myself that if I could just finish it, everything would be okay.”
“You scared me,” I whispered.
“I know. I’m so sorry, Penny. I was trying so hard to be enough for you that I forgot you just needed me to be there.”
There was a knock at the door.
I opened it to find Vanessa standing there, looking sheepish.
“You scared me.”
