My water broke on the way to my mother-in-law’s party. My husband got furious. He pulled me, 9 months pregnant, out of the car and abandoned me on a snowy highway. “My mother is more important,” he said. He never expected…

I was nine months pregnant and felt as large and unwieldy as an airship. A dull, persistent ache had taken up permanent residence in my lower back, and my swollen ankles protested every step. But the sweet anticipation of meeting our baby, a feeling that was both thrilling and terrifying, made all the discomfort seem manageable. Today, however, my anxiety was a sharp, bitter note that drowned out everything else. We were on our way to my mother-in-law’s birthday party.