You should have thought about that before!” he yelled, his voice rising. “You knew how important today was to my mother! She’s been planning this for months, and you just had to go and ruin it!” Tears of pain, shock, and a deep, crushing resentment began to stream down my cheeks. “This is your child,…
He slammed on the brakes, the car skidding to a sharp, jarring halt on the shoulder of the deserted highway. “What? Now? Are you serious?” His voice wasn’t concerned. It was irritated. Furious. I nodded, feeling another contraction begin to build, a powerful, clenching wave of pain. “Greg, we have to get to the hospital.”…
“He’s especially active today,” I said, stroking my huge, round belly. Greg just grunted in response, his eyes fixed on the road. He was always like this lately—distant, detached, lost in a world of his own. I told myself it was stress from his engineering job at the plant. It was a nervous, demanding job,…
I did. I knew all too well. Sharon was a domineering woman, accustomed to her world operating exactly as she wished. The car sped along the highway, the landscape a bleak, monotonous canvas of white. The winter had been harsh in Wisconsin, with snow piled high on the shoulders of the road. I shivered, despite…
My relationship with Sharon, my husband Greg’s mother, was a masterclass in passive aggression. She had never approved of me, a quiet girl from a working-class family, for her brilliant, college-educated, only son. In her eyes, I was simply not a good enough match. But my husband, Greg, insisted we go. “Leah, Mom will be…
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…
But it wasn’t fine. I saw Preston and his father exchange a look. It was their special look: predatory, conspiratorial. It was how wolves look at a sheep before they attack. “Well, let’s test how tough you are,” Garrett suddenly declared, rising from the table. His massive frame cast a long shadow. “Preston, help me….
“Leave her alone,” I said softly, but loud enough for them to hear. My voice sounded foreign on that porch, like the squeak of an old floorboard in a new house. Preston turned to me, a malicious spark flashing in his eyes. He hated it when I interfered. He thought I was just a crazy…
“Why is our little city girl Lena all bundled up?” Garrett thundered, fixing Lena with a heavy stare. She was wearing a thick autumn jacket and jeans. The day was cool, and a sharp wind blew off the lake. “Afraid of catching a cold, softy?” Lena smiled nervously. “It’s just windy, Mr. Garrett.” “Windy?” Preston…
Garrett and Preston had been drinking heavily. Their forced merriment gave way to uninhibited aggression. They talked loudly, gesticulated wildly, and every movement they made radiated a feeling of absolute impunity. They were the masters of this place, the masters of their lives, and Lena was just another beautiful object in their collection.