Chapter 3 - What Isaac Actually Agreed ToI pressed my head against the pillow, breathing through another contraction. Had Isaac agreed to this? Had my own husband been making plans about our daughter with his mother, without telling me?
"You're twisting things," I said.
"I'm protecting my grandchild," she replied. "You may not understand the difference."
I reached for my phone. Before I could unlock it, the door flew open and Isaac rushed in, jacket half off, face pale, terrified. His eyes went from the monitors to his mother, then to me.
"What happened? What did I miss?"
"The baby's okay," I said. "But you need to explain something."
He came closer. "What?"
I looked straight at him. "Did you tell your mother our baby would be staying at her house?"
His expression changed instantly. "What?"
"She has a hospital support badge with my due date printed on it. She has a nursery set up at her house. She told the staff she was going to be my main support after delivery." I took a breath. "And she says you agreed."
He looked at his mother, then back at me. "I did not agree to that. I swear."
"But she said you knew."
"I knew she wanted to help." He turned to face her. "Meals. Errands. Maybe watching the baby for an hour while we slept. That's what we talked about." He pointed at the badge. "I never agreed to a nursery. I never said the baby would stay at her house. I knew nothing about that."
I looked at his mother. "You lied."
"I did not."
"Mom," Isaac said, sharper now, "you absolutely did."
"You told me she would need help."
"Help is not the same as putting yourself into our hospital paperwork."
The confusion over Isaac disappeared. But something worse remained.
I turned to the nurse. "Then how did she get that badge?"
Nobody answered for several seconds. That silence became the most important thing in the room.
The nurse stepped toward the door. "I'm going to get the charge nurse. I don't want to give you incorrect information."
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"There is no reason," my mother-in-law objected, "to turn this into some dramatic situation."
Isaac looked at her. "No. I think there is."
