Sylvia came across the kitchen faster than I expected.<\/p>\n
\u201cGive him the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re upsetting everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one out there even knows what\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey will if you keep making a scene.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m making a scene?\u201d<\/p>\n
My voice rose despite myself.<\/p>\n
David stepped between us.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnna, give me the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m asking nicely.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t make it yours.\u201d<\/p>\n
His jaw worked.<\/p>\n
I backed toward the counter.<\/p>\n
The kitchen suddenly felt crowded despite being the largest room in the house.<\/p>\n
My back hurt.<\/p>\n
The ache beneath my stomach had returned.<\/p>\n
I needed to sit down, but neither of them seemed willing to let the argument end.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going upstairs,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
David moved toward the doorway.<\/p>\n
Not enough to make it obvious.<\/p>\n
Enough to block me.<\/p>\n
My fingers tightened around the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cMove.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to finish this conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. I need to lie down.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter you stop behaving irrationally.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re blocking a pregnant woman from leaving a room, and I\u2019m irrational?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sylvia scoffed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere. That dramatic tone again.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you want from me?\u201d<\/p>\n
For the first time all day, she did not have an immediate answer.<\/p>\n
That silence frightened me.<\/p>\n
I continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou wanted Christmas here. You wanted David\u2019s colleagues invited. You wanted me cooking. You wanted everything done exactly your way. I did it. What else do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes flicked toward David.<\/p>\n
\u201cStability.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word made no sense.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor my son.\u201d<\/p>\n
David interrupted.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Sylvia was angry enough to ignore him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has worked too hard to have everything jeopardized because his wife suddenly decides she wants to play victim.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is being jeopardized?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing,\u201d David said.<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said something was at stake. Now she says something is being jeopardized. What are you hiding?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody is hiding anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen let me call Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
He laughed again.<\/p>\n
That laugh.<\/p>\n
I would remember it for years.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo ahead,\u201d he said. \u201cCall him. Tell your father you\u2019re upset because my mother asked you to serve Christmas dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sylvia smiled.<\/p>\n
I opened the contact.<\/p>\n
Dad.<\/p>\n
My thumb hovered above the call button.<\/p>\n
David\u2019s expression changed when he realized I genuinely intended to press it.<\/p>\n
He reached for the phone.<\/p>\n
I stepped away.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnna.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t touch me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGive it here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sylvia grabbed my forearm.<\/p>\n
I jerked instinctively.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet go!\u201d<\/p>\n
The tray beside her tipped.<\/p>\n
A glass struck the floor and shattered.<\/p>\n
Someone in the dining room called David\u2019s name.<\/p>\n
Everything happened in seconds after that.<\/p>\n
Sylvia pulled.<\/p>\n
I twisted away.<\/p>\n
My heel caught the edge of the kitchen mat.<\/p>\n
I felt myself losing balance.<\/p>\n
I reached for the counter.<\/p>\n
My fingertips missed.<\/p>\n
Then Sylvia\u2019s hand hit my shoulder.<\/p>\n
Whether she meant to shove me that hard, I would never know.<\/p>\n
But I knew she pushed.<\/p>\n
I fell sideways.<\/p>\n
My hip struck the chair first.<\/p>\n
Then the floor.<\/p>\n
Pain exploded across my abdomen.<\/p>\n
For a moment there was no sound.<\/p>\n
No kitchen.<\/p>\n
No Christmas.<\/p>\n
Only white pain.<\/p>\n
I curled instinctively around my stomach.<\/p>\n
Someone screamed.<\/p>\n
It might have been me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnna?\u201d<\/p>\n
David\u2019s voice sounded far away.<\/p>\n
I tried to breathe.<\/p>\n
The first breath wouldn\u2019t come.<\/p>\n
The second came as a shallow gasp.<\/p>\n
My phone lay several feet away.<\/p>\n
\u201cBaby.\u201d<\/p>\n
David crouched beside me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy baby.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re okay.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sylvia stood behind him with both hands over her mouth.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t mean\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCall an ambulance.\u201d<\/p>\n
David looked at his mother.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid.\u201d<\/p>\n
He turned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust wait a second.\u201d<\/p>\n
I could barely understand him.<\/p>\n
\u201cCall an ambulance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou fell.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSylvia pushed me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did not!\u201d she shouted.<\/p>\n
I looked toward her.<\/p>\n
She lowered her hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou lost your balance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou pushed me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were pulling away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid, call an ambulance.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stood.<\/p>\n
Instead of reaching for his phone, he looked toward the dining room.<\/p>\n
I saw calculation pass across his face.<\/p>\n
That terrified me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid.\u201d<\/p>\n
He lowered his voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf an ambulance comes here, there will be questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy colleagues are here.\u201d<\/p>\n
I could not believe what I was hearing.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour daughter might be hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re talking like something happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething did happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sylvia came closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou fell.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStay away from me.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stopped.<\/p>\n
David crouched again.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you stand?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo!\u201d<\/p>\n
The shout brought footsteps.<\/p>\n
Mark appeared in the doorway.<\/p>\n
He looked at the broken glass, then at me on the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe slipped,\u201d David said immediately.<\/p>\n
I stared at my husband.<\/p>\n
Mark moved toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnna?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t move her,\u201d David said.<\/p>\n
Mark stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cHave you called an ambulance?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe doesn\u2019t need one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark looked at David.<\/p>\n
The room changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cCall,\u201d I told him.<\/p>\n
David stood between Mark and me.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s panicking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not panicking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnna\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCall an ambulance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark reached for his phone.<\/p>\n
Sylvia stepped forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease. This is a family matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark looked genuinely stunned.<\/p>\n
\u201cA seven-month-pregnant woman just fell.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m bleeding.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words came before I had fully understood them.<\/p>\n
Everyone stopped.<\/p>\n
I had felt something warm beneath my dress.<\/p>\n
I looked down.<\/p>\n
There was blood.<\/p>\n
Not much.<\/p>\n
But enough.<\/p>\n
Mark took out his phone.<\/p>\n
David grabbed his wrist.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet go.\u201d<\/p>\n
David released him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThink about what you\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark began dialing.<\/p>\n
Sylvia rushed toward him.<\/p>\n
I reached for my own phone on the floor.<\/p>\n
My fingers touched it.<\/p>\n
David saw.<\/p>\n
He moved faster.<\/p>\n
He picked it up before I could.<\/p>\n
\u201cGive it to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStop.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGive me my phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re hysterical.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
I was lying on a kitchen floor with blood on my dress, and my husband was worried about whether my response looked sufficiently calm.<\/p>\n
\u201cCall my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
His expression became incredulous.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you won\u2019t call an ambulance, call my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked toward Sylvia.<\/p>\n
Then he laughed.<\/p>\n
It was louder this time.<\/p>\n
Crueler.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is your retired judge father going to do from three states away?\u201d<\/p>\n
I tried to push myself upright.<\/p>\n
Pain forced me back down.<\/p>\n
\u201cCall him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen give me the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to stop threatening people with your family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not threatening you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always do this. Every time you don\u2019t get what you want, suddenly it\u2019s Dad this and Dad that.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was not true.<\/p>\n
In fact, I had spent years doing the opposite.<\/p>\n
I had deliberately kept my father outside my marriage.<\/p>\n
But there was no point arguing.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid, please.\u201d<\/p>\n
For one instant, I saw something like hesitation.<\/p>\n
Then Sylvia spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t reward this behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hesitation vanished.<\/p>\n
David looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not calling anyone until you calm down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Something inside me broke.<\/p>\n
Not emotionally.<\/p>\n
Something more useful than that.<\/p>\n
The part of me that had spent years negotiating with him simply stopped.<\/p>\n
I looked directly into his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen call my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
He smirked.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCall him and explain why your pregnant wife is bleeding on the kitchen floor.\u201d<\/p>\n
His smile disappeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think he\u2019ll scare me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I know judges too, Anna.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI work with federal attorneys. I know people far more influential than your father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure you do.\u201d<\/p>\n
That seemed to anger him.<\/p>\n
He held my phone above me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe I should call him. Maybe he should finally hear what his daughter is actually like.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease do.\u201d<\/p>\n
David unlocked the phone using the code he knew.<\/p>\n
He found Dad\u2019s contact.<\/p>\n
Sylvia watched.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid, don\u2019t waste time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
His eyes remained on mine.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to hear this.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pressed call and put the phone on speaker.<\/p>\n
It rang once.<\/p>\n
Twice.<\/p>\n
My heartbeat seemed to fill the kitchen.<\/p>\n
Dad answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnna?\u201d<\/p>\n
David smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cActually, this is David.\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is my daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n
David\u2019s smile weakened slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPut her on the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s having a little episode.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
Dad became very quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of episode?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe slipped in the kitchen and now she\u2019s blaming everyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPut Anna on.\u201d<\/p>\n
David looked at me.<\/p>\n
For the first time, he seemed uncertain.<\/p>\n
\u201cSir, I think\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad interrupted him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said put my daughter on the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark had stopped dialing.<\/p>\n
Sylvia was no longer speaking.<\/p>\n
The entire kitchen seemed to be listening.<\/p>\n
David swallowed.<\/p>\n
Something in my father\u2019s voice had changed the room before anyone there knew why.<\/p>\n
Sylvia came across the kitchen faster than I expected. \u201cGive him the phone.\u201d I stared at her. \u201cWhat?\u201d \u201cYou\u2019re upsetting everyone.\u201d \u201cNo one out there even knows what\u2019s happening.\u201d \u201cThey … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1615,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chapter-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1618"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1618\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1630,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1618\/revisions\/1630"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}