It was just past 2 a.m. when headlights swept across the parking lot and lit up the inside of my car like a spotlight. I froze, one hand on my belly, the pregnancy pillow wedged awkwardly under my hip.
A silver SUV rolled to a stop right beside me.
For a second, I thought it might be someone from building security. Then I heard a three-tap knock on my window.
I wiped my eyes and turned.
Headlights swept across the parking lot.
Standing there, in a bathrobe, was my mother-in-law, Dana. Her hair was flattened on one side. Her face went white when she saw me curled up in the back seat.
I rolled the window down halfway.
“Dana? What are you doing here?”
“I’ve been texting Ryan all evening about the baby shower, and he never wrote back,” she said breathlessly. “When I called, he wasn’t answering. That’s not like him, and I didn’t want to disturb your rest. By midnight, I was picturing a car accident, one of you in a hospital. I couldn’t sleep with you so late into your pregnancy. And why on earth are YOU sleeping out here?!”
Her face went white.
That’s when the tears came. I couldn’t stop them.
I told her everything: the 3 a.m. blowup weeks ago, the keys tossed onto the bed, the reclining seats comment, the three flights of stairs I dragged my pillow down every single night, and the 6:30 a.m. texts.
My MIL went very still.
“He said what?!” she whispered.
“It’s all true.”
I couldn’t stop them.
Dana let out a small, bitter laugh, the kind you’d almost mistake for a cough. She looked up at the third-floor window where our bedroom light was off.
“Oh my God,” she whispered. “I can’t believe I raised a son like this.”
I didn’t know what to say. I just held my pillow tighter.
“Stay here for a bit, honey. I need to go home quickly. I’ll be back.”
I just nodded, confused about what she was up to.
I didn’t know what to say.
My MIL walked back to her SUV, got into the driver’s seat, and hightailed it out of our parking lot.
I couldn’t sleep as I waited anxiously for her return.
***
Fifteen minutes later, Dana returned, parked the SUV, got out, opened the tailgate, and dug around in the back. I could hear her muttering to herself. Something rustled and clunked.
A minute later, she came back, dragging a long package wrapped in brown paper.
I waited anxiously for her return.
“What is that?” I asked curiously.
“A little parenting lesson,” Dana said quietly, hoisting the package higher. “Left over from the lake trip in July. I never got around to unwrapping it. Come with me. You don’t want to miss this.”
“Dana, it’s the middle of the night.”
“Exactly.”
She opened my car door and offered me her hand. I took it. My back cracked as I straightened up, and she winced right along with me.
“Come with me.”
“Sweetheart,” my MIL said quietly, “you should not be doing this. Not at eight months. Actually, not ever. Not for one single night.”
I looked down, ashamed.
***
We started up the three flights of stairs together. Dana went first, the package balanced across both arms as if it were a rifle in an old war movie. I followed, one hand on the railing and one hand under my belly.
Halfway up, I stopped.
“You should not be doing this.”
