When I came home from the hospital with my newborn, I noticed a note on the table and assumed it was a kind message from my mother-in-law.
Instead, it said she was charging us $600 for taking care of our dog while I was in labor.
My husband promised to talk to her, but I had a better idea.
A few days before I went into labor, I was sprawled out on the couch, trying to manage the dull ache in my lower back that kept growing sharper by the minute.
My golden retriever, Rich, rested his head on my lap, his big brown eyes watching me like he knew something was up. I scratched behind his ears, grateful for his calm presence.
“Jake!” I called my husband, my voice strained as another wave of discomfort rolled through me.
Jake was in the kitchen, stacking turkey and cheese onto a sandwich, his eyebrows crunched.
“Yeah, babe?” he replied, not even looking up.
I sighed. “We need to figure out what to do about Rich while we’re at the hospital.
Can we ask your mom to help out?”
We had a scheduled induction the following day because my baby was a week overdue, and I was ready to be done with this mess.
Jake walked over, sandwich in hand, and gave me a quick kiss on the forehead.
“Don’t stress, Doris. Mom loves Rich.
She’ll handle it.”
That was my husband. He shrugged off almost anything with an easy solution.
His optimism was one of the reasons I loved him, but I’m not going to lie, it was also one of the things that often grated on my nerves.
But that might just be a product of the hormones and my discomfort.
“Alright,” I said, leaning back into the cushions. “Just make sure she knows it’s only for a couple of days.”
What happened next changed everything… FULL STORY on the next page.
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