“Lance, honey. Wake up.”
“For fuck’s sake, Mackenzie, will you please shut the hell up? I’m trying to sleep!”
“I’m in labor. We need to get to the hospital. Now.”
With an angry grumble, he finally pushed off the bed and started tugging his pants on. “Well, that’s just fucking perfect. It’s the middle of the goddamned night, and I have a deposition in the morning. How the fuck am I supposed to get through that with no sleep, huh?”
I couldn’t concentrate on his rant, and honestly, at that very moment, I really couldn’t have cared less about his stupid deposition. I was in too much pain.
“Well, you going to just fucking sit there or get your lazy ass up? Come on!”
Lazy? I was in fucking labor, for Christ’s sake!
Knowing that arguing with him would only cause an even bigger fight and delay me getting to the hospital in time, I clenched my teeth and moved off the bed, trying to breathe through the contractions.
“All right, Ms. Webster, it’s time to move you into surgery. Are you ready to meet your little ones?”
Nerves coursed through my body as they prepared to wheel me into the room to begin my C-section. I was terrified and excited all at the same time. “Lance, honey, you ready?” I turned my head to look over at where he sat, his laptop perched on his lap as he typed away.
“I’ve got a lot of work I need to get through,” he answered, only looking up from the screen to address the doctor. “You can come and get me once she gets into recovery. I’m sure everything will be just fine. You don’t need me there.”
“Lance,” I gasped, tears burning the backs of my eyes before they broke free and slid down my temple onto the bed I was laying on. “We’re about to have our babies. I’m scared. I want you there with me.”
He let out a frustrated huff and finally deemed me worthy of a look. “Tomorrow’s a big day for me, Mackenzie. I need to get this finished. I’ll see you when you come out of surgery.”
“Sir,” the doctor cut in, “your wife could really use your support in the operating room—”
“She’s not my wife,” he answered, his tone full of disinterest. He’d already gone back to his work, effectively cutting off whatever else the doctor was going to say.
Turning away from him in disgust, I caught the look of pity in my doctor’s eyes before she nodded at the nurse. “We need to get you into surgery now, Ms. Webster.”
“O-okay,” I tripped over my words and my nerves took over complete control of my body, causing it to shake uncontrollably.
“It’ll be okay, sweetheart,” the kind nurse leaned in to whisper as they began moving me from the room. “We’ll take good care of you, then you’ll have two precious babies to love when it’s all over.”
“Thank you.” I tried so hard not to cry. It was supposed to be a happy day, a blessing. I was finally going to meet my babies after so many months of pregnancy. I hated that I was letting Lance take that joy away from me.
It wasn’t until I heard Cameron’s shrill cry in the delivery room that my tears turned from those of sadness to happiness. From that moment forward, I’d finally have two people in my life to love me as unconditionally as I loved them.
Four days had passed since the twins were born, and each passing day was another that Lance couldn’t be bothered to come to the hospital to see us. After briefly checking on me in recovery, he’d gone to the nursery to see the babies. He’d stayed for an hour, tops, before leaving to go home and get some sleep.
Every time I called, he was either too busy or too tired to come up and visit. I was heartbroken. Finally, on the fourth day, the doctor released us to go home. The discharge papers had been completed, the babies’ diaper bags had been stocked, and we were ready to go. All that was left to do was wait for Lance to show up.
I held the phone to my ear as the call when to voicemail yet again.
“Hey, it’s me. The doctor released us to go home two hours ago. Could you please come get us? I know you’re busy, but if I have to stay in this hospital any longer, I’m going to lose my mind. Please call me back.”
It wasn’t like I could have just called a cab to come pick us up. I had two babies and no car seats. Lance was our only way home and he couldn’t even be bothered to answer the phone. It wasn’t until four hours later that he finally graced us with his presence, and by that time, I had already worked myself up so much that I couldn’t contain my anger when he walked through the hospital room door.
“Where were you?” I demanded as I rocked a fussy Cameron in my arms. Callie slept peacefully in the hospital’s little basinet, but Cameron had proven to be a difficult sleeper. I’d spent the last three nights rocking and singing to him to try and get him to relax, but nothing seemed to work. I was exhausted and angry.