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I Was Bleeding at 29 Weeks—My Husband Chose His Childhood Sweetheart
Novelix
new
已完結
Seven months pregnant in Florida, Megan only wants the pork-and-sauerkraut pierogi her mother sends from Minnesota. Her husband Elliot throws them away, mocks her hometown traditions, and lets his fam...
章節（3）
第1章
I was seven months pregnant when my husband threw away the Christmas dinner my mother had sent me.
I grew up in a little Minnesota town where Christmas Eve meant snow, family, and homemade pork-and-sauerkraut pierogi. In the three years since marrying Elliot and moving to Florida, I'd learned to eat whatever his family served.
That Christmas Eve, the table was filled with steamed fish, bland vegetables, and a light soup. I quietly asked him whether we could have pierogi too.
His mother put down her fork.
"All that salt and sour cabbage? You're pregnant, Megan. Think about the baby."
I waited until everyone was asleep. Then I took the frozen pierogi my mom had mailed me out of the freezer and set a pot of water to boil.
Elliot appeared in the doorway.
"Seriously? You can't go one night without stuffing your face?"
"My mother made them."
"You've lived here three years. When are you going to get over those trashy habits from back home?"
He tipped the pot into the trash.
The little dumplings split open, spilling filling into the bag.
My phone was still connected to Mom's call.
"Sweetheart," she was saying, "did you get to eat your Christmas pierogi?"
I looked at the trash can and somehow managed to smile.
"No, Mom. But I think I want to come home."
Elliot reached for my phone. "Don't upset your mother on Christmas."
He took over the call and told her I was being hormonal and unreasonable. He said frozen homemade food could be unsafe and that he was only protecting me and the baby.
Mom protested that she'd made the food carefully and packed it properly. He ended the call.
"You said you wanted to go home," he told me. "What does that mean? Haven't I given you a home?"
His mother appeared in the hall.
"Elliot put your name on the house and takes you to your appointments. You should be grateful."
"Having my name on a deed doesn't mean I'm not allowed to miss my mom."
"It was just a pot of dumplings," Elliot snapped.
"They were my mother's dumplings."
He sighed and put a glass of water in my hand.
"Drink this. Stop acting like a kid with a craving."
He noticed a small red burn on my wrist from the steam and brought me ointment. For a second I remembered the man who'd once driven across town to buy me comfort food at midnight.
Then he added, "And next time don't cook something that smells like that. My mother won't sleep."
The hope went out of me again.
I lay awake with one hand over my stomach.
"Baby," I whispered, "your mom didn't use to be this quiet."
第2章
The next day, Elliot insisted I attend the extended family's holiday dinner.
"I don't feel well," I told him.
"We have relatives to see. Don't make this difficult."
At the restaurant, his aunt greeted me with a joke about how loud Midwestern women were. Somebody imitated my Minnesota accent. Another person suggested our child should sound more like the father's family.
I smiled tightly.
"I do have an accent," I said. "At least my mother taught me not to mock people at their own dinner table."
The laughter died. Beneath the table, Elliot squeezed my hand hard enough to warn me.
His mother pushed a bowl of plain soup toward me.
"Eat this. It's healthier."
At the other end of the table was a tray of savory pastries. I glanced at them, but Elliot slid the soup closer.
"Behave," he murmured.
His mother sighed. "If you'd married Natalie, you wouldn't have to manage all these strange food habits. She's always understood our family."
Natalie was Elliot's childhood friend and former girlfriend. She worked in prenatal nutrition, which his family treated as a license to police every bite I ate.
Elliot looked at me and said, "Megan's always been a little food-obsessed."
I set my spoon down.
Later, while we were driving home, Mom called to say she'd mailed another insulated package. Elliot frowned and pulled up the delivery-tracking app.
"I already asked the carrier to return it," he said.
I stared at him. "You did what?"
"Your mother keeps sending food that's not good for you. I'm handling it."
"It's from my mom, Elliot. You don't get to decide whether I receive it."
He shrugged. "Someone has to be reasonable."
I asked him to take me to the shipping center. He refused, so I went myself.
第3章
The insulated box was outside our building when I returned. Mom had taped a note to the lid.
*Megan, whenever you miss home, cook yourself a few. Don't sit there hungry.*
Inside were frozen pierogi, jars of sauerkraut, some homemade rolls, and a tiny pair of baby booties she'd knitted with blue snowflakes.
*For my grandson. Grandma can't wait to meet him.*
I ran my fingers over the little booties.
Elliot came downstairs and read the note. "Your mother spoils you too much."
"I'm her daughter. Who else is she supposed to spoil?"
At home, his mother complained that the sauerkraut would stink up the refrigerator. She lifted one jar and frowned.
"Don't touch it," I said.
Elliot grabbed my wrist. "Megan. Let go."
"My mom sent this to me."
"I'll buy new groceries. It's just cabbage."
His mother threw the jar into the trash.
My knees almost buckled.
"Natalie says you're supposed to avoid emotional stress," Elliot told me, putting an arm around my shoulders as if he hadn't caused it.
"Natalie said that?"
He looked away. "She knows nutrition."
That night Natalie arrived with a cake and a tray of delicate appetizers.
"I heard things were tense," she said gently. "I thought I'd help."
Elliot's mother beamed at her. "You always know what to do."
Natalie had brought pierogi too, lightly pan-fried and filled with ingredients Elliot liked.
"These are different," he explained when I looked at them. "Not so heavy."
Natalie smiled. "Pregnant women really should watch the carbs, Megan. If you're craving something, sometimes smelling it is enough."
Then she saw the baby booties. "They're cute. A little tacky, though, don't you think?"
I took them from her hand.
Elliot frowned. "Why do you always take things personally?"
That night, I booked a flight to Minneapolis for the day after Christmas.
One more day, I told myself. Then I could go home.