Chapter 3
3.
I started packing my bags.
For the next few days, I existed in a haze. I couldn't tell day from night, and I had no idea if I had eaten.
Grant's iMessages kept rolling in.
[Quarantine is almost over. I miss you.]
[I'm bringing you a gift.]
[Baby, just two more days.]
I didn't reply to a single one.
He didn't find it suspicious.
In his eyes, I was the woman who believed every word he said.
On the fifth day, I went downstairs to take out the trash.
As I reached the bins on the street corner, my vision went black, and I collapsed.
When I woke up, I was lying in an observation room at St. Catherine's Medical Center.
Blinding lights. The sharp smell of antiseptic.
A nurse was writing on a chart. Seeing my eyes open, she looked up.
"Your blood sugar bottomed out and you fainted on the street. A bystander called 911."
I nodded and tried to sit up.
She pressed a hand to my shoulder.
"Don't move."
"There's something else. You're pregnant. About five weeks along."
"You need to rest."
My hand dropped to my flat stomach.
There was a baby in there.
Right when I was preparing to file for divorce.
Right when I found out Grant had been lying to me for three solid years.
After the nurse left, I stared at the ceiling, my fingers slowly curling into fists.
I was getting a divorce. The baby was mine.
Just then, rushed footsteps echoed outside my curtain.
"Doctor! Hurry, she's in a lot of pain!"
My entire body went rigid.
It was Grant.
Someone was wheeled into the ER bay next to mine.
Savannah's voice was soft and weak.
"Grant... it hurts..."
"Don't be scared, Savannah. The doctor is right here."
Grant's voice held a frantic, aching desperation I had never heard before.
I reached out and gripped the edge of the curtain, pulling it tighter to hide myself.
"What happened?" the doctor asked.
Grant hesitated.
"She... something got stuck. We can't get it off."
"What is it?"
A few seconds of silence.
"...A ring."
The doctor's tone dropped.
"A wedding band?"
"...Yes."
"You've got to be kidding me."
Rustling sounds came from the other side of the curtain.
Savannah let out a small whimper.
"It hurts... this is your fault."
"I know, baby, it's my fault," Grant coaxed softly. "Just hold on, it'll be off in a second."
I lay behind the curtain, completely still.
I had spent three months designing that wedding band, and another three months overseeing its production.
The day Grant put it on, he held his hand up and stared at it for a long time.
He had said, "I'm going to wear this ring for the rest of my life. I could lose anything, but never this."
Ten minutes later, the doctor finally let out a breath.
"Alright, it's off. Next time, know your limits when you play."
"Thank you, doctor," Grant replied quickly.
The doctor and nurse walked away.
Then came the sharp clink of metal hitting the bottom of a trash can.
"You're not keeping the ring?" Grant asked.
Savannah sounded disgusted. "It's disgusting now. Why would I want it?"
Grant paused.
"Fine. We don't need it."
I closed my eyes.
Three months of design.
Three months of production.
The thing he swore to wear for the rest of his life.
Thrown away just like that.
Savannah spoke again. "How are you going to explain this to Claire?"
Grant scoffed.
"Explain what? It's just a piece of metal. I'll buy another one later."
His voice dropped lower, laced with a smile.
"Hell, I'll buy one for you, too."
The other side of the curtain went quiet for a few seconds.
Then came Savannah's soft, breathy giggle.
"You're terrible."
I opened my eyes. Tears slid down my temples and into my hair.
I lifted my left hand and pulled off my own wedding ring.
It left a pale indentation on my finger.
I opened Facebook Marketplace, snapped a photo, and uploaded it.
Title:
[My marriage is dead. Wedding ring for sale.]
Description:
[Women's wedding band for sale. My marriage is over. The men's band has already been thrown in the trash.]
I hit publish.
Outside the curtain, the footsteps faded away.
Grant had left with Savannah.
I placed my hand over my stomach.
Baby.
Mommy is taking you away.