Nine months pregnant, Eloise is nesting with urgency, but her husband, Tom, keeps procrastinating on assembling the crib. Frustrated and feeling isolated, she takes matters into her own hands and plans a shocking lesson to make Tom understand the weight of his inaction.
I sat on the armchair, staring at the unopened crib box in the corner of the nursery. Everything was ready for the baby’s arrival except for that darn crib. It had been sitting there for weeks, reminding me of all the promises Tom hadn’t kept.
A sad woman sitting in an armchair | Source: Midjourney
Every time I asked him to put it together, it was always “tomorrow.” But tomorrow never came, and now here I was, ready to pop, exhausted, and feeling more alone than ever.
To him, assembling the crib was just another task on a never-ending list. To me, it was a vital part of preparing for the baby. One that had unintentionally turned into an ominous sign that I couldn’t rely on my husband to be a good father.
So, I decided I’d do it myself.
A frowning woman | Source: Midjourney
I dragged that heavy box across the room, my back already aching with the effort. I felt the baby shifting inside me, a sharp reminder I shouldn’t be exerting myself like this. But what choice did I have?
The instructions were a nightmare, but I pressed on, piece by piece, screw by screw, my hands shaking. About halfway through, just as I was struggling to fit a particularly stubborn piece into place, Tom walked in.
He had that relaxed look on his face that used to make me fall in love with him, but right now, it just made me want to scream.
“Hey,” he said, glancing at the half-assembled crib. “Good job. Why did you ask me to help you if you can do it yourself?”
Did he seriously just say that? I opened my mouth to tear him a new one, but the words stuck in my throat. He wouldn’t get it anyway, so I turned back to the crib, not bothering to hide my tears.
A woman crying | Source: Midjourney
He stood there for a minute, then shrugged and left the room. I felt like roadkill by the time I finally finished the crib. I sank onto the floor, staring at it through a haze of tears.
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