I stayed in Palm Beach two more days.
I told myself Margaret needed rest. That she was angry and I’d only make it worse by showing up. That I’d fix it properly when I got home.
Vanessa didn’t leave me. She got her dining room table. And her penthouse.
On Wednesday night, I finally flew home.
During the flight, I rehearsed apologies. I imagined planning a family trip once the babies were old enough. Maybe the Amalfi Coast. Like a beautiful view could somehow make up for the hours I’d chosen to miss.
At a jeweler in Palm Beach, I’d bought Margaret a diamond bracelet. Eighty-five thousand dollars. It was in the velvet box in my coat pocket.
Standing in that empty nursery on Thursday morning, all those plans seemed absurd.
Under the tablet on the dresser, Margaret had left a small handwritten note. On the light blue stationery with her initials.
Please watch this before you call me.
I sat down on the floor next to the dresser.
And I pressed play.
Margaret appeared on the screen.
She was wearing a pale hospital gown. Her hair was pulled back loosely. Her face showed the exhaustion of somebody who’d just been through the longest night of her life.
She was holding our babies. One in each arm.
For several seconds, all I could do was stare.
Benjamin had a small, serious little face and a soft covering of brown hair. Abigail was sleeping with one tiny fist tucked under her cheek. She looked so much like Margaret that my eyes filled up before I even knew I was crying.
“Nathaniel,” Margaret said. “I want you to meet Benjamin and Abigail.”
Her voice was gentle. Almost unbearably gentle.
“They’re beautiful. And they’re doing well now. Abby needed some extra help when she first came. She was in the NICU for the first eleven hours. But she’s breathing fine on her own now.”
She looked down at our daughter and fixed the little pink blanket around her shoulders.
“I kept thinking you’d walk through that door,” Margaret said. “Even after the nurses told me nobody had heard from you. I kept looking at the hallway.”
I leaned closer to the screen.
Sophia Rivers is an experienced News Content Editor with a sharp eye for detail and a passion for delivering accurate and engaging news stories. At TheArchivists, she specializes in curating, editing, and presenting news content that informs and resonates with a global audience.
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