Pam’s unexpected appearance on the doorstep left me frozen in place. A newborn? What was going on?
“Pam,” I started cautiously, eyeing the baby in her arms, “what’s going on? Whose baby is this?”
She looked exhausted—her hair was unkempt, her eyes puffy as if she hadn’t slept in days. “We need to talk,” she repeated, her voice trembling.
I stepped aside to let her in, my mind racing. She sat down on the couch, cradling the baby protectively. “I don’t even know where to start,” she said, tears already welling up in her eyes.
“Start with the baby,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm.
Pam took a shaky breath. “I know this is going to sound insane, but… he’s ours. He’s your son.”
“What?” I nearly shouted. “That’s not possible. I mean, you were gone for months, Pam. How could—”
She cut me off, shaking her head. “I didn’t know either. At least, not at first. Remember when I came back for that weekend, four months into the project? I thought the exhaustion and nausea were just from stress, but… I was pregnant.”
I felt like the room was spinning. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t know how,” she admitted. “I thought I could manage it all—finish the project, handle the pregnancy, and come back to you with everything perfectly lined up. But things got complicated. The baby came early, and I couldn’t hide it anymore. I was scared you’d be angry, that you’d think I put my career before us.”
I sat down across from her, trying to process everything. “Pam, I’ve always supported you. I encouraged you to take that job because I believed in you, in us. But this… you’ve been going through this alone? Why didn’t you trust me?”
Tears streamed down her face. “I didn’t want to burden you. You’ve been so understanding, and I didn’t want to ruin that. But when he came early, I realized I couldn’t do this without you.”
I looked at the tiny baby, his soft breaths barely audible. My son. I hadn’t even known he existed until this moment.
“Pam,” I said softly, “you’ve never been a burden to me. You’re my wife, and this is our family. But we need to rebuild the trust between us. You should’ve told me.”
“I know,” she whispered, clutching the baby tighter. “I’m so sorry.”
I stood and walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll figure this out. Together.”
For the first time since she’d arrived, Pam managed a small smile. And as I looked down at the tiny life in her arms, I felt the first stirrings of a love I hadn’t known I was missing.