When I Returned from the Hospital with Our Newborn, My Husband Had Changed the Locks – Twenty Hours Later, He Showed Up, Pounding and Screaming

Above the crib, in careful hand-painted letters, it said: “Welcome, Little One.”

There were blackout curtains. A sound machine. A changing table stocked with everything we’d need.

I turned to Ray, who was standing in the doorway and watching me with red-rimmed eyes.

“You did this?” I whispered.

“I wanted to give you rest.

A place where you didn’t have to worry about anything except our daughter.”

We sat at the kitchen table while the baby slept in the new bassinet.

Ray explained everything, but this time he didn’t just tell me what he’d done… he told me why it mattered so much.

“When they said you’d have to stay two extra days at the hospital, I saw a window,” he began.

He’d used all his vacation time. Called in every favor. His brother helped with the painting.

His coworker’s wife helped plan the nursery.

“But it wasn’t just about getting it done,” Ray continued. “Penny, I watched you carry our daughter for nine months. I saw you tired, sick, and in pain.

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