I Was Pregnant, Craving Strawberries, and Married to a Monster Chapter 1

I was pregnant, and I was craving strawberries.

I bought two pounds of them, brought them home, washed them perfectly clean, and called my husband and mother-in-law to come have some.

I went to my bedroom to change my clothes.

When I came back, the plate was full of pale, white cores.

The bright red, sweetest tips of the strawberries had been bitten off by my husband.

The middle parts had been gnawed away by my mother-in-law.

My mother-in-law, her mouth dripping with juice, pushed the plate toward me:

"Emily, eat! They’re so sweet!"

I stared at the pale, leftover bottoms of the strawberries. Stuck to the fruit were gross, dark green bits of garlic and spinach that had fallen out of my mother-in-law's teeth!

I grabbed the edge of the table and flipped it over.

I turned, walked out the front door, and called my mom.

"Mom, you were right. I'm getting the abortion."

* * *

I had been talking about wanting strawberries for a week.

David promised to buy them for me every single day.

And every single day, he came home from work looking like a beaten dog, dragging his feet, and giving me a shameless smile:

"Sorry, honey, I totally forgot!"

His mother would stand off to the side, doting on her precious son.

She’d hand him a cold beer, massage his shoulders, and then throw a passive-aggressive jab at me:

"What’s so special about a fancy fruit anyway? You don’t have to eat it today. I’ll buy it for you tomorrow!"

I was furious. I complained to David:

"Your mom says she'll buy them for me every day, and I still haven't had a single strawberry all week!"

The moment I brought up his mother, his face darkened:

"Do you know how old she is? It’s hard enough for her to come all the way out here to take care of you, and you have the nerve to order her around?"

His tone made my blood boil.

"Then send her back home! Who asked her to take care of me?!"

David’s eyes grew cold. He clenched his jaw and didn't say another word.

We had been fighting about this constantly lately.

I was so sick and tired of it. As my best friend put it:

"Just tolerate it. It's his mom. If he’s the kind of guy who abandons his mother the second he gets a wife, you couldn't rely on his character anyway."

I sat heavily on the edge of the bed. Fine. I'll just buy the damn strawberries myself tomorrow!