EPISODE 1 – URGENT NEWSA young mother must navigate how to cope physically and emotionally with an untimely bitter announcement.
A young mother must navigate how to cope physically and emotionally with an untimely bitter announcement.
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Labor of Love
AT 2 o’clock on a cool morning, the house is in a state of panic. Randal jumps out of bed, looking through the window blinds. He then begins hurriedly shoving clothes into an overnight bag, grabbing phones from off their chargers, and rushing his wife, Felicity, out the door into the car. Even before departure, he phones ahead for support when they arrive at their destination.
As Randal starts the automobile ignition, his wife urges him to breathe slowly. She, on the other hand, is breathing rapidly through her mouth. They’re rushing to the hospital on the other side of town.
Felicity’s name means joy, so she plans to name each child something related to happiness. As Randal pulls up into the hospital parking lot, personnel meet them and usher Felicity inside to check her vitals and prep her for delivery of their first child.
The impatient father-to-be paces the glistening marble tiles of the hospital lobby, wondering when he will have an opportunity to see her, although he declines the nurse’s invitation to be in the delivery room. With intense moaning, the arduous labor lasts many hours, silenced from the corridors by operating room walls.
Signs of Trouble
The anguish of anticipation affords Randal time to reflect on the events that brought them here. While sitting in an unforgiving lobby chair, drinking bitter vending-machine coffee, he relives the early days of their marriage.
Disillusionment started within the first year of their time together and continued downhill. Like a bright flash of light, intimacy began strong, seemingly solidifying their union. However, there was tension among day-to-day activities beyond the incense-filled nuptial chamber.
The few times they eat spectacular meals at home, Felicity plates food that she purchased elsewhere. So his expectation for home-cooked meals never comes to fruition. She expresses no interest in his offers to pay for cooking classes. Instead, she maintains the expectation of being wined and dined at romantic restaurants.
Although Randal repeatedly expresses a desire for Felicity to become a dutiful housewife, she has other aspirations. She is climbing the corporate ladder with long hours, leaving little time for bedroom intimacy. Gaps between such evenings have grown to become a holiday treat. With such infrequency, her pregnancy came as a surprise.
At this moment in the hospital, there is an announcement to respond to a code. Nurses begin hurrying down the hallway, so Randal heads to the reception desk to check on Felicity’s wellbeing. They assure him that although labor is longer than usual, his wife is fine.
Randal sits back down, returning to his reflection on his marriage. He recalls when he began talking to a workmate named Victoria who loves cooking. She would bring sample lunches for him that he enjoyed. As a redhead vision of beauty, she is impossible to overlook.
Their conversations migrated from food to other interests, pointing towards compatibility. Victoria is much less ambitious, working only out of necessity and preferring to raise children while satisfying a husband someday.
After subconsciously recognizing the potentially better partner, conversations migrate to belittling Felicity. Initially, Victoria would just listen. Then she began expressing shock and disdain for his wife’s behavior, fueling his motivation for change.
Within the break room, while Randal commiserates over a bowl of delicious lasagna, Victoria asks. “How many days do you come home to an empty house, while your wife puts in long hours at work?
“I’d say at least three days a week. Often it’s every day.”
“When was the last time you had a date night?”
“Actually, it was last Valentine’s Day.”
“That was seven months ago! It sounds to me that she doesn’t appreciate you.”
“Really? I thought maybe I was the one that wasn’t appreciating her.”
“Do you have any interest in finding out how good our life could be?”
“How would I do that?”
“Show up at my place this Friday at 5 o’clock promptly for a home-cooked dinner.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready for that. Give me time to think about it.”
The recollection of Randal’s dissent towards emotional separation is vivid, even an this auspicious occasion of childbirth. He again asks for a status update, with assurance that his wife is in good hands. Randal makes a quick trip home, making arrangements to pick up some necessary items.
In Randal’s flashback, he wrestles with Victoria’s tantalizing invitation. Since he appreciates the sample lunches, he would certainly enjoy a good meal. However, he recognizes that going to another woman’s house is akin to beginning an affair. Over the next few weeks, lunches accompanied by negative aspersions against his wife continue.
At home, he sees himself as a frequent courier, dispatched to retrieve shopping bags filled with empty-calorie snacks and toiletries from the car’s trunk. Anything indicative of meal planning is missing.
The progressive emphasis on his wife’s inadequacy primes him for Victoria’s next invitation to her place. Out of curiosity to see what a better life might look like, he finally agrees to visit. His intention is only to enjoy a hot meal straight from the oven.
When he arrives, Victoria is wearing an apron; the dimly lit dining room table is set with candles; and the aroma of good food is wafting from the kitchen. After dinner and dessert, he thanks her, envious of never having such moments at home.
This becomes the first of several invitations to her apartment that he accepts. Thereafter, they also begin having lunchtime dates outside the office together.
Randal stands up again for more vending-machine coffee, and to check on the status of Felicity. A nurse urges his patience, assuring him that it will be worth the wait. Randal sits back down, resuming his flashbacks.
As the time following meals at Victoria’s place extends, her activities with Randal progressively become passionate. He remembers clearly the mixed emotions on the night of his first indiscretion.
His actions initially result in guilt that is difficult to conceal. Back at home, Randal minimizes interaction with Felicity by being asleep when she comes in.
On the weekends, when Felicity demands restaurant meals, Randal provides terse answers to questions about his job as an engineer. With clammy hands, he wants to confess but instead deflects the conversation to mundane matters.
As Randal continues yielding to Victoria’s enticements, he becomes more comfortable with the subterfuge. In time, he is the one initiating the visits, buying her gifts, and expressing his deep feelings for her.
Not expecting the rare intimacy with his wife to impact family size, Felicity’s pregnancy surprises them both. She realizes it will challenge her career, expecting Randal to pick up the slack, perhaps by working remotely from home.
The revelation to his mistress of this new development has the potential to jeopardize their relationship. So Victoria decides to halt her contraceptive pills secretly. Her subsequent pregnancy forces Randal to measure each woman on their entire merit, with Victoria being most attentive to his needs and desires.
Randal’s anxiety over Felicity’s hospital delivery is evincive, as he dabs copious perspiration from his forehead and underarms, during his wait of more than 12 hours.
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