While my husband was supposedly away for work, something unexpected happened — our long-forgotten landline rang. I nearly ignored it, but then I listened to the voicemail. A woman’s voice, frantic and unfamiliar, left a message that shattered my world. One sentence was all it took to flip my life upside down.
You know that one object in your house that just collects dust because nobody uses it anymore? For us, that was the landline.
It had become a running joke between Peter and me — only telemarketers ever called it. We’d even prank them just for laughs.
That pretty much summed up our relationship: playful, filled with humor. Peter and I had met doing comedy back in college. Teasing and laughing were second nature to us. I married my best friend — someone I genuinely adored.
Everything felt right between us. Sure, Peter had a boyish side and could act a little childish at times, but I didn’t mind taking on the extra responsibility. I told myself it was no big deal. It was no big deal — except for one painful truth.
We couldn’t have a baby.
Despite all our efforts, nothing worked. We’d gone through endless doctor visits and tests, and everything pointed to us both being completely healthy.
Eventually, I started believing maybe motherhood just wasn’t in the cards for me. That I wasn’t meant to be a mom.
Peter never gave up hope, though. He always believed things would eventually fall into place.
But this last test — it felt different. And Peter had conveniently gone on a business trip, even though traveling wasn’t part of his role at all.
He claimed it was a new company policy and that more travel would be expected from now on.
The timing felt cruel. I had to face yet another negative test completely on my own.
He’d only been gone two days, with three more to go. I tried to distract myself with a tub of ice cream and a feel-good ’90s rom-com.
Just as I went to the kitchen, that useless landline rang again.
I assumed it was another scam call. I wasn’t in the mood for jokes, so I picked up and snarled, “Go to hell,” before hanging up.
That’s when I noticed the voicemail light blinking.
I hit play.
“Peter, hey. I know you said not to call your home line, but I’ve been trying to reach you. You were supposed to be here yesterday. Why are you ignoring me? He’s waiting for you.”
“What the hell?” I muttered aloud.
I immediately dialed the number back. A woman picked up right away.
“Peter? Is that you? Why didn’t you come?” she said, panicked…