My Wife Had No Money for the Surgery, So I Left Her

My wife had an abnormal fetal position and her water had broken. She needed an emergency C-section, and the doctor told me to go pay the ten-thousand-dollar surgery fee.

I walked into the operating room and held out my payment app to my wife where she lay on the table.

The baby belongs to both of us. We split the surgery fee, half and half. Send me your five thousand.

Her weak face filled with distress.

"You know I don't have any money..."

I frowned.

"Then take out an online loan."

Her eyes reddened.

"I already borrowed online for the last prenatal checkup. I couldn't pay it back, so my credit's blacklisted. I can't borrow anymore."

"Please, just pay the surgery fee first. I can't hold on much longer."

I shook my head.

"We agreed to split everything down the middle, and that doesn't change. You have no money, so there's no way I can pay this fee either."

With that, I walked out of the hospital without looking back.

Coming out of the hospital, I saw the latest gaming console sitting in the window of the electronics store next door.

I walked over, took a look, and pushed the door open.

"How much is this one?"

"Twelve thousand. Just came in. Newest model."

I pulled out my phone and paid the twelve thousand without a second thought.

Once I had the console in hand, I was in a great mood.

The first thing I did was head straight to my good buddy Quinton Finch's place.

Quinton's eyes went wide when he saw me.

"Wait, what? The hospital just called and dragged you out of here."

"It's barely been any time at all. How are you back already?"

I held up the console in my hand.

"Came to play the new console I just bought, with you guys."

Darren James, the other buddy who'd been drinking with Quinton, looked at the console in my hand, confused.

"Didn't the doctor say your wife had an abnormal fetal position and needed an emergency C-section?"

"You're not at the hospital with her having the baby, and you came here to play games?"

I unboxed the console, hooked it up to the TV, and answered casually while I set it up.

"The surgery didn't happen."

Quinton's brow furrowed.

"Didn't happen? Why not?"

Eyes on the TV screen, I said offhandedly, "Because Ida Simmons didn't have the money to split the fee with me."

Darren stared at me in disbelief.

"Your wife's in the hospital having your baby, and you're making her split the surgery fee?"

"Mick Fox, have you lost your mind?"

I found the whole thing baffling.

"The kid isn't just mine. Ida and I agreed a long time ago that all expenses get split down the middle. The surgery's ten thousand. If she won't put up her five, I can't be expected to cover all of it myself, can I?"

"Five thousand?"

Darren let out an angry laugh, looked at the console in my hand, and asked, "How much did that console cost you?"

I told him the truth. "Twelve thousand."

Darren's voice shot up.

"Your wife's lying on that operating table waiting for a C-section to save her life, you won't cough up five thousand for the surgery, but you'll blow twelve thousand on a gaming console?!"

"Mick, you've completely lost it!"

I picked up the controller and said calmly, "It's not about being willing or unwilling."

"The console is for me to play. Of course I pay for it myself."

"But the baby belongs to both of us. Why should I be the only one paying? That's not fair."

Quinton pulled out his phone, his tone serious.

"I'll transfer you the five thousand. Now go pay that surgery fee right now, and stay at the hospital with your wife."

I stopped his hand before he could send it.

"This is between Ida and me. There's no reason for you to pay it."

Darren's brow knotted.

"Then get to the hospital, now. Having a baby is no small thing. Even a small delay can cost a life. Don't pick this moment to lose your head."

I paused, then said flatly, "I'm perfectly clear-headed."

Quinton and Darren exchanged a look. Seeing not a trace of urgency in me, Quinton asked, puzzled, "Mick, I've wanted to ask you for a while now. Did you and Ida get into some kind of fight?"

I shook my head. "No."

He frowned.

"If you didn't, then why are you treating her like this?"

"She's the woman you chased for seven years. The one it took everything to finally marry."

"You used to dote on her so much. She'd get a little stomachache and you'd run across half the city in the middle of the night just to get her medicine."

"Now she needs an emergency surgery and you just up and leave. Is that any way to act?"

The hand holding the controller went still for a second.

A tightness settled in my chest.

I didn't answer. I bent over the console in silence, forcing down the bitter ache surging up inside me.

Seeing me stay quiet, Darren spoke up too, curious.

"Mick, the three of us grew up together. Quinton and I have seen exactly how much you love Ida."

"On your wedding day, you cried like a mess and swore you'd love her right."

"How is it that two years into the marriage, you've turned into this?"

Darren paused a moment, then ventured a guess.

"Unless... Ida did something behind your back? Something that wronged you?"

I shook my head and said, seriously, "No."

"She's always been good to me."

Ida Simmons was the best woman I had ever met in this world.

She was beautiful, gentle, clever, kind.

One look, and I was completely lost.

After we married, no matter how late I worked, she always kept a lamp on and a table of food ready, waiting for me.

When I ran a fever, she stayed up the whole night, wiping me down with a towel over and over to bring the temperature down.

When my business failed and left me drowning in debt, she sold off her jewelry without a word, pressed all the money into my hands, and said with a smile:

"It's fine. I'll carry it with you."

On holidays she'd have gifts ready for my parents ahead of time, more attentive to them than I was, and I was their own son.

The scenes ran through my mind one after another, and my chest went tighter.

Quinton was about to try again when my phone suddenly rang.

It was my mom.

The moment I picked up, her frantic voice came through:

"Mick, where are you right now?"

"Get to the maternity hospital, quick. Ida just had a C-section. It's a boy!"

I gave a flat "Oh," and said, unhurried:

"I'm in the middle of a game. Can't get away."

Then my dad's furious shout burst out beside her:

"A game matters more than your wife and your kid?"

"If your mother and I hadn't gotten here in time to pay her surgery bill, she'd be dead!"

"You get over here right now!"

I sighed and said, helpless:

"Once she's discharged and back home, I'll see her and the baby anyway."

"No need to make a special trip."

That set my dad off even worse:

"You worthless piece of garbage!"

"Ida nearly died giving you a son, and you won't even come to the hospital?"

"I'm telling you, if you don't show your face today, I'll cut you off as my son!"

With that, he slammed the phone down.

The second Quinton and Darren heard it, they hauled me to my feet:

"Come on, come on, quit playing, get to the hospital. We're coming with you."

Before I could refuse, the two of them flanked me and shoved me straight into the car.

Quinton drove fast the whole way, and we reached the maternity hospital in no time.

The moment I walked into Ida's room, I saw my parents and my in-laws gathered around the bed.

Beside it stood a bassinet, and inside it lay a tiny baby.

The instant I saw the child, I froze for a moment.

His face looked almost exactly like mine when I was little.

While I was still staring blankly at the baby, my mother-in-law came up to me, her eyes red:

"Mick, how has this family ever wronged you, that you'd torment Ida like this?"

I looked at her, her whole face full of pain.

Then I looked at Ida on the bed, pale and weak.

And I asked, not understanding:

"Mom, how exactly did I torment Ida?"

My mother-in-law stared at me like she couldn't believe her ears:

"Ida had an abnormal fetal position and her water broke, she needed surgery right away, and you clearly had the money but wouldn't pay the bill. You even walked out and left her there alone. And you still have the nerve to ask how you tormented her?"

"Mick, do you have any conscience at all?"

I found the whole thing baffling:

"Mom, Ida was the one who couldn't cover her half of the surgery bill. That's why I left."

"How is that my fault?"

At that, my father-in-law rushed over, grabbed me by the collar, and roared, beside himself:

"You've got the nerve to bring up splitting the bill?"

"Mick, the child my daughter was carrying is your own flesh and blood!"

"You're Ida's husband, the baby's father, and this is how you take responsibility for them?"

I felt a bit helpless:

"Dad, you can't put it that way."

"Ida and I agreed a long time ago that household costs get split down the middle. She couldn't cover her own share of the surgery bill. I can't be expected to pay the whole thing on my own, can I?"

I thought I'd explained it clearly enough, but my father-in-law only got angrier:

"You split the bill with your pregnant wife?"

"Mick, back when you were chasing Ida every way you could think of, why didn't you talk about splitting anything?"

"When your business failed and left you buried in debt, and Ida sold off all her jewelry to scrape the money together for you, why didn't you talk about splitting anything then?"

"Now that Ida can't work easily through her pregnancy and money's needed everywhere, suddenly you split with her. Are you even human?"

My mother-in-law looked at me, her face twisted with grief.

"When you married Ida, what did you promise us?"

"You said you'd love her well your whole life, that you'd cherish her with your very life. And look at you now."

"Over five thousand dollars in surgery fees, you nearly killed Ida and the baby both!"

"Look at how worn down she is. Just how much have you made her suffer?!"

I looked at Ida, at that pale, exhausted face, and couldn't help remembering these last ten months of her life.

Early in the pregnancy, Ida's morning sickness was brutal. She threw up everything she ate, couldn't work, and had no choice but to quit her job.

After that she had no income. Nauseous and miserable, she wanted to buy a box of anti-nausea lozenges that cost a few dozen dollars, and she came to me for the money. I didn't give it to her.

In the end she dragged her weak body downstairs, dug through an old wallet, and scraped together what little loose change was left to buy some candy to settle her stomach.

Midway through, her legs swelled up badly, and even walking was hard. She'd heard soaking her feet in salt water would bring the swelling down, so she asked me to grab a bag of salt on my way home from work.

But she hadn't transferred me the money for the salt beforehand, and by our agreement I had no obligation to spend anything for free.

So I turned around and went out drinking with friends instead.

That night she waited for me the whole night, and in the end she never got her bag of salt.

She had no money for any of the prenatal checkups, so she borrowed from one app after another.

But she couldn't repay it, and eventually her credit was completely ruined, her phone ringing off the hook with collection calls day after day.

Every one of these things, I'd kept in my heart.

"I know it wasn't easy for her."

"But splitting the bill was something we agreed on. You can't blame that on me."

My mother-in-law was shaking with rage.

"Agreed?"

"Setting up a bill-splitting arrangement while your own wife is pregnant and can't work? Is that something a human being would do?!"

I said helplessly, "But she agreed to it herself."

Smack!

My father couldn't take it anymore. His palm cracked hard across my face.

"You worthless piece of trash!"

"Ida agreed back then because she trusted you, because she loved you, because she thought you had some sense of decency."

"Who could've guessed you'd be this cold-blooded, gambling with your own wife's and child's lives over a verbal agreement!"

The sudden blow left my vision black.

I clutched my face, stunned, staring at my father.

He was beside himself, his eyes fixed on me, so red they looked like they were bleeding.

The whole room went dead silent.

The next second, I heard Ida's weak, worried voice.

"Dad, don't hit Mick."

"I don't blame him."

I turned to look, and saw Ida forcing herself up, slowly making her way over to stand in front of me.

She looked at my parents and hers, and said faintly, "Dad, Mom, don't yell at Mick anymore."

"It's my fault. I agreed to split things, and it's my own failing that I couldn't earn any money..."

"Ida!"

My mother-in-law stamped her foot, heartbroken.

"You're still defending him, even now?"

"Open your eyes and take a good look at how he's treated you."

"He nickel-and-dimed you through ten months of pregnancy, ignored you when you were about to have surgery. Just how long are you going to keep suffering for an animal like this?!"

My father-in-law pointed at me too, seething.

"Mick, I'm saying this right here and now."

"Once Ida's back on her feet, we're filing for divorce immediately."

"We're taking the baby. From now on, don't you ever dream of seeing Ida or the child again."

Without thinking, I looked at the bassinet.

The little one seemed to sense something. His dark, round eyes were open, gazing up at me in confusion.

Looking at that tiny face, nine parts identical to mine, something inside me softened for a moment.

Just then, a nurse came out with a stack of paperwork and spoke up.

"For the familythe mother's follow-up anti-inflammatory medication and postpartum recovery services, plus the newborn's formula and checkup fees, all need to be paid as soon as possible."

I frowned, and snapped back to myself at once.

"The divorce is fine. But her C-section and hospital fees this time have to be worked out clearly. You're not pinning those on me."

The words landed, and the whole room went silent.

Everyone stared at me like I'd said something no decent person should ever say.

Several seconds passed before my mother looked at me, her voice shaking.

"Mick, what is wrong with you?"

"Ida just clawed her way back from death. You haven't said one kind word to her, haven't held the baby once, and all you can think about is dividing up the hospital bill?"

"Would you really rather get divorced and lose your wife and child than pay another cent?"

I looked at my mother and said, perfectly serious,

"Mom, it's not that I won't pay. We agreed to split the bill down the middle."

"Whoever spends the money covers it themselves."

"I can't just eat the whole cost and play the fool because she gave me a child, can I?"

My father-in-law's eyes went red with rage. He rushed forward and grabbed me by the collar.

"Mick, you animal!"

"I'll beat you to death right here today!"

He pulled back his fist to swing at me.

Quinton saw it and stepped in fast, dragging my father-in-law off me.

Then he turned to me, pleading, frantic.

"Mick, look at the state she's in. How can you still be spouting this cruel garbage?"

"This is no time to talk about rules or accounts. Apologize to Ida, now."

Darren was staring at me too, baffled.

"We've known you over twenty years. We know you're not the kind of man who worships money."

"What's the matter with you? Why have you turned so cold-blooded all of a sudden?"

I straightened my collar and answered, unhurried,

"Her family's the one asking for a divorce. If we're splitting up, then every expense should be settled cleanly, so there's no squabbling later."

Hearing me talk about nothing but money, my mother-in-law looked at Ida with unbearable heartache and broke into sobs.

"My foolish girl, you nearly died giving him this child, and in the end he won't even let a single hospital bill slide."

"What is there left in a man like this that's worth holding on to?"

Ida's body, already so weak, seemed to sway on the edge of collapse.

She looked at me, her face white, so broken with grief she seemed about to shatter.

For a long while she said nothing. Then, choking on the words, she spoke.

"Mick, I told myself that when you suddenly brought up splitting everything, it was just a moment of madness."

"So no matter how you treated me, I bore it."

"I kept thinking, once the baby was born, once you saw our child, you'd come back to your senses."

"I thought this baby being born could take us back to how we were."

"Now I only want to ask you one thing. In your heart, are I and this child really worth nothing at all?"

Looking at that face, so full of disappointment and grief, I stayed silent for two seconds.

In the end I only said,

"The rules can't be broken."

Five words, and they crushed the last light in Ida's eyes.

She let out a bitter laugh.

"I understand now."

I couldn't be bothered to argue with them anymore.

"I've got things to do. I'll go first."

"If you need me for the divorce paperwork, you can reach me anytime."

With that, I turned and walked out of the room.

I had barely stepped out when I heard a huge crash behind me.

An instant later, Quinton came running up to me, frantic.

"It's badIda jumped off the building!"