The paper in my envelope was my hospital’s pre-admission plan. During that private appointment, I had explained exactly what was happening. The coordinator documented that no visitors were authorized without my approval and that I would provide our daughter’s information after delivery. I had also listed my sister as my support person. For once, there was a decision concerning my pregnancy that Harriet could not rearrange from my nursery.
Three weeks later, labor started before sunrise. Dominic drove me to the hospital, and Harriet arrived less than an hour afterward carrying one of those embroidered blankets. When staff told her she could not enter, Dominic finally realized my quiet “okay” at dinner had not meant surrender. He asked whether I was seriously excluding his mother. I told him I was excluding anyone who believed becoming a grandmother gave them authority over becoming my daughter’s mother.
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