All Chapters of We Stopped Waiting: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

Our son, Leo, opened his mouth, but the wound inside was so raw he couldn't even cry. Only weak, agonized gasps came out.I shouted, "Leo's mouth is burned raw. Get the car. We need to get him to the ER!""I got them!"The second the words left my mouth, Sebastian practically launched off the couch. His shout of triumph drowned out Leo's whimpering.Then he was rapid-firing voice messages to Vivian. The two of them went back and forth, laughing like nothing else in the world existed.I tried to dab at the wound with a cotton swab, but Leo thrashed in pain. The fragile blister tore open instantly. Bright red blood mixed with tissue fluid came pouring out, running down the corner of his mouth.Only when Sebastian saw the blood did he frown and finally, belatedly, wipe the grin off his face."It's just a burn. Ask ChatGPT, Claude, whatever. Look at him, he's crying."Then he got up, phone still in hand, and walked into the bedroom.Since Leo was born, I'd been drowning in postpartum anxie

My blood froze solid in that instant.Facing Kim's confusion, I nodded and said, "Thank you. I understand."That night, Sebastian came home and saw the piles of immigration paperwork on the kitchen island. Something clicked. He walked over to me with a warmth I hadn't seen in a long time."Joyce, I think you should reconsider the whole going-abroad thing."I pretended not to know what he was talking about, and asked, confused, "What do you mean?"He loosened his tie and came closer, his tone softening."I think, for the good of our whole family, with Leo still so small and everything so unstable, it's best to reconsider—"Ever since his company announced the headquarters move, I'd filed immigration and visa sponsorship materials over thirty times.And now he was telling me to reconsider.I looked at him and said calmly, "You don't want me to go abroad. So you gave the family quota to Vivian."Sebastian paused, then smiled."Vivian's visa kept getting denied. So I put her under the fami

Sebastian pulled up to our neighborhood and opened the car door. He sat staring at the flowers and the fancy gift box he'd stopped to buy at the florist.The dead look in my eyes when I'd walked out had left him with an inexplicable irritation, a restless unease.He hadn't wanted to back down this soon. But after thinking it over, he'd brought the gifts anyway, ready to give me a cold, grudging out.But the moment he pushed open the front door, he stopped dead in his tracks."Joyce? Joyce?"Sebastian called twice. Only the echo of the big empty house answered him.He frowned, set down the flowers and the gift, and walked step by step to the master bedroom. He pushed the door open."Joy—"The word died in his throat. The bottles and jars on the vanity were gone. The crib and stroller that had sat in the corner were gone. Every piece of clothing that belonged to me and Leo had been cleared out of the closet."Another game?"He stood there stunned for a moment, then shook his head, exaspe

I left the Bay Area with Leo and started a journey across North America.From the grandeur of Yellowstone to the rainy nights of Seattle, all the way to the bustling streets of New York.Back in my marriage, I'd begged Sebastian countless times to take a little time and go somewhere with me and Leo. Every answer was either "too busy with work, no time" or "bringing a kid out is exhausting and annoying."Now, after seeing all those different places, I finally understood.Without him, Leo and I weren't just fine. We were a thousand times happier than before.The day I arrived in New York, a string of emails from Sebastian suddenly flooded my phone.Every trace of his arrogant warnings was gone. Every line was him humbling himself, begging to reconcile.Joyce, where are you? I know I was wrong about you. I've cut Vivian off completely. Come back with Leo, okay?As long as you come back, I won't hold anything from before against you. We can start over.I couldn't even be bothered to finish