A pretty lousy apology

After figuring out how to explain her decision in a way that Noah could see things from her point of view and leave room to enjoy the video she had obtained for him from the doctor, Laila got started. She looked deep into Noah's eyes, so he could see she meant every word that would come out of her mouth in the seconds that would follow, and used her other hand to cover the hand that Noah was holding her with before saying, "Honey, you are worthy of that title with your eyes closed. So, please don't put any ideas in your head that you have expectations to fulfil, because I can tell you right now, that you have met and exceeded them a long time ago. I made the decision to not have you by my side, since I didn't see the need for it in that moment. Although I might have decided that too hastily, and can see in hindsight how that might make you feel some type of way,..."

Noah could already feel that a 'but' was coming and was preparing for yet another defeat he would suffer at the hands of his wife, because no matter how strong his case appeared to have been at the beginning, from the premise he could see that her rebuttal would be stronger. He started to slowly smile as he waited for the next word that would cross Laila's lips. Wanting to see if his expectations would come true. Almost stopping himself from breathing in order to not miss a fraction of the moment as things appeared to move in slow-motion.

A second later the moment had come to pass. Laila had said it and she didn't fall short. Her lips finished mouthing the word before the sound of it reached Noah's ears. "But-" And there it was. His prediction of what Laila's next word would be, had turned into reality only seconds after he made the prediction, and Noah was far from being disappointed. In fact, his smile had now fully covered his face as a small snort left his body from the amusement of it all. Quietly he listened to Laila's reasoning, which immediately followed that single word of contradiction, 'but'.

"-I would rather you focus on your work and miss a few moments NOW, than having to miss them later. I don't even want to imagine you feeling stressed when Nick gets here, because of the work that has piled on and is still waiting for you at the office, instead of enjoying that time to the fullest. All because you keep trying to be there for me while I am pregnant, even in moments I don't need you to be there. I don't want anything to diminish what should be a moment of pure bliss as we finally get to hold and meet our son, or for you to be forced to miss any of those first moments once he gets here, because you try to do too much for me now. So, if I can take away even a ounce of that burden that you are carrying right now in order to achieve that, I will do my best to do that. That way you can be the best dad and husband you can be, when I will be needing you the most. Which is not now, but when our baby Nick is here. Do you understand what I am trying to say?"

Noah freed his hands and cupped both sides of Laila's face as he gave her cheeks a slight squeeze, and said, "I do understand, but I like being there for you. Even if, as you say, I am not needed. So, the next time, if there even is a next time, let me participate in these things. Even if I can't attend all your courses and appointments, I would at least like to be present for some. In exchange I will promise to not go to all. Only those that I can actually fit in my schedule. And with Steve recovering as quickly as he is, and unburdening me more with each day that passes, I imagine that more and more appointments will be within reach. Be it a check-up, a Lamaze class or just a shopping spree for you and the baby."

Laila let out a small puff of air as she chuckled softly. Making it appear that Noah wasn't the only one having to admit defeat, because Laila too seemed to have to accept something, which is that Noah was not one to let himself be helped or saved without at least putting up a struggle.

When these words were said and done, and the two of them were lying in each other's arms again, Noah pointed out a fact he hadn't brought up during the things he had said before. "You know, that was a pretty lousy apology you gave there." Laila looked up with a look of surprise and asked, "What do you mean?". Noah chuckled as he met her eyes with his and said, "Well, as if following up your apology with the word 'but' wasn't bad enough. Contradicting everything you said before that very word. After everything was said and explained, you basically ended it by saying that you were sorry I didn't agree with your decision, but that you couldn't promise that you wouldn't leave me out of appointments without talking to me first again."

Laila now couldn't help but chuckle as well as she had to admit that her words could basically be summed up to that, which it did for a very good reason. "Ah you noticed that, hmm. I thought I had hidden it pretty well." With a teasing eyebrow raise and a cheeky smile on her face, Laila ended the conversation before she pressed the play button on the video of baby Nick. Making this the second recording they have of him, despite their son not even being born yet.