Don't Wait for the Boat, Go Alone Toward Mountains and Seas

On my due date, my husband, who had promised to drive me to the hospital, took a detour on the way to a bar, to spend his childhood sweetheart's birthday with her. My stomach was cramping so badly I could hardly bear it, and I kept demanding to know when he'd get there. He kept saying soon, soon. But even after my water broke and I struggled to dial 911 for an ambulance, the voice that came through that day was still his, impatient as ever.