My Husband's Kiss During the Fire Alarm

The theater air conditioning blasted against my skin, raising goosebumps on my arms as I dragged my heavy, seven-month pregnant body down the dark aisle. I kept one hand planted firmly on my lower back, trying to ease the constant ache. Colin had insisted I skip this screening of The Odyssey. He claimed the three-hour runtime was bad for my spine and swore he was locked in the OR for an emergency bowel resection.

"You need rest," he had said, kissing my forehead at the door. "The baby needs rest."

But as the opening credits rolled, the silver light from the screen illuminated the center row.

My husband was not holding a scalpel.

He was sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Ava, the hospital's newest surgical resident.

"If I asked you to stay," Ava murmured, her voice carrying over the quiet orchestral music of the film, "would you go home?"

Colin did not hesitate. "Not tonight."

He leaned in, capturing her lips in the darkness.

A sharp, violent kick erupted in my abdomen. The sudden pain shot through my pelvis, causing my knees to buckle. I blindly grabbed for the armrest to catch my balance, but my hand slammed into the large plastic cup sitting in the cupholder.

Colin jerked backward. He snapped his head around, his eyes locking onto mine.

For a split second, sheer panic widened his gaze. He dropped Ava's hand, sliding an inch away from her. Then, his features hardened into a deep frown. He stood up, towering over me from the row ahead.

He did not ask if I was hurt. He did not ask about the baby.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed, keeping his voice low but razor-sharp.

I stared at the man I had funded through medical school. Three years ago, I emptied my entire fifty-thousand-dollar savings account to pay for his core surgical training. Every dime I had went into making him an attending physician.

"Watching a movie," I said, my voice trembling. "The one you said I shouldn't attend."

"I told you pregnant women shouldn't sit for extended periods." He crossed his arms. "And you decided to sneak out and spy on me instead?"

"Spy on you?" A bitter laugh escaped my throat. "You told me you were in surgery, Colin. You told me a man's life was on the line."

Ava shifted in her seat. She glanced up at him, then at my swollen stomach, her lips pressing into a thin line. "Colin, maybe you should take her home. People are trying to watch the movie."

"No," Colin snapped, his glare fixed on me. "She needs to learn to follow medical advice. Why do you always have to show up and create a mess?"

"I created a mess?" I gripped the fabric of my maternity dress. Another cramp seized my lower back, tighter this time. "I paid fifty thousand dollars for your career, Colin. Every dime of my savings went into the core training program that got you your attending position. I bought the scrubs you're wearing right now. And you use your on-call hours to bring a resident to the movies?"

"Keep your voice down," he demanded, stepping out into the aisle to block my view of Ava. "You're being hysterical. This is exactly why I didn't want you coming out tonight. You can't handle your own emotions."

"You're kissing another woman in public!"

"We were discussing a case," he lied smoothly, his tone completely flat. "Ava was upset about losing a patient. I was comforting her. Not everything is about you."

"Comforting her by swapping spit?"

"Stop acting crazy," he warned, stepping closer. "Go home. Now. We will talk about this childish behavior later."

Before I could reply, a deafening screech tore through the room.

The fire alarm blared, vibrating through the floorboards.

Instantly, the overhead fluorescent lights snapped on, flooding the theater with blinding white light. The movie cut out. A robotic voice echoed from the speakers, ordering an immediate evacuation.

The brightness revealed who was sitting in the surrounding rows.

A dozen heads turned in our direction.

They all froze. Their eyes darted from my massive belly, to Colin, and finally to Ava. Ava was still sitting close enough to leave a bright pink smudge of her lip gloss on his white collar.

Whispers erupted immediately over the wailing siren.

"Is that his wife?"

"I thought he was on call tonight."

"Look at who he's with. Isn't that the new resident?"

The crowd began to surge toward the exits, shuffling past us in a chaotic rush. People bumped into my shoulders, shoving me forward.

Another contraction ripped through me, far more intense than the last. I gasped, pressing my back against the wall of the aisle. The pain radiated down my thighs.

"Colin," I choked out. "The baby. It hurts."

Colin looked at the panicked crowd. He looked at Dr. Evans, who was quickly turning his head away to avoid eye contact. Then Colin looked down at Ava. She was shrinking into her seat, covering her ears against the blaring siren, her face pale.

He reached down and grabbed Ava by the arm, pulling her to her feet.

"Ava hates crowds," he said, turning a cold, flat gaze toward me. "She has severe claustrophobia. I have to escort her out first."

"What?" I reached out, my fingers brushing the sleeve of his jacket. "Colin, I can barely stand."

He pulled his arm away, brushing off my touch. "You can walk. Just go slowly. I'll meet you outside."

"Are you insane?" I screamed over the alarm. "I am going into labor!"

"Stop being dramatic." He didn't even look back. "Just take the stairs at your own pace."

He wrapped his arm tightly around Ava's waist, shielding her from the rushing bodies. Together, they pushed against the flow of the crowd, heading toward the emergency exit at the front of the screen.

He left me.

Cold sweat broke out across my forehead. The pain in my abdomen twisted, wrapping around my spine like an iron band. I slid down the wall, my knees hitting the floor covered in melted ice.

People rushed past me, too focused on the flashing strobe lights and the alarm to notice the woman collapsing in the aisle.

Evans looked away, pretending not to hear me as he hurried up the stairs. Nobody wanted to get involved in the star surgeon's domestic dispute.

I forced my hand into my purse. My fingers fumbled against my keys before finding the smooth glass of my phone.

I unlocked the screen.

I bypassed the emergency numbers. I bypassed my mother.

I scrolled straight to the contacts list from the hospital directory I had saved on Colin's phone months ago.

I tapped the name Adam.

The Chief of Surgery. Colin's direct boss. The man who held the power to destroy the career I had bought.

The phone rang once. Twice.

"Yes?" a deep, resonant voice answered over the line, unaffected by the late hour.

I clenched my jaw against another wave of agonizing pain. "Adam."

A brief pause on the other end. The sound of a pen tapping against a desk stopped.

"Where are you?" Adam asked.