During what seemed like a routine hospital visit, my husband’s nurse pulled me aside with a strange urgency. “Listen,” she whispered, glancing nervously down the hall. “I don’t want to alarm you, but… look under your husband’s bed when you go back to the room.”
I wasn’t ready for what I found, and it had me clutching my phone, ready to call 911.
Ethan, my husband, had been in the hospital for over a week following surgery to fix a long-standing hip injury. Between working, caring for our kids, and checking on him daily, life had been a whirlwind of exhaustion. When my dad offered to watch the kids for the night, I decided to surprise Ethan with an evening visit.
When I walked into his hospital room, Ethan looked startled, almost as if I’d caught him doing something wrong. His reaction was odd, but I brushed it off, chalking it up to his discomfort from recovery. Yet as we talked, I couldn’t ignore the way he kept glancing at the door and fidgeting with the corner of his blanket.
“You’re acting strange,” I said, trying to keep my tone light. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” he replied quickly, too quickly. “I’m just tired. How are the kids?”
I tried to push the unease away, but something didn’t feel right. Later, when I stepped out of the room to toss some trash, I bumped into Carla, one of Ethan’s nurses. She was normally bubbly and chatty, but tonight she looked tense.
“Can we talk for a second?” she asked, lowering her voice.
“Of course. Is Ethan okay?”
“It’s not medical,” she said, hesitating. “But… you need to check under his bed. Trust me.”
Her cryptic warning sent a chill down my spine. What could possibly be under his bed? I returned to the room, trying to act casual, but my heart was racing. As Ethan scrolled through his phone, I pretended to drop an apple on the floor, giving me an excuse to crouch down.
That’s when I saw them. Eyes.
For a moment, I froze, thinking I must be imagining things. But no—there was a woman crouched under Ethan’s bed, staring back at me like a deer in headlights.
“What the—” I shot to my feet, my voice trembling with shock and fury. “Who are you? What are you doing under my husband’s bed?”
Ethan’s heart monitor began beeping wildly as he sat up, wincing in pain. “Wait! Sam, it’s not what you think!”
“Not what I think?” I shouted, my voice rising. “There’s a woman hiding under your bed, Ethan! How am I supposed to take that?”
The woman scrambled out, her face flushed with embarrassment. She tried to speak, but I was too stunned to process anything.
“Ethan, start talking. Now.”
Ethan held up his hands, his voice pleading. “It’s not what it looks like! She’s… she’s a wedding planner.”
I blinked, unable to comprehend. “A what?”
The woman nodded quickly. “I’m a wedding planner. Your husband hired me to organize a surprise wedding. For you.”
A wedding? For me? I stared at Ethan, utterly dumbfounded.
“It’s true,” he said, his voice soft but earnest. “I’ve been working with her to plan the wedding you deserve. The one I couldn’t give you when we got married at city hall.”
“But why was she hiding under the bed?”
“Because you weren’t supposed to be here!” Ethan explained, his cheeks flushing. “We overheard you on the phone outside the ward and panicked. I told her to hide so the surprise wouldn’t be ruined.”
The wedding planner, Jessica, nodded sheepishly. “I’m so sorry for the misunderstanding. I didn’t mean to scare you. We were just finalizing details—flowers, colors, music—everything Ethan thought you’d love.”
Ethan’s voice cracked as he continued. “I wanted it to be perfect for you. For us. I found our old wedding photo the other day, and it hit me how much you sacrificed for me, for us. I wanted to give you the day you deserve. I just… didn’t expect you to show up tonight.”
My heart softened as his words sank in. The anger and confusion melted away, replaced by an ache in my chest.
“You were planning a wedding?” I whispered, tears filling my eyes.
Ethan nodded, reaching for my hand. “I know I should’ve told you. I just wanted it to be a surprise, something special to remind you how much I love you.”
I let out a shaky laugh, wiping my tears. “You’re insane, Ethan. Do you have any idea how close I was to calling the police?”
His lips curled into a sheepish smile. “Yeah… not my best moment.”
Jessica quietly excused herself, leaving us alone. Ethan looked at me, his eyes brimming with emotion. “So… are you mad?”
“Mad?” I said, squeezing his hand. “No. But you owe me an explanation. And maybe a glass of wine when we get home.”
Ethan chuckled, his laughter filling the room with warmth. “Deal. And Sam? I love you. More than words can say.”
“I love you too,” I replied, leaning in to kiss his forehead. “But next time you plan a surprise, maybe leave the wedding planner out in the open.”
We both laughed, and in that moment, everything felt perfect. Despite the chaos and confusion, I couldn’t have asked for a better reminder of how much we meant to each other.
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