Drown #10: the mouse, part 2

January 2086. Stephanie Nova is 26, Justin Kim is 25. Willow is 4, Lily is 3.

* briefly NSFW


"Now we need our toys here, Daddy," Lily said. "Let's go get all our toys."

"We can't get them tonight," Justin said. "That's too much driving for one night."



"Please," Willow begged. "Just one toy."

"You want to drive eight hours for just one toy?"

"Yes, can we, please?"

"But I know what else we need more than toys," Justin said.

"What?"


"We don't have any lights."

"Oh no, it's got so dark," Lily said.

"So if we went to the store and you could only buy one thing, would you buy a toy or a light?"

"A light," Lily said.

"A toy, maybe," Willow said.

"But it's so dark," Lily said. "What if there's monsters?"

"It's okay, Lily," Willow said. "My toy will be a sword so I can get the monsters."

"Uh oh, did you hear that noise?"


"It's a monster!"

The girls both screamed.


"Just kidding," Justin said. "There aren't any monsters. I checked before the sun set and monsters are totally not allowed to come in once the sun sets."

"Funny, Daddy. That was a good one."

"Come on, let's go for a little drive up the road. I think I saw a camp supply shop."


They had thirty-six hours left on the portable air filter. They had planned to drive back home to Lakeside Heights tonight, but they both felt it would be better not to drive home in the dark. So they bought a set of camping mattresses and a couple of lanterns and decided to stay over in their new home for the night, empty as it may be.

They would have to be careful about how much they moved, anyway. They couldn't exactly park a moving truck outside the house without Jeremiah catching on and following them back here. If he found out where they were, then this whole move was pointless.




They had bagged chips for dinner and told stories in the middle of their empty living room. They discussed where they'd put all of the furniture they'd have to buy.

Then, after the girls were tucked into their sleeping bags, Stephanie texted a picture to their parents to let them know not to expect them home tonight. "New house selfie!" she wrote.

"Follow me," Justin said to her. "I want to show you something."


He took her out to the back porch. "Just for three minutes. Lay right here, look up," he said.



"I love it so much," she said. "I think I can see all the stars in the whole universe."

"It's darker here, we can see more stars."

"I've never seen so many in my life."

"When the air is fixed, we can lay out here all the time."


"Steph, do you still want to marry me?"

"Yes," she said. "Still yes. Always yes."

"I’m sorry, I still don’t have a ring for you. I just put down all of my money on this house."

"A house is better than a ring anyway."

"But this is how I wanted it to be, laying under the stars."

"Thank you," she said. "It's perfect."

That was all the time they had for the stars, but it was too cold to stay outside any longer anyway.


"Are you still cold?"

"A little, you can warm me up."

"I'm sorry it's so cold in here," he said. "I'll insulate the windows better and we'll get central heating once we can afford a new air filter. And I'll get you a real bed, too. I'll get you the warmest and comfiest bed anyone ever had. It might take a while, but I'll fix this place for you. It'll be great."


"Is that all you're worried about?"

"There’s a lot to worry about," he said.

"Like?"

"We’re far away from our parents and you’re having a rough time with the baby. We need to find you a doctor here."

"I’ll be okay, it's just a little bit of throw up. But we'll look for a doctor this week."

"I wish we were close enough for our parents to come help."

"We're big kids now," Stephanie said. "Maybe we won't need so much help this time."

"What if I don’t get the job here?"

"You will, you’ll get an amazing job."

"And you’re not going to fly off to the moon now, are you?"

"No." She laughed.

"You’re not going to change your mind?"

"I'm not changing my mind, I promise. I want this baby so much. I want you and this baby so much."

He got suddenly and gravely quiet. Keri had made all kinds of promises to him, too. Stephanie was seven weeks along with this baby now and she remembered that Keri was also seven weeks along when she told him, "I wonder if maybe we shouldn't keep it." Stephanie still remembered how horrified he was. She could still remember him buckled over in the snow, crying and throwing up his liquor, a couple months later when Keri dropped the bombshell about wanting to go to war. I'm not Keri, she wanted to tell him, I wouldn't do that to you.

But it all hit this tiny soft spot of doubt in her heart. It just reminded her that for a time, more than anything else, he'd really wanted things to work out with Keri.


But he kissed her mostly flat belly and pressed his lips to her skin. "I can't wait to meet you, little one."

His breath tickled her skin. "It’s too early, silly. He can’t hear you yet."

"You said, he."

"Oh, it just slipped," she said. "I don’t know why I said that. It’s way too soon to know."

"It would be really neat to have a little boy," Justin said. "You know, to balance out our girls."

"I think so, too."

"It’ll be fun, being excited about it this time," he said.

"Kiss me," Stephanie said, wanting to be finished overthinking all of the subtleties of every single word they said.


So he laid her back and he kissed her. He stripped off both of their clothes. On their first night together in this house, their house, they would christen this mostly bare bedroom. It would be the first time of so many times to come. A whole lifetime of them.

But that wasn't quite how it happened.


"I'm sorry. Oh, God, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, Steph. It didn't get in my mouth."

She wretched again and clamped her hand over her lips.

"Come on, let's get you to the toilet."


So they christened the toilet together instead.

"There you go, get a little closer," he said, guiding her body over the porcelain. "Oops, you missed just a little bit. Don't worry about it. We’ll get it later."

"You can go back to bed," she said between heaves, gasping for breath. "You don't have to take care of me."

"Yes, I do," he said. "I'll always take care of you."

—

footnotes: that was romantic