You Have My Word

Chapter 13: She's Drving Me Crazy

Mari sat on the bed, wrapped in a towel and picking a scab on her knee. Her face was despondent, exhausted, and pale.

"Hey," Josh said softly. "Are you alright, Hon?"

"I'm fine," Mari nodded quickly before clenching her teeth and putting on a sweatshirt.

Josh wrapped his arms around her from behind. "You know you can tell me anything, right? This marriage only works if we talk to each other."

"I know," Mari mumbled, giving a little sigh.

"Honey, what's on your mind?"

Mari's eyes filled with tears. "I can't fit my Star Trek shirt."

"It's alright, Sweetheart," Josh said softly.

"No, it's not!" Mari exclaimed. "Because that means this is real, Josh. Like, way too real. Like, before we were in block format Mario Brothers and we've jumped up to a Wii console kind of real. Which means by the end of this, we're gonna be at Xbox 360 in which everything's so real that you feel like you're jumping off a cliff. I'm not ready for jumping off a cliff! I want my t-shirt and my normal clothes. And my god, Josh, I will fit into them! End of story!"

"Calm down, Honey. Think of it this way: we're fortunate. Matt and Cath got stuck with twins. We only have one. Just try to stay calm, alright? It's not good to get worked up about it."

"One is too many," Mari whimpered. "Negative one. We should have negative one."

"It'll be okay, Mari. Don't worry," Josh comforted.

"You can say that. You don't have some parasite draining the life out of you," Mari hissed. "I was fine. I had come to terms, but then this morning- and you can see it, Josh, and it's there and it freaks the life out of me, and until now it was deniable, and I could be sensible, but I'm gonna start freaking out."

"Look at me," Josh sighed, putting a hand to her cheek. "I'm here. Nothing is going to happen. I won't let it. Okay? Everything is going to be fine."

"What if I die, Josh?!" Mari exclaimed. "It happens. There's all sorts of complications and disorders-"

"Shh. You won't die. Don't say that."

"I have to, Josh, because we both know I-" she was stopped as Josh's lips clashed with her own, and every worry seemed knocked a million miles away.

"Mariah," Josh said firmly, pulling back and cupping her face in his hands.

"Yes?" Came her shaky reply.

"Stop."

She bit her lip and gave a trusting glance upwards. "Alright."

"Would you please just let me enjoy this?"

Mariah looked at him with utter confusion. "What is there to enjoy about this?!"

"We're having a child. It's a beautiful thing," Josh laughed softly. "It's a blessing, whether you think it is or not."

Mari looked at him in wonder. "How can you do that?"

"We're bringing another human being into this world," Josh continued with a smile. "That's a gift. Not everybody is able."

Mari wiped away few tears and chuckled. "Now you're making me feel guilty."

"Don't," Josh said softly. "It's alright to be upset. I just think that you need to realize that we have a good thing here."

"Mhm," Mari said, putting a hand against the wall.

"I love you," Josh smiled.

Mari sunk into a nearby chair and closed her eyes, a frown etched across her face. "Mhm."