“Oh my God, poor Jenny.”
“Remember when Jenny had the miscarriage and you said that it would change her?” I nodded and Mia continued, “Well, now she has a really hard time hearing about other people getting pregnant. She doesn’t even like to see pregnant women on the street. She insisted on me taking the test—it was like she wanted to punish herself. We got into a huge fight because I didn’t want take it in front of her. She went completely aggro. There were two tests in the box, so I peed on both and handed her one as I left the apartment. On the way down the stairwell, I looked at the test and saw that it was positive.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? And how did Martha know?”
“I didn’t tell you because it seemed like you had a lot on your mind that day. I never told Martha anything definite, but somehow she knew. The next morning, she showed up here with a stack of books and some prenatal vitamins. She has that weird sixth sense, you know?”
“Yeah, she does. What about Jen? How is she?”
“I went to see her after Martha’s visit. I sat on her couch and let her cry in my lap for an hour. She promised she wouldn’t say anything to Tyler until I told you. Before I left, she told me congratulations. She said she was happy for us and that she hoped we could be pregnant together.”
“Aw, man, that must be rough for them.”
“Yeah.”
We sat there in silence for several moments, absorbing our new reality. “Are you ready for your bath, mama?”
“Will, please do not call me that.”
In the tiniest, scariest, robot-baby voice I chanted, “Mama, mama, mama, mama,” as I followed Mia into the bathroom.
“Stop, Will.”
“Better get used to it, sweet thing.”
TRACK 6: Dresses and Dry Toast
As we approached the big day, Mia became more and more nervous. She had decided we should wait until our wedding to make the pregnancy announcement so she could tell her mom and step-dad in person. Being one of thirteen kids and the youngest after a brother and eleven sisters, baby news was nothing new in my family, but I decided to wait so everyone would hear it at the same time. Except, of course, Tyler, Jenny, and Martha.
Jenny warned Mia to wait until the three-month mark when it was more of a sure thing. Understandably, Jenny was a bit of cynic when it came to these things. Mia said Jenny was practical; I called it negative. Finally, I told Mia she had to make the announcement at the wedding. There was no way anyone would buy any excuse that Mia wasn’t drinking at her own wedding other than being pregnant. I argued that everyone would know anyway, so we might as well announce it.
The Thursday before our wedding, I woke up early. It was dawn and the light coming through the window was a dull blue. It was peaceful, like a fading memory. That is until I realized the bed was empty next to me. I flew to my feet, threw on a pair of boxers, and darted out into the hallway.
I heard a small, sickly voice coming from the bathroom behind me. “I’m here.” I turned and saw Mia hanging over the toilet. She was pale and her eyes were bloodshot.
“Oh baby, what happened?” I started panicking. “What is it?”
She looked up at me with a painful smile. “I feel like… I feel like, remember that time when you bet Tyler you could drink a fifth of vodka and still play ‘Voodoo Child’ without missing a note?”
“Yeah, I did, twice, with my eyes closed, and I sang it too. I won a hundred bucks. I felt great.”
“No.” She paused to dry heave. “Remember how you felt the next morning? Remember, you thought you were dying? You made me write a letter to your family.”
“Oh yeah, I felt like shit.”
“That’s how I feel.”
“Really? That bad, huh? I’m not gonna sugarcoat it, baby, you look like death warmed over.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re still beautiful. It’s just, there’s this green tint to your skin.” When she dry heaved again, I asked, “Should I call a doctor? You’re gonna be one very unhappy bride on Saturday if you’re still feeling this.”
“I know. Just call Martha. I’m pretty sure I’m okay. I think I’m experiencing that phenomenon known as morning sickness.”
I kissed her on top of the head. “I’ll call her right now.” I walked into the bedroom, picked up our landline, and dialed Martha.
She didn’t even say hello. “Is she having morning sickness?” The sixth sense thing was getting creepy.
“Yeah, she’s in the bathroom, throwing up. She doesn’t look so good.” I went back to the doorway of the bathroom and found Mia hunched on the floor.
“You need to get some food in her.”
I held the phone away from my ear and said, “You want me to make you some eggs, baby?”
“No!” Mia and Martha both shouted.
“What should I make her?”
“Just get her some crackers or dry toast. She may need to sleep with crackers and water on the nightstand. She should never let her stomach go empty. Nothing will sound good to her if she lets it get to this point. Make her eat some crackers and drink some club soda if you have it. I’ll be over in a bit.”
“Thanks, Martha.”
“Of course, dear.”
Mia was still on the bathroom floor moaning when Martha arrived. She walked in with a satchel full of natural remedies. She had ginger and peppermint tea and some aromatherapy candles and creams. After laying each item on the kitchen bar, she finally addressed me.