Ever After

“So I’ll be okay?”

“You’ll be just fine. But I must recommend that you stay away from stressful situations as best as you can for awhile. When you’re pregnant putting yourself through those conditions will hit you harder than ever before. Have you always had strong reactions to stress?” The nurse raised an inquisitive eyebrow at Kali, who was sitting up on a hospital bed.

Kali looked down and then at Josh, who was sitting against the wall on her left. He smiled very weakly at her.

“Yes,” Kali responded quietly, “I have.”

“Then this was just the pregnancy intensifying it,” The nurse wrote something down in a folder. “As long as you try to relax for awhile, you and your baby will be just fine, Mrs. Ramsay.”

“Thank you.” Kali smiled quickly at the nurse without making eye contact.

“Of course. You’re good to go now.” The nurse smiled kindly at the couple before exiting the room.

Kali sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “This is the shits,” she groaned.

Josh got up from his chair and took her hand in his, staring straight into her eyes. “Hey, it’s going to be okay,” When Kali looked at him doubtfully, he continued. “Do you remember, back in high school, when you’d get so stressed out before an exam that you’d start crying?”

Kali laughed softly and nodded.

“It happened every time there was a test. And what would I do when that happened?” The right side of his mouth lifted up and his eyes softened.

“You’d act like a goof to make me laugh and then sing me a song and calm me down.” Kali answered with a small grin.

“And how did that song go again?” Josh raised an eyebrow at her.

Kali laughed gently and rolled her eyes before reciting, “Hush little Kali, don’t you cry, the worst will be over in no time. You’ll ace this test, wait and see, and you’ll do much, much better than me.”

Josh beamed at her. “Leave the stress to me, okay? I’m home now and I swear to you I’m not going anywhere if I can help it. I’ll be here to get you through this. I’ll do everything I can to make it okay, I promise.”

Kali leaned forward and softly kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”

“I’m going to do everything to make sure you’re okay,” Josh swore. “Ready to go?”

Kali nodded and hopped lightly off the hospital bed into her husband’s waiting arms. She put a hand on her stomach and let out the sigh of relief she’d been holding. She was getting tired of all the false alarms going on around her.

The couple got in Josh’s car and began the drive home. Along the way, they passed what was once the café. Josh came to a stop and parked across the street from it. Kali watched him as he gazed at what was left of the ruins, which wasn’t much. The crews were still removing charred bits and pieces to clear the way for renovations. Josh’s throat worked as he swallowed a lump. His eyes travelled up to where the rooftop used to be; only now there really wasn’t anything there. Something sunk inside him as the realization of all his favourite memories being destroyed became far too real.

Kali put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Hey, it’ll be alright,” she said. “In a couple months they’ll be able to start building something new that mom and I will design. Just think about it, our daughter or son will be able to make memories on that rooftop just like we did on the old one.”

“That’s true, it just sucks is all.” Josh sighed. “Anyway, let’s just go home.”

Kali let her hand drop from his shoulder and remained silent the rest of the way home. It was obvious Josh was dwelling on it, and she figured she’d just let him for now. It was the first time he was seeing the café after the fire; after all, of course he’d react that way. Her memories of that place were his memories, too. She’d reacted the same way when she’d seen it the first time.

They pulled up to the house and before Kali could even get her things arranged to get out of the car, Josh had raced around to her side to get the door and help her out. She beamed at him and found herself leaning against him as they walked towards the house. After her little episode it was beginning to hit her just how exhausted she was. Her body was practically screaming at her to lie down. Too bad it’d spoken up a little too late.

“You’re home! Oh, thank god!” Chelsea’s voice exclaimed as Josh and Kali opened the door, making them jump.

“Chelsea? Matt? What are you doing here?” Josh asked breathlessly.

“Well, when you texted Matt saying you had to take Kali to the hospital we were on a walk close by and we ran here,” Chelsea explained sheepishly. “I still have a key to your house when I was taking care of the animals while you guys were away and, well…look; we were in panic mode, okay? We weren’t really thinking.”

“Well you’re not alone there,” Kali sighed, resting her head on Josh’s chest. “It’s nice to know you guys care so much.”

Matt walked hesitantly towards Kali. “Well…are you okay? How do you feel? What the fuck happened, man?” He raised his eyes to Josh, who had been watching him.

“I’ll tell you in a bit, but first let us get organized.” He kicked off his own shoes and helped Kali out of hers. He could see her head bobbing as sleep continued to wage a war against her. Very gently, he picked her up and carried her to bed.

Kali looked sleepily up at him as he pulled the blankets over her. “Thank you.” She smiled softly.

“You’re welcome, baby,” He kissed her forehead. “Sleep for as long as you want, okay? I’ll make you some food when you get up.”

“Mm-hm,” Kali shut her eyes. “I love you…”

“I love you more.”

Josh softly shut the bedroom door behind him and sighed, composing himself before returning to the company in the living room.

Matt stood up from the couch, where he’d been whispering with Chelsea. He stared at Josh intently.

“What happened?” he asked.

“She started feeling weak and fainted so I took her to the hospital and they said it was just the stress from everything happening getting to her. Her normal stress levels are more intense because she’s pregnant, I guess. They just told her to relax. Everything’s fine.” He smiled weakly at the two.

“I had a feeling that would happen,” Chelsea sighed from the couch.

“What do you mean?” Josh lowered his eyebrows.

“My sister has always been easy to stress out, like Kali, and when she was pregnant she always overexerted herself stress-wise. She ended up actually giving birth a month premature, but my little nephew Tyson is totally fine.” Chelsea explained.

Josh pursed his lips and looked concerned for a minute. Matt sighed and looked at Chelsea.

“Chels…”

“What?” Chelsea saw Josh’s face. “I’m not saying Kali’s going to give birth prematurely! I’m just…I’m just saying…”

“Yeah, well, she’ll be fine,” Josh argued. “Kali’s always fine.”

Matt looked like he was about to say something but bit his lip instead.

“Well, at least she’s alright now,” Chelsea murmured, standing up. “We should get going, Matt. They have a lot to deal with.”

“Yeah, um, see you, Josh. Text me if you need help with anything.” Matt smiled kindly at his friend as he left.

Josh smiled until the door shut. He sighed again and ran shaking fingers through his bangs. Then, he walked back to the master bedroom and opened the door as quietly as he could. He brought a chair over to the side of the bed and watched his wife as she slept peacefully. After awhile of watching her eyelashes occasionally twitch and the slow rise and fall of her chest, he looked down at his hands.

What happened today was just a one time thing, he told himself. It won’t happen again, not if I can help it. Kali won’t be like Chelsea’s sister. I can’t let that happen to us. Even if it wears me down and out, I will not let that happen.