Ever After

Josh opened the front door with his shoulder and stepped inside his home, carrying several plastic bags of groceries and other such necessities on his arms. Bennie greeted him at the door with her tail wagging and he kicked off his shoes before stepping off the mat.

“Kali?” he called out. “Where are you?”

He heard minor grunting coming from the kitchen. “Down here.”

Josh set all the bags on the table and rushed to the kitchen to see Kali slowly getting up from her knees by the cupboard with a can of soup in her hand.

“Jesus, Kal, what are you trying to do?” he asked, helping her up.

“I’m trying to make dinner,” she responded matter-of-factly. “Just because I’m eight months pregnant doesn’t mean I’m completely disabled. And I’m just tired of being like a lazy whale all the time.”

Josh chuckled. “A lazy whale?”

“Yeah, you know, just sitting around, not doing anything of real importance with my life. I mean, you’re going out and working and running all these errands and here I am stuck on the floor because I tried to get a can of soup for us to eat.” Kali sighed and blew hair from her eyes.

“Well, you’re crazy enough to barely sit down in a day, so I wouldn’t call that lazy.” He kissed her gently. “You’re a masochistic whale, Kali Ramsay.”

Kali gasped and playfully smacked her husband’s leather clad arm. “Are you calling me fat?” She put a hand on her protruding belly.

“Well, you could lose a few,” Josh sighed. “You really let yourself go.”

“Oh,” Kali laughed. “In a few weeks most of it will be gone, don’t worry.”

Josh bit his lip and a large grin spread across his face. He really was so happy this was happening. He was going to be a father. He’d gone from being the weird kid to the drug addicted, cutting, bulimic teenager in love with his best friend, to being a husband, a rock star, and a soon-to-be father. It was funny how things could change like that.

“Is it really only going to be a couple weeks?” he asked quietly.

Kali nodded as she grabbed a pot. “Isn’t that crazy? I remember making this baby.” She smirked.

“Ah, yes, and what a fun night that was,” Josh wrapped his arms around Kali and lightly ran his fingers over her stomach. He kissed her ear softly.

“Are we even positive which night it was?” Kali asked with a laugh. “That whole month was just…a lot of sex.”

“Yeah…I miss it.” Josh groaned.

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have—”

“Oh, don’t even, you,” Josh shook his head. “You had just as much to do with it as I did.”

Kali chuckled and poured the soup into the pot before moving to the table to start sorting through groceries. “Thank god you picked these up or we were going to starve,” she sighed.

“Nah, both our parents live close. With you pregnant and me hopeless with food they would’ve taken pity on us.” Josh helped unpack the groceries but remained behind Kali with his chin on her shoulder.

“Maybe,” Kali shrugged. Suddenly she gasped and grabbed Josh’s hand from the spoon to put it on her belly. “It’s kicking!” she exclaimed.

Josh felt the little punt against his palm and his eyes widened. That was his kid. His kid was alive inside its mom, his wife, and it was moving. Normally he’d be grossed out at that, but everything changes when it’s your own. This was mesmerizing to him.

“Only a few more weeks…” he quietly repeated.

“That’s right, baby,” Kali grinned and kissed his cheek. “Just a few more weeks and we’ll be holding our son or daughter.”

Josh grinned and shook his head. Everything was getting real.

The two worked through groceries in silence and began putting things in their place. While Kali was putting fruit in the fridge, she called over to Josh.

“Hey, my car’s getting an oil change in a couple weeks and I was wondering if you’d have time to swing by Mom’s house to pick me up before heading home from the studio that day. She wants me to look after the dogs and house while her and Dad are away.” She asked. “I’d just need you to drop me off at the shop so I could pick up my own car. Walking is a bitch these days.”

Josh chuckled. “Yes, babe, I can do that for you.”

“Promise?”

“I promise I won’t forget you, if that’s what you mean.”

Kali smirked. “That too.”

Kali went back to the soup and stirred it, and Josh began making a salad. They bantered back and forth about everything and nothing, and it was something they’d grown very good at. Both of them were surprised that through all their years knowing one another and transitioning from friends to a couple, they hadn’t run out of things to talk about. They could go on for hours when they were with each other. They believed that was how they knew they were meant to be together, because they were best friends and lovers and it felt right. Especially after their recent conflict, things were finally starting to settle down and they were both happy and excited at their new adventure together. They’d conquered fights, drugs, self-harm, broken hearts and crushing grief. They could handle a child together just fine.



“So you’ll pick me up at nine?”

“Yes.”

“Do you promise you won’t forget?”

“I promise I’ll pick you up at nine.”

“Thank you. I love you.”

“Bye.”

Kali sighed and looked at her phone in her hand. When Josh was in the studio he had a tendency to be very short with everyone else. She’d told him weeks in advance that he’d have to drive her home after dog/house-sitting for her parents on that specific day because her car would be getting an oil change. So she didn’t understand why he felt the need to be so cold about it, but she just blamed it on stress and left it at that.

Nevertheless, Kali continued house sitting for her parents who were out of town, cleaning, baking, and occasionally knocking things over with her stomach. It was hard getting used to being pregnant and as big as a house. Just when she thought she had the hang of it, she’d knock something over or bump into someone. Oh well, she was getting there and that’s all that mattered. She only had a few weeks left of her stomach getting in the way, after all.

The day came to an end and Kali was heading to the door to let the dogs in from their last bathroom break of the night, humming herself a song to pass the time. She opened the door and called out to her parent’s new “children.” She stared out at the sunset and smirked gently. Everything is beautiful tonight, she thought. Soon I’ll get to see my husband and everything will be even better.

She refilled the dog’s water and food containers and got her jacket and purse. Josh would be there soon. But when she made it to the front of the house, Josh’s car wasn’t there to greet her.

“You’ve got to be joking,” Kali sighed. She pulled her phone from her pocket and dialled Josh’s number. It rang forever before finally going to voicemail. “Just wondering when you were deciding on coming to get me.” She sighed into the speaker. “You know what, don’t worry about it. I’ll just walk my pregnant self home. Bye.”

Kali groaned and opened the door, making sure to lock it before she shut it again. She was actually pretty upset that Josh had really forgotten to come pick her up. She’d left him with one single task for the day and he’d forgotten. He’d even promised her he wouldn’t forget her. What’s more, he didn’t pick up his phone when she called him. For his sake, she hoped he had a good explanation for making her carry all her extra weight around for the walk home. She knew by the time she got there she’d be seething and in pain.

“Joshua Keeler Ramsay,” she growled, “you’ll be the damn death of me.”

Right at the end of her parent’s street was a stoplight. Kali waited impatiently for the little man to appear on the screen on the opposite side of the street. After what felt like forever, it finally blinked on and she double-checked to make sure it was safe before crossing. There only seemed to be cars in the left and right lanes, and they’d all stopped. Kali stepped out onto the pavement and began to cross. The evening breeze tossed her hair around her face, blocking her peripheral vision on her left side. With an annoyed sigh she pushed it back just in time to hear the sound of screeching tires.

Kali snapped her head to the left but it was too late to get out of the way. The speeding car slammed into her body, tossing her through the air until she landed ten feet away on her back. Her purse landed several feet away from her and she didn’t get up. People got out of their cars and ran to her, already dialling 911, but she still didn’t get up. She didn’t move, or open her eyes, or even breathe. She just lay there, splayed out on the black pavement, all her anger forgotten. Everything was forgotten and nothing hurt.

*I know I don’t usually do this stuff, but please LISTEN to this song while you read this part! So many feels.*

“See you guys tomorrow,” Josh called into the recording room as he tossed his leather jacket on. He pulled his keys out of his pocket and fished for his phone. He noticed he had one voicemail. Curiously, he opened it.

It was Kali. “Just wondering when you were deciding to come get me. You know what, don’t worry about it. I’ll just walk my pregnant self home. Bye.”

“Shit!” Josh cursed. He checked the time. Kali had finished dog-sitting almost an hour ago. “Damn it!” Just when things were getting better after their fight, he had to go and forget about her when he said he wouldn't. He ran towards the door but as he opened it, two burly men stood there, staring at him in surprise.

He noticed they were in police uniforms and he swallowed a lump. “Can I help you?” he asked quietly.

“Are you Joshua Ramsay?” one of them asked.

Josh stepped back a bit. “…Y-yes…” he whispered.

“Are you married to Kali?” the other one inquired in a much-too-soft voice.

“Yes…what’s going on?” Josh asked. His voice broke.

The police men looked sadly at each other, as if deciding which one would break the news. When they both looked back at Josh, it seemed like neither of them wanted to speak. Their faces scared Josh and chilled him straight to the bone. His mind was screaming things at him but he could barely hear it. He could only stare and hope for the best while expecting the worst.

“Son, I’m sorry, but—your wife, she…” The taller officer spoke in a strangled voice as he tried to find his words. “She was hit by a speeding car controlled by a drunk driver. She lived, but…”

“She’s in the hospital if you’d like to…”

The cop’s voice was lost as it faded out. Josh wasn’t listening anymore. He couldn’t listen. The only things he could hear were the same words, repeating themselves over and over again in his head: Your wife, she was hit by a car…your wife was hit by a car…your wife…Kali…the baby… He felt like some invisible force was choking him, cutting off his intake of air. He felt numb around the edges but right in his centre was the worst pain he’d ever experienced. It was like when he’d imagined something happening to Kali while he couldn’t protect her, only this time it was real. It was real, and it was scalding his insides in a fiery grip. It strangled him and burned his heart and he felt like he himself was dying.

“Josh? Josh, what’s—what’s happening?” Matt asked from behind the scene laid out before him. He’d seen Josh first, and then he saw the two solemn-looking police officers standing in the doorway. Josh’s phone and keys were on the ground as if he’d dropped them. No one was saying anything but it was obvious something was terribly wrong. The rest of the boys had gathered around Matt, taking in the scene as well and trying to figure out what wasn’t right.

Josh sunk to the ground in what felt like slow-motion. Everything was blurring around him and when the ground rushed up to meet his knees, it reminded him with a painful shock that this wasn’t a nightmare, it was real. Tears began to pour from his crystal blue eyes and he started sobbing. Loud, heavy sobs that wouldn’t reverse anything that had already been done. He stared at the floor and continued crying for his wife. He couldn’t bring himself to stand.

For the first time in a long time, Josh felt entirely alone. He felt like the entire world was falling away around him and there was nothing he could do about it.