I woke up feeling super sick—emotionally distressed and nauseated. At first, I thought I just had an upset stomach that would pass as it always did. But the queasiness intensified, churning upwards into my chest. The pressure threatened to suffocate me, and I knew I was about to explode. I ran to the toilet, hoping to make it before the eruption. I collapsed in front of it, clutching the cool porcelain, emptying myself of all the evil lurking inside me. My baby isn’t evil, but all that pain and sickness certainly is, heh. They say no pregnancy is the same, so I couldn’t compare my experience to Sophia’s uneventful one. Still, with that bitter taste in my mouth, I couldn’t help wondering, was this horror just another unique pregnancy or a bizarre twist of being a pregnant man?
I scrubbed the toilet, cursing under my breath at the mess I made, then slumped onto the bed, cradling my stomach, having a good ol’ pity party. I had just noticed the sharp sting of bile coating my throat when something far worse cut through the air: a smoky smell! SOPHIA!! I shot up so fast I made myself dizzy and bolted downstairs. She was standing in front of the fireplace with flames nipping at her ankles like an annoying little dog. My vision blurred with terror as every fire I’d ever lived through invaded my mind at once. The heat, choking smoke, terrifying crackle, and helplessness assaulted my memory, paralyzing me once again.
Sophia stood there swatting at the flames with panic in her eyes, yet with the same calmness she has when cooking breakfast. She put the fire out. No burns, no screaming, no damage to the house. Just smoke curling toward the ceiling and my amazing wife brushing soot from her sleeves like it was just another Thursday. She was okay. The house was okay. But I wasn’t. Why have all these bad things happened to us?? Ever since we moved back here, we’ve had nothing but trouble! Come to think of it, we left this house in search of a fresh start. It’s like all that pain we experienced baked into the walls and waited for us to return. Is this house cursed? Did we make a mistake coming home?
Sophia went upstairs to bathe before going to work. I insisted she take the day off, but she went anyway, leaving me with my intrusive thoughts and bad nerves. But I suppose if I were on fire, this would be the last place I’d want to be, too. Kooper and Rosie hovered near me for a while, and I rewarded them with cuddles and smoochies. They couldn’t know how much I needed their company, but I appreciated their warm, soft fur and infectious cheerful spirits. The fur babies were like a healing balm for my weary soul, always knowing just how to cheer me up.
