Our Little Corner Of The World
"We're pregnant ladies," Jennifer said, "We can do anything we want."
Alvin looked at the kitchen table, covered with the wadded foil from what looked like dozens of chocolate hearts. He looked at Mary, but she could not answer, her mouth was too stuffed with chocolate.
"Well, alright," he said, "but tomorrow is Valentine's Day. What if someone was planning on buying his wife and daughters candy? I mean, now it's like if you own fifty pairs of shoes, and I think I'm doing something special and I buy you another pair of shoes."
"That a really crappy analogy, honey," Mary said after swallowing her chocolate. Jennifer tapped her on the arm.
"Listen, Mary, is it just me, or does being pregnant make you really horny all the time?"
"Oh, yeah," Mary nodded.
Alvin put his hands up. "I don't need to hear this."
Mary laughed. "Baby, you don't like hearing about how horny I am?"
"You, fine." He jerked his thumb at Jennifer, "Her, no."
He went upstairs and washed up in the bathroom. When he came back down, Jennifer had rolled all the foil wrappers into a ball.
"Daddy, grab the wastebasket from under the sink."
He fetched the basket and held it up in front of his face. Jennifer leaned back in her chair and tossed a perfect finger roll.
"All net," Alvin said, putting the wastebasket back under the sink.
"Do you ever miss it? Basketball?" Mary asked.
"Yeah, we both do. In fact, that's something I wanted to talk to you about, daddy."
Alvin pulled out a chair and sat down at the table.
"There's that spot out at the edge of the woods that is granite ledge about a foot down," Jennifer said, "Nothing's going to grow worth a shit there. So we were thinking that come spring, when it gets dry enough, we might put in a half court."
"That sounds like a great idea," Mary said, but Alvin frowned and scratched his head.
"Something to think about," he shrugged.
"When I started playing," Jennifer told Mary, "we had a hoop up on the barn above the door. And in the winter, Daddy would take me to the YMCA to practice there."
"It was a lot of fun, right up till she started beating me regularly at one on one," Alvin said.
Jennifer laughed as she pushed her chair back from the table. "Well, think about it, okay?"
"I will, sweetheart."
"Cool. Well, I've got work to do." Jennifer got up and left the house.
Mary looked at Alvin and squinted. "You didn't seem any too happy about her basketball court idea," she said.
Alvin looked at his hands for a minute. "Well," he said, "the thing is, I don't like the idea of the expense at this time. The farm ain't in the black yet."
"So, tell her that."
"Well, you know..."
"That you hate to say no to her?"
Alvin shrugged and said nothing.
"Alvin, this is frustrating for me," Mary said, sitting back and crossing her arms. "I have a business degree from one of the country's top universities, and my husband and his sister run a business and shut me out of it."
"But this is about Jennifer..."
"No, it is not Alvin, it's about Diana. She thinks I'm some kind of threat to her, like I'm going to squeeze her out."
"Well, you can see how she might be afraid of that."
Mary leaned forward and put her hands on his arm.
"I do understand that. But the thing is Alvin, we are going to have a baby. We...you...have to put that at the top of our concerns. I think that if I could take an active part in the business, the wharf, the farm, the whole thing, I could make it more profitable. I'm not talking about having an equal share, but as your wife, I should at least be fully informed and be allowed to offer my advice and opinions."
"You've got a hell of a point there," Alvin nodded.
"Alright. So, think about what you want to do about it."
"Alright, sweetheart. But something else I want to think about right now."
"What's that, love?"
"That thing about you being horny all the time."
"It's a common reaction in early pregnancy."
He put his hand on her thigh and squeezed. "Well, then, let's see if can't attend to that."
"Oh, god no, not now," she said, moving his hand away, "I'm too bloated from all that chocolate."
***
Mary stood in the hall and stared at the nursery door. Someone, Alvin, or perhaps Jennifer or Rachel, had closed it on the day she miscarried her first pregnancy, and she had not opened it in all the months since.
Her hand trembled as she rested it on the doorknob. She drew in a breath, hesitated for a moment, then turned it.
The room was dark and she felt afraid to step into it until she had reached inside the doorway and flipped on the light.
It looked just as it had. She stepped inside, thinking back to watching Alvin paint the walls and ceiling. She looked at the parade of silhouetted circus animals he had stenciled all the way around the room.
She crossed the room to the crib. She had been so moved when Alvin brought it in, and when he told her that three generations of his family had slept in it. The cartoon stickers on the headboard caught her eye. She reached down and ran her fingers over the image of Jiminy Cricket. What was the song he sang? She searched her memory until it came to her, then she turned and left the nursery, switching off the light, but leaving the door open.
She crossed the hall and entered the bedroom. She turned off the light and looked up at the ceiling. All the little fluorescent stars that Alvin had painted on the ceiling glowed above her. She felt a bit silly, she had not seen the movie since she was a little girl, but she could remember the voice so clearly.
When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true
Please, she thought, looking up at the stars her love had created for her, please let this dream come true.
She went downstairs, where Alvin was waiting for her in the kitchen. He was leaning against the counter when she entered.
"I was starting to wonder about you," he said, reaching behind his back. When he brought his hand forward again, it held a bouquet of pink and red roses.
"Happy Valentine's Day, sweetheart," he said as he handed it to her. Mary took it and buried her face in the blooms, inhaling their sweet aroma. She stepped into Alvin's arms, put one hand on his face and kissed him.
