Chapter 3.7- Squeaky Hinge

            It had become an all too familiar sensation. The insistent roiling and churning had been giving her plenty of grief for the last week or so. Sometimes it would last all day, barely allowing her sips of water to keep her mouth moist in between the worst bouts.

            Okay. Perhaps ‘sometimes’ was a bit of an under estimate. Make that most days. All day. Make that every night. And go ahead and tack on anytime she had to change one of Dove’s foul diapers or whenever she cooked or had to clean anything or 5:30 each and every stinking night along with many other on the dot times as well. Dear Twallan. She might as well set up camp in the bathroom and offer to help the Navy keep their famous master clock accurate. If she was on her knees in the bathroom, it must be thirty minutes past the hour. Ugh.

            First thing in the morning she’d dig into the cabinets in her bathroom and grab a left over test. It was still super early but this could only mean one thing: she really was an after-school special. 

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            Wedged as tightly into the corner of the bathroom as she could manage, Mariah stared. Flat surface? Of course not! Timer counting down the minutes while she patiently waited in another room? Who needed that? It never took her long to convince herself it was just another stomach bug. Just another gross virus that would eventually pass leaving her a few pounds lighter as it went. Which is 100% why she was gripping the test hard enough that cracks were appearing in the plastic under her thumb. Her eyes were dry because if she blinked she might miss the magic moment when the word ‘not’ would pop up in the little window, balancing the glaringly bright ‘pregnant’ that had long since appeared.

            Wasn’t this test supposed to take 7 minutes? Surely, it’s only been 3. Could it really have been 10?

            After a full 20 minutes had passed she gave in, sinking onto the edge of the tub, test still tight in her grasp.

            Predictably, her stomach knotted and rolled daring her to calm down, attempting to twist her thoughts from their current bent.

            Pregnant. Again. With Dove barely old enough to toddle around on her little legs. Pregnant. Again. With the man who was out of reach and out of touch. Thankfully, the reasons were different behind the circumstances but still. Mariah grew up without her dad around, now her children would have to do the same.

            Not that Roger could ever be compared to Andre. Roger would most likely be happy, perhaps even excited, to know he would be a dad. His mother would probably be ecstatic even. He’d told her how his mom had been badgering his brother, Benji, for grandkids now he was married and settled.

            Perhaps this would be good for Dove, too. Tibi and Mariah were so far apart in age it didn’t feel like she had a sister, it was more like having an older overbearing cousin. Close in age siblings were supposed to be good playmates, right?

            Pregnant. Hmm. Maybe it wouldn’t be so horrible to be a mom again after all.

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            Or maybe it could indeed be pretty horrible. Being pregnant with Dove wasn’t nearly the nightmare this go around was.

            She was losing weight from being sick so much. And the tired? She could pass out and never wake up and it wouldn’t be enough sleep. All she wanted was sleep! Was that too much to ask? Even with a full night’s sleep she would spend the entire day yawning her head off wishing she could lay down for a nap. Or three.

            And then there were the hormones.

            With Dove in her arms, she prowled the house almost ceaselessly. Haunting memories followed in her wake like shadows, taunting her attempts to find peace.

            Her ostensible mission was to determine a suitable room to put the new baby in. Dove still needed her little crib and Mariah couldn’t bring herself to entertain the thought that Dove could have a toddler bed in a different room. According to all the parenting magazines that room belonged to Dove. It would cause resentment and jealousies between the newly introduced siblings if she were to displace her toddler daughter with the baby.

            She could get that. After all, Tibi and herself were living reminders of how jealousy between siblings could cause rifts. Mariah was jealous of Tibi’s time with their parents. Tibi was jealous of the living child Mariah held in her arms. Though this, Tibi’s fourth pregnancy seemed to be going much better. Their kids would only be a few months apart if this baby managed to hang on.

            From sibling rivalries to cousins Mariah’s thoughts wound round, intertwining with a different set of memories all together.

            She hated this room.

            She'd be back in an hour to cry over how much she secretly loved it.

            Not that her emotions were any better in her own room. A grown up now and owning the house and she still slept in the room her mother had decorated for her when she’d been just a child. It was dark and slightly dreary. The bed was too small and she’d for sure outgrown the toys Dove squealed over now.

            Up and down, back and forth; her hormonal tide carried her along until she couldn’t stand it anymore.

            “Come on baby girl,” she announced. “Out you go. Mama’s going to get dressed and then we’ll dress you to go out for a picnic.”

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            Damn hormones.

            Usually the cemetery was lovely and calming to Mariah, today it was just morbid. At least it was deserted, as usual. There was no one staring or being overly loud or rude like they did at the public parks.

            It was also the perfect place to start getting Dove used to the idea of a baby coming to join them.

            “Dove, we’re going to have some surprises coming really soon. Would you like that?”

            Dove tipped her head to one side, eyes bright, reminding Mariah of a puppy, but she kept her mouth firmly closed. It was obvious she had no clue what Mariah meant.

            “Mommy’s tummy is about to get really big and then one day soon a baby will come and stay with us, okay?”

            Again, Mariah left Dove far behind.

            “Would you like a new baby brother? Or what about a little sister? You’re going to be a big sister when the baby arrives.”

            Dove’s eyes wandered from her mother, serenely watching a few birds wheeling overhead.

            “Dooove,” Mariah crooned, trying to bring her back. “Dove, sweetheart, would you like a baby to play with?”

            But she’d already lost her audience causing Mariah’s spirits to sink even lower. Would no one be happy about the baby? If I can’t even handle one kid ignoring me, how would I cope with two? Shoulders sinking she steeled herself. When she got home, she’d do whatever she could to get in touch of the one person who could make her happy.

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            “Hi, Taylor?” Mariah’s nerves made the hand holding the phone tremble. It sank her spirits even lower. “Roger told me to call you if I ever needed him.”

            Needed him. Those words nearly stuck in her throat. She didn’t need anyone. But him. She needed him, right now, before she sank so low she wouldn’t be able to find her way up again.

            “Yeah, it really is kind of important,” why did she have to explain herself to this woman? “Please, I wouldn’t be calling if it weren’t urgent. I know it’s not business hours or whatever, but I waited because I really didn’t want to have to call him in… Thank you.”

            Hours passed.

            Dove had been put to bed. Dishes washed and put away. Floors scrubbed. Baseboards dusted. Windows washed. Laundry pretreated, soaked, started. She’d oiled a squeaky hinge on one of the doors and still nothing. So she’d taken to pacing, fears creeping in as tears snaked down her cheeks and when she’d hit the point where the thought she would explode it finally happened. The doorknob rattled.

            It took only a moment for her to digest what it meant, staring at it hungrily before she could wait no longer and launched herself outside.

            “Hey, sorry it took a liMMMMMMMPPPPPFFFFFF-”

            Mariah had taken a running leap onto a very startled Roger.

            Pausing long enough to allow him to find his balance, Mariah refused to allow him to speak just yet. Her relief in being able to interact with another sim who wouldn’t judge her or try to tell her to be reasonable or calm down was very great indeed. She could wait for his explanation. Besides, she had much more important information.

            “Uhm, that-that was-was, wow, but I-I mean, you-you’re, Taylor said-”

            “-You’re going to be a dad.”

            “…”

            The giggle Mariah let out was so out of character it surprised even her, but how could she help it?

            “Roger?”

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Okie doke. First of all I’m am so incredibly sorry for the absence. I can promise the wait for the next chapter won’t be nearly so long though because I’ve managed to have enough shots for two. Huzzah!

Random chapter title is Random. I couldn't come up with a phrase from the above that cranked my engine so I went with that. Oh well.

For clarification: Tibi and Mariah are Friends. No matter what I do I cannot get them past Good Friends, which drops back to Friends very quickly. Tibi really has had a lot of phantom pregnancies and I have no clue what’s up with it. I’ve gotten the pop up that she and Henry are expecting 3 times now and every time I save and go back in she’s not pregnant again. This time I used the pollinate option on her and it stuck. Thank goodness.

So stay tuned! There's a birth next time because I want this all to get a move on! Giddy-up y’all!