The Magic Springs

  Alicia Bryer took the last premade cup of oatmeal out of the cupboard and slammed it on the kitchen counter. She raised her eyebrows and stared at her husband Mark.

He looked back at her and sighed. “Do you feel better?”

She glared at him for a long minute before she tore the cup’s lid off. She turned around and carried it to the sink. She turned the knob on the cold water and crossed her left arm over her chest as the container filled.

“I slept great last night, did you?” Mark huffed.

“You need to take Molecule to the vet,” Alicia snapped as she turned around.

“He’s fine, Alicia,” Mark said as he held out his arms in front of him in mock surrender. “He was fine when I played with him when I got home yesterday. And since I spent the night on the couch, I got to keep a really close eye on him.”

“That doesn’t mean he’s ok,” she said with a trailing voice. “I don’t want what happened to your parent’s dog to happen to him.”

“Honey, their dog was fifteen years old and wasn’t exactly a beacon of health. Lord knows what finally did him in.”

“And you know something like that hasn’t happened to Molecule? He wandered around like he was confused and sad last night.”

Before Mark could answer, Molecule, their two-year-old German Shepherd, walked into the kitchen. He stopped between Alicia and Mark and looked at each one of them before he whimpered. 

“He could be hurt, and you’re not going to at least get him checked out?” Alicia asked as she leaned down. The dog trotted over to her, and she scratched his head. 

Molecule stuck out his tongue and tilted his head to the right. Once Alicia finished scratching him, he turned and looked at Mark.

Mark closed his eyes and inhaled before he opened them again. “Ok, I get it. Better safe than sorry. I’ll call the vet and ask when they have time to see him. Since it’s Tuesday, they probably won’t have time until later in the week.”

Alicia’s face turned red, and her nostrils flared. She stood up, turned around and grabbed the cup of oatmeal. She stopped in front of the microwave and slowly its door and placed the bowl inside. She eased it shut and firmly pressed a few buttons on its keypad. As the microwave started, she crossed her arms and looked at the ground.

Mark closed his eyes and waited. He didn’t know what to do and just as he was about to speak, he was cut off.

“You better get a move on,” Alicia said as she looked down at her watch. “You need to be at the office before I do.”

“Honey, I’m-,” he started he was cutoff. 

“We’ll talk this afternoon. And Lisa’s is home on spring break from college for the rest of week and will be able to watch him. We won’t have to put him in the backyard,” Alicia said before she looked up at Mark. “Better get going.”

Mark headed toward the stairs.

…

Mark made his way to work and arrived early, but not as early as he wanted to. He made his way through the building’s metal detector inside the main lobby with no problem, but still had to spend a few minutes answering the same silly questions with security. The regular guard, a tall young guy that always had his face in his phone and glared at everyone when they made him work, had been replaced. A short, square older woman that glared at everyone regardless, asked him the usual queries and then shooed him away afterwards. 

He jogged to the elevator and made it to the office before his boss as always. Once he made it to his desk, he fought the urge to log on to his computer. If what he’d heard on the radio during his commute to work was true, it still would be in a few minutes. With that in mind, he went to the breakroom and made himself and his boss Teresa a cup of coffee. This time he didn’t try to mix in her cream and picked up a couple of small packs of half and half instead. He had just managed to put the cup and packs on her desk when she rushed in, checked her watch, thanked him, and then asked him to close her door on his way out. When he made it back to his office, he unlocked the top drawer on the right side of his desk. He took out the Post It Note he’d made last week. It had the word TRX Logistics with a stock ticker of TRXL with the word rumor written below it and underlined. He logged onto his computer and kept his composure even though his palms were sweaty. He checked the stock market website to confirm the news. TRXL, the company that he’d invested his last two years’ worth of his and Alicia’s bonuses into even though the stock had performed marginally, and they didn’t talk about anymore since all it did was generate fights, had accepted a buyout from a much larger company. He pulled up the stock application on his phone and checked his portfolio. His holdings had been worth $8k last week, but as of this morning they were worth almost $82k. He fumbled with the cell as he called his broker, put in a sale order, and relaxed. He thought of what he was going to say to Alicia. That new set of dishes you wanted, no problem. The vacation to Australia, sure let’s take two weeks and stop by Fiji too. Those paintings you like, let’s get three of ‘em.

Then Molecule came to mind, and he called the vet. Luckily, they had a scheduled appointment in the afternoon that had just been cancelled, and they could see him after lunch. He booked the time and received permission from Teresa to work from home in the afternoon. He figured he could pick a new toy up for Molecule and flowers for Alicia while he ran his errands.

…

The rest of the morning and ride home were uneventful. Mark stopped and picked up the flowers and a toy on his way home. He checked his watch and realized there was plenty of time to get everything done and maybe even order food delivery and make it look like he cooked. His hopes for surprise were dashed when saw Alicia’s car sitting in the driveway. He pulled in beside her and parked his vehicle. He thought back to this morning. Even though she was mad, she looked a little better. He got out of the car and shut the door as quietly as he could before he made his way to the house. He opened the front door slowly in case Alicia was asleep. His concerns about her being ill or resting were relieved when he saw her standing on the stairs. They returned when he saw that she had a baseball bat clutched in her hands.

Mark stared at Alicia, and she looked back and blinked her eyes several times. 

She mouthed the words What the hell.

He was about to respond when it happened. The sound of springs squeaking, thumps against an upstairs wall, and moans of pleasure erupted from their bedroom. 

He looked up the stairs and then back at Alicia and mouthed Huh?

She put her left index finger to her lips and then pointed towards the kitchen. 

Mark eased the front door shut and stopped at the base of the stairs. When Alicia joined him, they both tiptoed to the kitchen. He noticed a plastic bag from the local drug store sitting near the sink but didn’t mention it.

“What going on?” Mark whispered to Alicia. “Why are you home?” 

“I could ask you the same question,” Alicia said. “I was going to beat you and whoever you were with until you showed up.”

They both looked back up the stairs as the sounds intensified.

“I called the vet and they said they could fit Molecule in this afternoon, so I stopped by to pick him up. And I was going to make dinner for you,” he said as he held out the flowers to Alicia. “Are you ok?”

Alicia took the flowers and smiled. “You weren’t going to make me dinner, you were going to have it delivered. I got sick at work, so I came back home for the rest of the day to work here and relax when I heard this,” she said as she motioned upstairs.

“Where’s the pooch? I thought he would be barking his head off.” 

“He was waiting at the bottom of the stairs when I came in. When I heard what was happening, I gave him a treat and put him in the backyard until I could figure out what to do.”

“Any idea of who it is?” Mark asked.

“I think one of them is Lisa.”

“That’s right, she supposed to be watching Molecule.”

“Yeah, so that’s why she came to mind first.”

“If it is her.”

“If it’s her.”

“Did you call the cops?”

“No, because I didn’t want them to come before I finished murdering you,” Alicia said. “Now that I know it isn’t you, that’s probably not a bad idea.”

Mark was about to pull out his phone when the drug store bag fell over and spilled its contents on the counter. He looked over and saw the pregnancy test. He looked at Alicia and saw her staring at the counter.

“Alicia, are you?”

“I don’t know,” she said as her gaze trained from the counter to the Mark. “I felt bad last night but it went away after a while. But like I said, I got sick at work and brought my computer home with me. I decided to get a test on the way here to check.”

Mark smiled for a minute. “Why don’t you go out the front door and call the police and I’ll go to the back door and get our boy?”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I don’t want you, or any of you,” Mark said as he pointed at her stomach, “to get hurt.”

“Ok,” she said as she smiled and eased out the front door.

Mark walked to the back door and was about to open it when a crescendo of moans came from the bedroom along with a series of gasps. He reached for the leash beside the door. Molecule was looking up at him through the porch window. He opened the door and shushed the dog before he put the leash on his collar. He was about to head toward the front door when the one to the upstairs bedroom opened, and a pattering of steps came down the stairs. Lisa made eye contact with Mark and froze.

Mark stared at her and shook his head. 

She looked like she was about to say something when another set of footsteps came behind her. 

A man that he’d seen before but couldn’t place arrived a moment later.

“Lisa, why are two of you here? And what are you doing in OUR bedroom?”

Lisa looked down.

“I’m sorry Mark,” the man said. “Lisa and I used to get together when I lived in the neighborhood. I came back today to check on the house since Becky and I put it up for sale. We hadn’t heard a peep and I wanted to check in on the place.”

“Steve, right? That’s your name,” Mark said as he pointed at the man. “You were the jerk with the Mustang that used to play his music really loud regardless of the time of day or night.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Steve said as he nodded and smirked. “But I lost that car. Wrapped it around a tree a few months ago.”

“And why are you here with Lisa, and not your wife? And why aren’t the two of you at your place?”

“Like I said, the house is up for sale, so anybody could stop by at any time for a showing. And Becky and I are separated. I think she has somebody else on the side.”

“Well, it looks like you do too,” Mark replied as he nodded at Lisa.

The sound of sirens in the distance made Lisa and Steve jump and ended the conversation.

“You didn’t call the cops, did you?” Lisa asked.

“Let’s see, we come home during the middle of the day to people doing God knows what in our bedroom that doesn’t include me or my wife. Yeah, Alicia called the cops.”

“Damn it,” Steve said.

“Wait, Alicia called the cops. Is that what you said?” Lisa asked.

              “Yeah, she’s outside.”

“Oh good,” Lisa said and exhaled. “We can explain everything then.”

“No, you won’t. Get out of my house.”

“You won’t speak to us like that,” Steve replied with an edge to his voice.

Mark pulled the closest kitchen drawer open with his left hand. He stuck that same hand inside and never took his eyes off Steve. “What was that again?”

“Oh, come one man, you know?”

“Get the hell out of my house.”

“Let’s go Steve,” Lisa said as she and Steve ran out the front door.

Mark followed behind the pair as they left and found Alicia sitting in her car with her phone in her hand. About a minute later, two cop cars pulled up in front of their house. After a brief explanation, the officers drove over to the house for sale across the street and knocked on the door. Neither Mark nor Alicia followed as they both went inside and locked the door. 

…

Mark talked to Alicia for a few minutes before she told him he needed to take the dog to the vet so she could get some rest and take the test. She told him she would wash the sheets and take care of everything while he was gone. He told her not to do anything, but she told him his protests were pointless.

After a few hours at the vet’s office, Mark came back home and put Molecule in the backyard as Alicia was nowhere to be seen. He found her in the guest bedroom sleeping and decided not to bother her.   Even though he really wanted to tell her about the investment and Molecule, he couldn’t help but smile as he walked to the living room and sat on the sofa. Am I about to be a father?  Have we finally done it? Then the doubts hit. What kind of dad would he be? The money he’d just made was going to be a wonderful surprise, but would it be enough to get the kid through school? To clear the medical bills? And then he thought about Alicia.

His worries were interrupted when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Alicia standing behind him. Apparently, he hadn’t been thinking as quietly as he would’ve liked. She kissed him on the lips and then on the forehead and sat beside him.

“Honey are you ok?” he asked as he looked at her.

“I’m fine,” she said as she gave him a smirk. “But it sounds like I should be asking you the same question.”

He smiled. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up. I was just thinking, I mean, with everything we’ve been through and what we had to deal with,” he said as gestured up towards the bedroom. “I just kept thinking about us.”

“Well don’t,” Alicia said as she put her hands on her hips like she usually did when she wanted to share information. “First thing, I’ve cleaned all the pillows slips and bedsheets, and everything is good for us to sleep upstairs tonight. I used Clorox just in case.”

“Ok,” Mark said.

“Second, I cleaned up a little bit,” she said as she gestured towards herself. “I took a shower and feel better.”

Mark smirked.

“And last,” she said as she smiled at him but pursed out her lips like she did when he caught her talking to herself.

Mark looked at her and knew what she was holding back. He was happy to play along, but more than anything he just wanted an answer. It had been ten weeks of trying with no results to speak of and he knew she was getting frustrated. They had broached the topic of IVF a few weeks ago, but the costs were immense, and it would take a long time for them to get there financially. He was almost lost by the time she finally spoke.

“I took the test twice to make sure.”

“And?”

“It’s positive. I went ahead scheduled an appointment with OBGYN next month.”

“You’re pregnant?”

“I’m pregnant.”

Mark couldn’t help but reach out and hug Alicia, who did the same. Mark was having a hard time fighting back the tears and even though he couldn’t see it, he could feel the smile on Alicia’s face.  But somehow, that didn’t feel like enough.

He let go and looked at her. “I’m sorry honey.”

“Sorry for what?”

“You remember the stock I’ve been investing in?”

Alicia sighed and closed her eyes. “The one we promised not to talk about until we made a decision about it?”

“Yeah, well something happened to that company.”

Alicia inhaled sharply. “What?”

“It got sold, and our stock is worth over $80k. I called the broker to sell it this morning.”

“Over $80k?! Oh my god, that’s wonderful.”

“I know right,” Mark said but dropped his head. “Now we can do the things you deserve.”

Alicia reached over and held up his face to hers. “What are you talking about?”

“I mean we’ve had to sacrifice so much, and I haven’t been able to give you things you deserve. And you shouldn’t have had to wait for them.”

“What makes you think I’m not happy with what we’ve done? I’ve been on this ride with you, and we’ve both been pulling our weight.”

“I know but…”

“No buts. I’m proud of you, and us. And who knows how many more of us there will be,” she said as she rubbed her stomach. “I love you, and that’s all that matters.”

“I love you, too,” he said, and they kissed. “But you’re going to have to settle down.”

“Excuse me,” Alicia said and crossed her arms.

“You tend to get a little emotional now and then, like, ahem, last night,” Mark said as he gestured at the couch.

“I’m going to punch you in the face.”

“You know our kid is listening.”

“Yeah, and they should listen to their mother.”