It's Somewhere Beneath Us

Red X's

I uncapped the red pen and added another "X" to the calendar. A small one, as not to take up more space than needed. After all, the box already had three other X's in it so far. Who knew how many more we would have to add? I put the cap back on the cheap ballpoint and clipped it to the top of the page, then stared at the sheet for a while. I traced through the previous days with my eyes; each red mark I saw made my heart sink more and more. It hit rock bottom when I reached the end of the X's and saw tomorrow's date. "Happy birthday, Andi!" the box read in small letters. My throat tightened, and I closed my eyes.

"Hey, has anyone marked the calendar for today?" Jan suddenly called out as she exited the bathroom.

"Yep. Just did." I replied, pulling myself back into awful reality.

"Thank you, Joel."

I nodded with a half-hearted smile. "How are you feeling today?"

"I'm feeling alright. She's kicking a lot, though."

"Oh, She, huh? How'd you figure that one out?"

"I had my first dream about her last night," Jan said with a warm smile, placing her hands on her stomach. According to the calendar, she was about seven months along now. "And you know what, Joel?"

"What's that?"

"In it, I was outside of this place! I dreamt we were back in the world at a park on a sunny day. And she was so beautiful. She looked just like her father. Maybe it was a sign."

"Maybe," I said warmly.

"I'm surprised you were able to sleep at all last night." Daniel suddenly chimed in from the dining room. "That damn Thing was being louder than usual last night. It sounded like it was banging that stupid instrument of theirs right up against the wall."

The tone suddenly turned more solemn as Jan turned to me. "That reminds me, I think it's your and Bea's turn today..."

I sighed deeply. "Yeah, I think you're right, unfortunately. I'll let her know. Why don't you get everyone around for breakfast, and we'll get it done after?"

She smiled and nodded before heading off to the bedroom to gather the rest of us.

I made my way through the house and into the sunroom, where Bea and Ethan sat on the floor, locked in their 2-day long game of monopoly. It had started as a full eight-player game, but we had gone bankrupt one by one over time until only they remained. Ethan hunched over the board in careful examination, and I could tell the tensions were high.

"Bea still winning?" I asked as I entered.

"Yes," Ethan said in annoyance. He flipped over one of his properties and grabbed some money from the bank. "But not for long. She's heading right by my side of the board." He looked at Bea with a smug face. "It's game over, sister."

"Dude, just give up. Didn't you already stake a Kit-Kat on this?"

"Exactly why I can't lose."

"Don't bother, Joel. I already offered him a way out. He's not budging." Bea said with a smirk as she rolled the dice.

"Ah-ha!" Ethan yelled in triumph.

"That's the property you just mortgaged."

"Son of a-"

"Well, I hate to interrupt this riveting display of action, but we're doing breakfast here soon." I cut in.

"Yea, I heard," Bea said. "Small house, remember?"

"Then you probably heard Jan remind me that..."

"Yeah... It's our turn to grab the basket." she turned to Ethan, "I'll give you a green property if you take my turn today?"