Ever After

Chapter 9 - Questbuy

Chapter 9 - Questbuy

Marco remembered curling up next to his wife in bed and soon found himself dreaming. He found himself in a cavernous but dimly lit store.

"Questbuy? I haven't thought about this place in years." He mumbled to himself.

"Star? Are you here?" Marco slowly walked the aisles of the most super of inter-dimensional super stores. All sorts of exotic new products filled the shelves but Marco was only focused on the sounds of his wife crying. It was in the baby department that he found her, sitting on the floor weeping. She was already at seven months but her dream form made her look like someone turned the pregnancy dial all the way up to eleven.

Marco prepared himself by whispering the advice his own father had given him, 'When your wife is pregnant you need to be the best you can possibly be for her. With all the changes taking place she'll need you more than ever.' He followed up this whisper with, 'This was going to be a long dream.'

"Star, honey. I'm here. Sorry, you were asleep when I got home. I'm here now for my two favorite girls?"

Star pulled him down to the floor and fell into his arms. The floodgates were wide open.

"Honey, honey. Go ahead and let it all out. I'm here for you." As he spoke he gently rubbed her cheeks with the backs of his fingers while staring only at her face.

"Marco...Marco...look at all this...*sniff*...we...we don't have a baby wipe warmer, we don't have a *sniff sniff* a bottle drying rack. Why are their 30 different types...*sniff*...of bottles? Why does each one need a different drying rack? Does it matter if we don't have all the toys that make our baby super-smart? I mean...look, look at all this...STUFF...we aren't ready yet...I'm not ready yet. And the cribs, did you...*sniff*...did you see how much they cost? We can't afford a real crib. Maybe...maybe the...the cheap PVC pipe crib...MARCO! OUR BABY IS GOING TO LIVE IN A PVC PIPE CRIB!"

This was followed by several minutes of sniffing and emotion filled tears. Marco just continued holding his young wife hoping his hug would comfort her.

"Marco, say we get it all. Where do we even put this stuff? One bedroom apartment...*sniff*...school books everywhere. How are we going to finish college with our baby? I know...*sniff*...I know we don't want to ask our parents for any help but...the stroller with the built in car seat costs so much. I just want everything for our baby to be perfect. Instead I'm heading into the WORST mom ever territory and she hasn't even been born yet. *sniff* And...and...look at me...LOOK AT ME! You are all Mr. Karata with abs on top of abs while I have swollen watermelon feet. Look *sniff* watermelon feet. It's even starting on my hands. And the stretch marks! You should just leave me now and find someone else, you don't want this...no one could want this."

The tears continued falling but Marco just stayed in place waiting until she seemed like she was done. Once the crying seemed to pause, he started talking. "Honey, we aren't going to need all this. We'll have what we need. Remember when my sister was a baby? They just had a few of the basics and look at how wonderful she has turned out. No wipe warmers. For a stroller we just need a simple umbrella one. I also have a lead on a used crib so we don't need to buy a new one. Our baby just needs us. No fancy changing table. We don't need any of the extras that just take up space. The baby just needs US and YOU need to wear those special socks the doctor said would help with the swelling."

Star buried her face into his chest so deep it muffled her voice. "...but they hurt..."

"Didn't we have a dream yesterday where you were the goddess Mama Star bringing new life into the world and everything was peaceful and tranquil?"

She nodded. "Was that really yesterday?"

"You were so happy in that dream. And you can read my thoughts. You know I love you and I'm not going anywhere."

Star turned her head slightly so just one eye could peak at his face. She stayed like that for a long time reviewing the contents of his mind as one might look for a jelly jar hidden in the back of the fridge.

"Marco, are my hearts gone?" He had not told her yet.

Sitting up Star took out her phone and used the camera to see her face. "Just like real life now. *sniff* I thought I'd have my dream cheek hearts forever."

"I'm sorry. This is the first time I noticed them gone in Starco Time. I figured it is just because you are upset."

"*sniff* It was OK to not have magic out there if I still had it in here. Maybe I finally killed magic in here too. *sniff* I...I want to go see Glossaryk again."

Marco stood and offered his hands to help Star onto her feet. He then put his hoodie over her shoulders, tied the arms loosely around her neck and held her hand as they slowly walked in a sad silence.

Reaching the black room they found it abandoned except for the large empty cauldron with a small note inside.

"Dear Star,

If you are reading this know that I am doing fine! I just have a number of appointments that I must keep. Yes, I can be in two places at once but sometimes a situation demands one's FULL attention. Stay safe and remember, everyone is with you if they are in your memories!

Love,

Glossaryk"

Star did not speak but pulled Marco away from the cauldron to another place. It was a huge empty beach, the ocean waves reflecting the light of the four moons above them. The married couple held each other while looking out as the tide came in, one of Marco's hands was placed on the child within Star.

At their feet were all of the sand castles they had built back when they were silly teenagers just starting to explore the world. As they watched the water was breaking down everything they had built. The tears that fell from Star's eyes now were the largest Marco had ever seen but he could do nothing. He just watched knowing they could not stop their youth from being washed away into the sea.