I’d been checking everything twice before bed lately. I check to make sure there are no lit candles, the stove is unplugged, and all of the electrical outlets are off.
Daniel would become irritated, but I had no control over it. My head and heart refused to listen. I had to make sure our infant was protected and that we were safe.
“We’re not going to have a house fire, Mary. You’re just being paranoid,” Daniel would say. But I knew what I felt.
He and his friends arrived home from work two nights ago. They caused quite a commotion as they lounged in the living room.
I drew him aside and told him I needed some quiet time, so I requested that to send them away. Before the baby arrived, Daniel said they were just having “harmless fun” and he wanted to spend time with his buddies.
I quickly grabbed my pregnancy pillow and stormed upstairs to our bedroom, ending our argument.
I drifted off to sleep as the noise from downstairs slowly faded. Suddenly, I heard Daniel’s booming voice: “Mary, honey, get up! Get up! Fire, fire, fire! Get up!”
My body was flooded with adrenaline, causing my heart to skip a beat.
I reached for my blanket and pillow, covering my abdomen as though to shield it from harm. I yelled for Daniel to open the door and phone the fire department as I hurried downstairs after opening the door.
The moment I stepped into Daniel’s friends’ living room, they started laughing. Daniel approached them while snorting like a lion. I was bewildered and lost.
“What’s going on?” Still attempting to make sense of the situation, I asked.
Daniel laughed some more and told me that his friends intended to trick me and have some “fun.” He was supposed to scare me by yelling, “Fire! Fire!”
It was as though I had taken a punch to the gut. Fear and anger shot to the surface. Daniel frozen in place as I approached him.
“How could you do this to me? How could you play with my fear like this?” I yelled, tears streaming down my cheeks.
