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“Did I say you could touch me?”
Uh oh.
Barry pushes through the movie theater crowd, anxious to come to Iris’ aid…and the aid of whoever it was that made the mistake of rubbing her belly. The teenager who touched her withdrew her hand as if she’d been burned, leaning backwards to escape the venom of Iris’ glare.
“Okay, time to go.” Barry put his arm around Iris’ waist, took her hand and made her do an about-face. Iris teetered slightly since her center of gravity was much different now, but allowed herself to be lead away. Still, she threw one last heated glance over her shoulder at the girl, who stood there open-mouthed.
At nearly eight and a half months, Iris was uncomfortably pregnant with the twins, and people were losing their minds over her. They would touch and pat her, and they would do so without asking, and make comments like, “Wow, you’re so big! Are you having twins?”
Well yes, she was, but there was no need to carry on in that way. They meant well, but they invaded her space without her permission, and made her feel ugly. At a time when she’s so emotional, exhausted from carrying two extra people around all day every day, and has to pee all the time, the scenario got old quickly.
Barry did the best he could to make her feel supported.
“I look like a whale, Barry.”
“Iris, you do not look like a whale.” He uses a gentle, soothing voice.
“A beached whale, Barry!” She sniffles, and Barry cradles her against his chest. “I’m tired of being pregnant. I’m tired of the waddling and the peeing and these damn people in my face. I’m just all-over tired.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“No, you don’t know.”
“You’re right, I don’t. I’m sorry.” He stroked her back as she whimpered into him.
Someone had made the mistake of touching her when she was writing down a phone number, and she gave their hand a good solid poke. Now she’s taken to carrying around the sharpened pencil, meting out justice whenever anyone gets too close.
“Iris, Sweetheart,” Barry sighs, exhausted himself, ”you can’t go around shanking people with pencils.”
“I’m pregnant and hormonal, I do what I want.” And she does. It seems that every time he turns his back someone else is catching hell. He even calls Joe hoping for some advice, or maybe some backup.
“She’s stabbing people, Joe.” Joe giggles from the other end of the line.
“Well, you married her, Barry, you get to corral her now.” He’s not going to be much help.
Barry’s been keeping a closer eye out, and the next time a major incident is at hand, he’s ready. They’re getting a snack at Jitters; Iris is already sitting when he comes back from the line, carrying everything she requested and a few extra things, just in case there were any cravings unaccounted for. An older woman, maybe in her sixties, is reaching for the belly. Iris is looking away, but turns her head when she sees the hand coming. She’s already bringing the pencil out of her purse. All of this happens in slow motion for Barry.
He uses his speed to set all the food down, disarm Iris, step in front of her, and get the pencil behind his back. Iris makes a sound behind him, and he thinks she may literally be growling.
Barry has taken the woman’s outstretched hand, and she finds herself shaking with him as he introduces himself, being as polite as possible. She doesn’t realize she almost kicked off World War Three.
“She really doesn’t like to be touched without her permission,” Barry explains, eyebrows upturned, the look on his face imploring her empathy. “A lot of people have been doing it, and it’s been really stressful. I hope you can understand that.”
She peeks at Iris.“My goodness, I’m sorry, Dear!” she exclaims, “How inconsiderate of me. I used to get that all the time when I was pregnant. How could I forget? Probably old age.” She taps the side of her head with the flat of her hand. The murderous expression on Iris’ face softens, just a bit. “It’s just that you look so beautiful, and pregnancy is such a gift. May I?”
Barry’s shocked when Iris sidles out from behind him. “Sure.”
The woman delicately smoothes her hands over Iris’s tummy. One of the twins moves a little. Both women smile. “When are you due?”
“In a couple of weeks, but we’re having twins so it could be any day now, really.”
“You are?” The woman has the decency to act surprised. She takes Iris’ hand and holds it gently between her own. “Well, that is just extraordinary! Congratulations! You must be so tired and ready for them to come.”
Iris’ eyes go big. “Yes, that’s exactly how I’m feeling!” She launches into an animated commentary about her experiences, and the woman nods sagely.
“Obviously you’re well taken care of.” She nods to Barry.
“Absolutely. He’s the best.” Barry lowers his eyes and kicks at the floor in an “aww shucks” sort of gesture.
She gives Iris a warm hug. “Coming from such a lovely young lady and kind young man, they’re bound to be very special.” She winks at them, and makes her way to the door. “Take care, kids.”
The rest of the morning Iris is vibrant and glowing. She’s calm and relaxed. She’s humming one of her favorite songs.
“Well, that sure was a nice change of pace, right?”
“She made me feel so…so… beautiful, Barry.” Suddenly her face crumples up.
“There’s no one more beautiful than you, Iris.” He kisses her forehead and pulls her into him like before, only this time she cries happy tears.