Upside Down

Chapter 4

December 6th, 1985

Mariah pulled her coat tighter around her shoulders to fight off the frigid winter wind. She should've been in school, but she had better things to do. She turned the corner down the alley and walked down the block, casting an occasional glance around her for rats or the odd drug addict trying to rob her. 

Soon enough, she smelled the familiar scent of alcohol and cigarettes. She walked up to the front door of the run-down brownstone and rang the doorbell. 

She noticed the dingy white curtains part slightly, though she couldn't see anyone. A few moments later, the door cracked open and a man with ashen blond hair poked his head out of the door. 

He grinned when he saw her. "Hey, what's up? You need smokes?"

Mariah shook her head. "Jason, I told you I'm trying to quit. I'm looking for my sister,"

"She ain't here," Jason informed her. "She probably out running a trick,"

Mariah folded her arms. "In the middle of the day?"

"Well, she's not here," Jason reiterated. "She owes me money, and I told her if I don't get my cash there'll be problems,"

She took a step back. "H-how much does she owe?"

"Two hundred. I've been smoking her out, but unless she got a Christmas special on ass, she won't be back around her for a minute," Jason explained. 

Mariah immediately reached down in her pocket and pulled out the twenty her mother gave her for the week for lunch. "I have this,"

Jason pulled the money from her hand. "Thanks. See, that's why you're my favorite,"

He sent her a wink that sent a chill down her spine, and she hurried off the stoop to find her older sister and figure out what was going on.

December 16th, 1985

Michael gently gripped Diana's hand as she groaned into her next push. After nine, long months of waiting, it was finally time to meet his little jellybean. 

"You're doing great, Diane," He whispered, barely able to contain himself.

It was almost as though the pain of the last month melted away as they prepared to welcome their baby into the world.

"One more push, Ms. Naess," The doctor said.

He frowned at the name, the bitter reminder that his daughter and the love of his life weren't quite his. 

Diana let a frustrated scream as she gave another push. 

That's when he heard it. 

The beautiful sound of his daughter wailing as the nurse cleaned her off. 

"She's got good lungs, eh?" The nurse joked as she wiped the baby clean.

Michael planted a kiss on Diana's soaked brow, not caring about Arne at that moment. "You did it, Diane,"

Diana pushed herself up in the bed without a word to Michael. 

"Are you ready to hold her?"

Diana nodded, reaching her arms out to take the little one. The baby wriggled in her mother's arms, unable to hold still. 

"She's beautiful," He breathed. 

It felt like a lifetime. He stared into his daughter's face, noting every single feature. From what he could tell, she looked a lot like him with her mother's beautiful eyes.