"I'm pregnant."
Katniss's voice and hands are shaking, and tears sparkle in her eyes. Despite this, a small smile tugs at her lips, though she holds it back, as if she isn't sure whether she should be happy or not. I understand; it took fourteen years to persuade her to try for a baby and she still hadn't been sure. For her to have become pregnant so quickly after agreeing...She must be so scared.
But for some reason, I say the first stupid thing that comes to my brain.
"Real or not real?"
"What?"
Stupid, stupid, stupid! I meant for it to be playful and romantic, a reminder of when she first told me she loved me all those years ago. But, for all my usual talent with words, I completely ruined this moment.
"It was supposed to be a joke," I mumble. "You know, because the first time we claimed you were pregnant was the Quarter Quell and it was a lie and...that."
She just stares at me a while and I'm pretty sure I destroyed my marriage. But then, the strangest thing happens.
She laughs.
She just laughs and laughs and laughs, and tears stream down her bright red face, and she's not breathing quite right, but she keeps laughing anyway. This goes on for about ten minutes before it finally slows into hiccups and the occasional giggle.
Then she bursts into tears. It frankly scares the living hell out of me and I have no idea what I'm supposed to do with such a sudden mood swing (Katniss is usually far more predictable than this). She apologizes for the tears and insists that she doesn't know why she's crying, but it only makes her cry harder. Since she sucks at lying and I know her so well, I can tell that she's telling the truth and that's when it hits me.
I am going to have to deal with this for nine months.
And I wonder why I wanted a kid so badly.