She was in the spare bedroom of their apartment, arranging the decorations again. She did this often. First, she’d put the clock on the nightstand, the teddy bear on the chair, the books on the shelves, but decided it didn’t look quite right and would move everything around again. This time she put the clock on the dresser, the bear in the crib, and the books remained on the selves because this time, everything looked just right.
     She gazed around the room, at the blue walls, at the mobile of cars, and at the wicker basket next to the changing table. Yes, everything looked just right this time. She caressed her belly unconsciously, something she also did quite often. Yes, just right, she thought again.
     A voice carried from the hall, “Babe, dinner’s ready,” it said.
     “Coming,” she called back with one more glance around the room.
     She walked down the short hall, her socks barely making a sound as she entered the corner dining room. Her husband had prepared spaghetti with meat sauce, her favorite. The smell caused her to salivate almost instantly.
     “This looks so good sweetie, thank you,” she said kissing him on the cheek and squeezing his face before sitting down. He had outdone himself these last few weeks. With her belly increasing to a mass worthy of its own gravity and climate, she was unable to do many chores around the house. Luckily, he had been on leave from service due to the prolonged ceasefire among Earth and their new neighbors. He seemed to relish helping around the house knowing what the alternative could entail.
     “I added extra garlic and some oregano, I hope you like it,” he said expectantly.
     “Mhm,” was all she could respond with her mouth full of noodles.
     He chuckled, relieved he made the right decision in his recipe.
     “I rearranged a few things in the baby’s room. I think it’s finally how I want it,” she managed to say.
     “I’m sure our little man will love it,” he said giving her belly a gentle rub.
     They continued their dinner in a pleasant silence when a high ringing sound broke the calm.
     He got up and ran towards his phone.
     “Aw crap, it’s the base,” he said, his smile fading. He answered, “Hello? Hey man, what’s up? What! God damn it. Ok, I’ll be there first thing tomorrow morning. Yeah, I know. Alright, bye.”
     “I figured I couldn’t keep you to myself forever,” she said with a slight frown, looking at her mostly finished meal.
     “I’m sorry hun, but apparently they attacked the Mars station. It’s a fucking shitshow. Almost half of it was destroyed,” he said dropping his phone on the counter and returning to the table. “I have to be at the base tomorrow for a briefing and take the next ship to the station in a couple days.”
     “I know baby, it’s ok. Just one more year of this,” she said, grabbing his hand.
     He looked at her and smiled.
     “Just one more year,” he repeated, “And I’ll be able to take care of you and our little man.”
     She smiled back and squeezed his hand.
     The next morning, he got up before her, showered and got into his uniform. It was a thick blue gray shirt with matching pants and black boots. He kissed her goodbye, whispered he loved her, and was out the door before the sun poked through the curtains waking her up.
     She knew he would be gone for about a week, maybe more. She called her sister up to have a chat about any upcoming family events. After the second week, she called her mother to wish her a happy birthday. By the third week, she wondered if she was going to get a call from him. He usually wasn’t able to communicate home for fear of the messages being intercepted. But still, any reassurance would be nice.
     Finally she received a message from him.
     She was on her computer browsing for just the right brand of diaper when she received a notification for a video message.
     “Hey baby. I have to make this quick. I’ll probably be here for a little while longer than expected. The station was hit pretty hard, and these bastards multiply like bunnies. I can’t give you too many details, but I want you to know everything is go- END OF MESSAGE”
     A twinge of anxiety pulsed in her stomach.
     She clicked on the video again. It was the same on the second viewing. But there wasn’t a need to panic, she thought to herself. He’s on another planet, there’s always interference. She shrugged away the nerves. It wasn’t the first time she was scared about what he was doing. Every wife went through this. That’s part of life when all men had to serve for two years by law and Earth was fighting an enemy from another planet.
     There was a knock at the door that drove the nervous thoughts from her mind. She rocked back and forth to gain some momentum and got up. The knock came again.
     “I’m coming, hang on,” she said with a grunt as she headed towards the door. As she opened it, she saw a man in a blue gray uniform and black boots. But it wasn’t her husband.
     “Good afternoon ma’am. I’m here to deliver some rather difficult news. May I come in?” said the man.
     She remained standing in the doorway. Her legs were concrete, unable to bend or move. Her breathing became deep and quick. Her vision became unfocused as tears filled her eyes.
     “Ma’am?” continued the man in the blue gray uniform. “I think you should sit down before I tell you.”
     “Just tell me,” she croaked, her voice barely audible.
     “Well, you see,” began the man, “I’m sure you’re aware of the war currently taking place on Mars. Your husband’s unit was assigned to defend the central station. Unfortunately, there was another attack, a big one. There weren’t any survivors.” He had something in his hand that she hadn’t noticed. It was a flag folded into a triangle. He handed it to her.  “I’m truly sorry for your loss.”
     She took the flag from him and gripped it rather loosely. Just enough so that it wouldn’t fall from her hands. The man continued talking, but she didn’t understand anything he said. Everything was now a blur. The man seemed to catch on, because he finally stopped talking. He gave her a card with a number to call in case she needed to talk to someone. The final thing she understood was that she would receive any of her husband’s belongings that could be recovered.
     The man left and she was finally able to move her legs. They carried her to the spare bedroom. She looked around before a scream unlike one she had ever uttered exploded from her. Tears and cries filled the small space as she bent over the dresser, dropping the flag and card on the floor.
     After several moments of pure agony, she ceased her sobbing.  She stared at the crib and caressed her belly, this time on purpose. She grabbed the clock and put it back on the nightstand, then picked up the flag and put it on the dresser.
     With the flag in place, the baby’s room was now complete. It looked just right.