"I can't believe I agreed to this," I said, glancing down at my outfit. Joshua had decided to turn my dress into a robe, and he had the audacity to shove a balloon up it to make it look like I was pregnant.

"You look great." I couldn't help but see his laughter as I slipped some slippers on. You know, for the whole look of being Mary. I crossed my arms over my chest as he coughed, covering a laugh.

"How come I look ridiculous and you don't?"

He glanced down at the brown flannel that he borrowed from one of his uncles. He had on some joggers and another pair of slippers. He looked like a normal guy while I looked like a hippie. "You look great," he repeated.

This time he laughed in front of me. I slapped his arm, and he yelped as I said, "You can't lie to me!"

"It doesn't matter what you look like," he said, stepping closer to me. "I'm gonna marry you anyway."

My face was probably a tomato. "What do you mean?"

"You are Mary, right? I'm not with the wrong woman, am I?"

I smiled but it sort of hurt when he laughed. "Yeah, I'm Mary," I said, playing along.

"Aw man, I thought you were Grace! What happened to her?" He pretended to search around our room, looking in my suitcase and peering into the bathroom.

"I have no idea," I said, joining him. "She just disappeared."

He smiled at me before sitting down on the bed. He patted the spot next to him so I sank down next to him, trying not to mess up the balloon baby. Right when I touched it to move it to the left, it popped. And I screamed.

"Woah!" Joshua said, jumping up. "What happened?"

"What do you think?"

"You had your baby?"

"Yes, Joshua. Yes I did."

"Where is he?"

"My stomach."

He laughed as I reached up into my dress and grabbed the popped balloon. Thankfully I had Joshua's shorts on underneath so he wouldn't see anything.

"You gotta blow up another balloon," I told him, sighing.

"I don't understand how you can't blow up a balloon," he said, grabbing one from the package we bought earlier.

"I never had to," I said, shaking my head. "I rarely had birthday parties."

"Why?"

"First of all, I had one friend. Second of all, I didn't need one. All I needed was Fin and my mom."

"You coulda invited me," he said with a duh tone.

"I never talked to you," I replied in the same tone.

"Why?"

"I was scared," I admitted as he started blowing up the balloon. He gave me a look so I said, "I am not good at talking to people."

Real smooth. At least I hadn't spilled that I liked him. I congratulated myself on that.

He handed the balloon to me, and I started tying it up. He said, "You don't seem nervous now."

"I know you," I said, shrugging. "It was hard to speak to you at first. It was hard to speak to Fin."

"I would have never known that," he said softly.

"I don't make my ailments - my troubles - known."

"Why?"

"Like I said when you tried to give me money, I don't like accepting help," I said, forcing myself to look him in the eyes.

"Do you accept God's help?"

I chuckled. "It's hard. But yes, I do."

"I want to help," he said, taking my hand in his. "With everything."

"I know you do," I said, glancing at our hands. It felt right to have his hand in mine.

"Will you let me?"

I held my breath for a beat. "I don't know. My heart is saying yes, but my head is saying no."

"Listen to your heart."

"I have been."

I thought back to the mural in Juan in a Million and remembered how it said to use your heart. I guess I was as I leaned toward him. Dropping the balloon, my hands went to his neck and hair. But it was cut short when the door burst open, and a loud screech met my ears.

"Guys - what are you doing?" Shannon asked, her green eyes flicking between the two of us. Her blonde hair was thrown up in a bun, and she also had a dress on. I had no idea who she was going to be. "The play is about to start!"

"Sorry!" I said, hopping up.

I grabbed the balloon, and Joshua helped me stuff it under my dress. Shannon's eyes were wide when she watched us and she said, "You two are weird."

"You gotta do what you gotta do," Joshua said, grabbing my hand. "Who's narrating?"

"Yours truly."

"Alright, we're ready," he said, nodding. He turned to me and whispered, "Are you ready?"

"Yeah." I offered him a smile. "Don't worry about me. I know it like the back of my hand."

He nodded, and Shannon headed out before us. We took a few seconds of waiting before ambling out. My arm was wrapped around his waist, because, let me tell you, it was hard walking with that balloon. I didn't want it to pop, and I didn't want it to fall out of my dress.

I tried not to meet everyone's eyes. Joshua had a big family and all of them were watching us. Most of them were piled on the couch, but some were sitting on the floor. But Joshua separated from me because we decided to take my idea of including Elizabeth, John the Baptist's mother. And both of them were pregnant at the same time. Jamie's eyes calmed me down because they were the exact shade of Joshua's.

Since we didn't have a script and it was thrown together in about two hours, we were doing a sort of different version of the Birth of Christ. We were going off memory with Shannon narrating just the key points.

I stopped in front of Jamie, and her eyes shone just like her brother's. "You are so blessed among women, and blessed is the child you are having." She touched her stomach, saying, "My child leaped for joy when you stepped foot in here."

I smiled. "My soul will magnify the Lord and my spirit will rejoice. He used me, of all people. Holy is his name and mercy is on them who believe."

Jamie and I started heading out together so Shannon could narrate and the younger ones could change the scene when my balloon burst. I nearly cursed in front of the children, and Jamie stifled a laugh. She separated from me, throwing me a smile.

"Joseph!" I called loudly. "Joseph! The baby has come!"

The adults laughed, and I couldn't help but smile. As I watched Joshua come running, one of his cousins said, "How can she be Mary when she has red hair?"

"You have no idea what Mary looked like!" Joshua chimed when he ran next to the person who said that.

The children were rushing around, trying to fix the scene. But Joshua and I went along with it. A plastic baby came flying at me, and I dodged, letting Joshua catch it. He set it in the manger as two little boys ran toward us.

"Is that the Son of God?" one little boy asked. He was holding a cane, as if he were a shepherd.

"Yes it is," Joshua answered, gazing at the baby as if he was real. If he looked at a fake baby like that, I wondered how he would gaze at his own child.

The little boys ran around the large living room, shouting praises to God and Jesus when the Three Wise Men walked toward us.

"We come bringing myrrh, frankincense, and gold for the baby," one said, offering us each thing.

"Thank you," I said, accepting them.

They left us alone, and as Joshua gazed at the baby, I watched him. His eyes were bright when he smiled at me. I grabbed his hand as the other kids ran out to us. We all bowed, and the adults cheered.

"One more thing," Joshua announced. "Every child and teenager here is going to say what the birth of Jesus means to them."

It started with the little kids, leading up to the oldest. It got to me and I cleared my throat. "If Jesus hadn't been born, he wouldn't have died for our sins. I wouldn't have someone to hear all my secrets, things I don't even tell my mother or my best friend. So I would be lost and never have been found."

Joshua squeezed my hand. He turned to the others and said, "I wouldn't have found my happiness. I wouldn't have found peace. I would be a different person. But most of all, I wouldn't have found someone to share my problems with. Someone who cares for me personally. So thank you, Jesus, for bringing me everything I need and being everything I need."

His grip on my hand was tight, and he pulled me into a hug. My heart was bursting about what he said, and I bet he could feel it pound against his chest. I relished in the feeling of his arms around me.

"This turned out better than we planned," he whispered to me, his breath tickling my ear.

"The balloon popped!" I said, pulling away from his embrace.

"It was hilarious, Grace!" He laughed. "Thank you for coming."

"Of course."

I would've come a million times if it meant being in his presence. I loved his family, but I loved being with him more.