The Love We Choose

Chapter 49

Huan was relaxed as he meandered through his mother's house, floating between conversations with relatives and family friends. This was his favorite part of the holiday celebration. When all of them were together enjoying each other's company without a care of business or the outside world. Just men and women reminiscing about their younger years in the US, China, Malaysia, and elsewhere abroad, children running all over the place, cousins who hadn't seen each other in months ribbing each other and comparing achievements, etc. There were people all over the house and small backyard. A few card games had broken out at the tables Huan had set up earlier, along with dominoes and mahjong. He still had yet to have his much needed conversation with Lynne about her presence, but the two seemed to be passing ships at this party. Whenever one had a moment, the other was off somewhere fulfilling some task for his mother. Veronica was running later than planned, but she had promised him that she would make it there within the hour.

Auntie Lijuan's tinkly voice cut into his conversation with Mr. Yao. "Ai. Huan, where is Lynne? I need her to sit for mahjong. She promised me she would play with us tonight."

He excused himself from the conversation and nodded at the older woman before setting off to find his missing friend. He backtracked into the kitchen, where he had last seen her refilling a tray of desserts and did not see her there. She wasn't outside in the backyard or in the dining or living rooms.

Panic began to creep up the back of his neck as he knocked on the bathroom door to see if she was inside. When a gruff man's voice answered back he decided that she must either be in the basement or upstairs. A brief conversation with Rose confirmed that she last saw Lynne heading upstairs. Picking up his pace as he walked toward the guest room, the soft light coming from underneath the door let him know he had found his target. Opening the door slowly, he let out an anxious breath as he saw Lynne lying down on the bed, her arm crooked underneath her head. Striding lightly over to the bed he looked down at her face and pushed a braid that had fallen out of her bun behind her ear. He crouched next to her on the floor and stayed there until she opened her eyes. She met his gaze with a small smile.

'You know, staring at people while they sleep is one of those serial killer tendencies. Should I be worried?" She slowly asked with a yawn.

"Only if you don't want me to skin you alive for purely scientific purposes."

"Well, if it's for science, I think I can allow it. Anything to help you become a better surgeon, I guess. I mean, you've gotta put that med school education to use in some way."

"True. How are you feeling? Are you ok? Why did you come up here?" He asked her as he placed the back of his hand on her forehead to see if her skin was warm.

"I'm ok. No need to fuss over me, doc. I was just tired and needed to take a catnap," she told him, batting his hand away from her. "I was a little dizzy earlier, but that was before I ate. Now, no dizziness, no nausea, just a little tired. I've been taking a lot more naps lately. Apparently that's one of the side-effects of playing host-mother to your seed, which sucks because all the websites and mommy blogs are telling me that 2nd trimester-land is supposed to be all goody gum-drops with a resurgence of energy and the ability to eat without the guaranteed probability of seeing my food again in twenty minutes. But wouldn't you know, I would be an outlier," a small laugh escaped her lips. Sitting up straight, she stretched her arms over her head before swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "What time is it?"

He looked down at his watch. "Almost eleven."

"Shit! I've been here for almost an hour and a half. Maybe I was more tired than I thought." She fixed her hair, resetting the bun.