The Love We Choose

Chapter 61

Lynne woke with a jolt, covered in sweat, her heart racing. Grasping at the edges of the nightmare that disturbed her sleep, she could only remember a feeling of cold dread. Anxiously, she pulled back her covers and placed a hand at the base of her stomach. "Mooncake, are you ok in there? Sorry, mommy was a little scared, but everything is alright now. You just rest up and I'll make us something for breakfast. Today, we're gonna go visit your grandma, daddy, and maybe your cousin," she said as she rested against her headboard.

She grabbed the teddy-bear Huan had given her for Christmas and squeezed its hand. The reassuring whoosh-whoosh-whoosh of their child's heartbeat had become a soothing balm when her nerves were frayed from stress. Once her own heart rate had returned to normal, she swung her legs out of bed and headed downstairs to do her morning stretches and yoga.

Halfway down the stairs, she was hit with the smell of something buttery in the air. She stopped in alarm and crept the rest of the way down the stairs, to the best of her ability. The clattering of pots and pans coming from the kitchen could only mean that one of her family members had snuck in and was commandeering her kitchen.

To Lynne's surprise she entered the kitchen to find David cooking breakfast.

"Davvy!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to check on you," he told her, with a genial smile on his face. "I was worried about you after what you told us last night. When your phone immediately sent me your Do Not Disturb replies to my texts and phone calls, I thought the best plan of action was to drop by this morning. I'm assuming you haven't checked your phone yet. Be forewarned, you may have other visitors very soon. Or extremely long phone calls when you finally reply to everyone else. The call was..." he paused to gather his thoughts, "interesting after you signed off. So be ready."

"Oh, thanks," she said, eyeing him skeptically. "I'm fine, really."

"You don't look fine," he retorted, fixing her with a concerned stare. "You look exhausted."

"I'm just tired. Pregnancy is hard work," she stated as she started toward the eggs he had scrambled in a bowl.

"I know," he said, holding a hand out to stop her. "But you're not supposed to be doing it all by yourself, like the superhuman you keep trying to be. You should be resting," he told her as he gently guided her toward a chair.

"I'm fine, Davvy Crocket," she answered, waving a hand in the air. "I can handle it."

"I'm not so sure about that," he murmured. "Let me feed you."

"No, really," she reassured him. "I've got it."

"Please, let me help," he told her, emphatically. "I want to help. You do your best to go out of your way whenever we need you, let me help you this one time."

Lynne sighed. "Okay, fine," she resigned. "But only because you're my baby brother. And it is a treat when I get to see you."

David smiled. "That's right," he said. "And I know it doesn't seem like it, but I want to be here for you. Just because I'm the baby, doesn't mean you can't lean on me sometimes."

"I know that. It's just hard to not be the big sister when you're my only younger sibling."

"Yeah, you are a bit of a control freak at times. But we love you anyway."

"Gee, thanks," Lynne replied, sarcastically as she sat at the kitchen table while David finished cooking their breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and some sliced fruit.

"So, how did it happen?" David asked.

"What do you mean?" Lynne asked.

"How did you get pregnant?" he asked.