The Love We Choose

Chapter 22

"Explain what, the birds and the bees? According to this name printed on here, Prentice, L. you're pregnant. What is there to explain? I've already learned how this happens in Health class. Unless you want to tell me why your ultrasound photo is on Huan's family collage? I mean I know you two are close, but it's slightly weird to give your best friend a copy of your ultrasound photo. Don't you think?" She asked, cocking her eyebrow at Lynne.

Well, keeping it hidden from family members lasted all of five seconds. "Well, I was so excited when I found out I gave him a copy."

"Seriously, Lynne? Shouldn't you give it to the father? Unless this is a test tube baby thing. I didn't know you were trying to have a baby. But I guess your family must be pressuring you to have kids as much as our family is doing that to Bao and Huan."

This girl is too perceptive for a teenager. Where did they find her? "Negative. It is not a test tube baby. I'm not trying to beat my biological clock just yet."

"Oh." The younger girl went quiet, trying to figure out the missing pieces of the puzzle.

"Come on, Rose, let's work on that Algebra first. We can tackle college planning later," Lynne told Rose, beckoning her over, attempting to put a stop to the baby conversation, and leaving a slightly tense silence in the air as she turned the pages of the textbook, avoiding the younger girl's eyes.

"Oh good, there is someone else here. I thought Lynne had finally snapped and was arguing with herself out loud." Huan's voice cut through the silence, catching Lynne off-guard. Wrapping his arms around Rose, he gave her a hug before mussing up her hair. "What are you doing here?"

"Initially, I came here to meet with Lynne and have her help me with my Algebra homework and college planning. At this moment right now, I'm waiting for her to tell me why her ultrasound photo has a prominent feature on your family collage. Care to elaborate?"

"Well, Lynne's family. Duh?" Huan dismissed the younger girl's question with an absent-minded wave of his hand as he walked over to the couch and sat down next to Lynne.

"How're you feeling?" Lynne asked him, noting the return of color in his face that wasn't there earlier.

"Better. Much better. Thanks Lyndy. All the medicine, herbs, and tea you pumped into my system seem to have done the job."

"I knew it would. And to think you wanted me to go home."

"Well, we both know why that would have been better, but it seems as though there was nothing to worry about."

"Hello, you're not skimming over my question so easily you two," Rose said to them with her hands on her hips. "I know Lynne is practically family, but don't you think it a bit strange to have your friend's ultrasound photo on your fridge?"

"Not in the slightest." Turning his attention back to Lynne he asked, "so what's for lunch? I'm excited to eat food I can actually taste again."

"I guess you better get to fixing it yourself then. Now that you are pretty much healed, all 'Prentice Convalescing Services' are at an end," she told him as she leaned back against the couch, her arms behind her head.

"Excuse me, you two. We still haven't finished our conversation on Lynne's pregnancy," Rose tried to interject between the quibbling adults.

"Come on Lyndy, you know you're the best chef I know," Huan pleaded, bending down to massage her shoulders.

"Lies, fallacies, and fairytales. We both know I don't even make the top five in the people we both mutually know. Starting with our mothers, my sister, and your aunties."

"Ok, fair. You are the best chef in my apartment though."

Shrugging his hands off of her shoulders, she looked back and side-eyed him,"oh yeah, just the words a woman wants to hear. Stop trying to butter me up and fix your own damn food. You literally just have to heat up any of the food I made over the weekend. All the leftovers are in the fridge. Now leave me alone while Rose and I get down to what she came here for."

"You do realize you are ordering me around in my apartment?"

"Yeah, well, right now it's my classroom and you are disrupting the learning experience. Think of me taking care of you these past few days as a rental fee payment for use of the space. Now are you done wasting our time yet? Rose has important Algebra to learn, unless you'd like to take over?" Her intense stare let him know it was better to walk away now.

"I am gonna go eat. Enjoy yourselves," he told them, backing out of the room.

"Make sure you take some more medicine after you eat. Just because your fever is down doesn't mean you're 100% healed!" Lynne yelled after him.

"You're not my mother!"

"Hey, don't make me call her! I have her on speed-dial!"

"No-one has speed-dial anymore!" He hollered back at her.

"Try me, Zhang!"

"You two are ridiculous," Rose stated, shaking her head while she sat down next to Lynne and opened the textbook to the section she needed help with."

"Eh, it works for us. Now," Lynne rubbed her palms together briskly, "what are we starting on linear graphs or descriptive statistics?"

XXX

Lynne and Rose piled into her car after saying goodbye to Huan in the late afternoon. After a successful session, Rose felt confident in her abilities and ready to tackle her approaching trimester exam. Huan had attempted to disrupt their session, claiming that they were preventing him enjoying time relaxing in front of the television. Lynne tossed a pillow at his head and told him to go read a book, his brain needed it.

Once they were safely on the road, Rose turned down the music on the radio. "Lynne, why are you and Huan so evasive about your pregnancy."

Lynne almost stopped short as she merged into a new lane.

"I mean, aren't women always so happy when they are pregnant?"

Gaining her wits she responded, "it's nothing really. It's just still really early, I'm only about 11 weeks along. I didn't want to jinx anything by telling everyone before I'm out of the danger zone of having a miscarriage. I told Huan because he's my best friend. I wouldn't have been able to hide anything from him. I am happy about this pregnancy. Shocked, but happy." she told her with an added softness to her voice. However her voice turned stern with her next sentence. "Rosebud, now that you know, you have to promise me that you won't mention this to anyone. ANYONE. It can't slip around your family if you mention me. Especially not your auntie Ying. I haven't told her yet."

"Why does it matter if I mention it around them?" Rose asked her skeptically.

"You are just going to have to trust that I will explain it once I'm in the clear. I will sit you down and explain. Ok?"

With a slightly aggravated huff, Rose nodded her head. "Fine. I promise not to mention it to anyone."

"Thank you!" She squeezed Rose's hand before focusing back on the road.

"But you're going to have to buy my silence with food," Rose informed her with a mischievous grin on her face.

"God, you Zhangs are all alike." She let out a bubbly laugh. "I think I can do that."

"Just to let you know, I have fancier tastes than Huan. I'm thinking something upscale and swanky. We'd have to dress formally."

"Fine. You pick the place and date."

"Deal!"

XXX