by BWWM Club
She felt her lunch starting to come up and she rushed into the bathroom and made it just in time. She leaned against the cool tiles wearily and wished John was with her. He always held her head when she had to throw up and would hold her in his arms while she recovered from her bout of sickness. She felt so alone when he was not with her during this time. It took several minutes for her to feel strong enough to get back on her feet and she decided to avoid the kitchen for a little bit. It was time to get a little rest.
Chapter 7
He had dinner waiting for her. He had surfed the internet and found out that the less herb and spices you put into the meal of a pregnant woman the easier it was to digest. So he had prepared chicken chop suey and pumpkin rice for them. Beside her plate, a tall glass of milk.
" I hate milk," she told him with a grimace.
"It's good for the baby," he told her going into the kitchen to finish making the salad.
"So I don't exist any longer?" she asked him with a raised brow.
"Of course you do but your needs become secondary from now on," he kissed he full on the lips as he pulled the chair for her.
"Is that so?" She gave him a steely glance.
"Just kidding," he grinned at her as he took his seat. "We are eating with chopsticks tonight, so you're going to be learning a little bit of my culture."
"It's not going to bite you baby," he told her with a grin as she picked up the sticks gingerly. "It's all in the wrist," he added, demonstrating it to her as he held it between his fingers and scooped up some of the rice.
She failed on her first try and he laughed as she spilled the rice on the table. He bit back a smile at her look of determination as she tried again, this time she got some in her mouth and she never stopped trying until she got it.
"What do you think of that?" she exclaimed in triumph as if she had mastered some impossible feat.
"I think you’re a natural," he told her indulgently.
"Damn straight!" she told him pointing the sticks in his direction. "I think I will be eating with these babies from now on."
She helped with the washing up when they had finished eating, even though he protested against it but she insisted and he reluctantly allowed her to dry. She told him about her day at the restaurant and even told him about the episode in the bathroom.
"I wished you had called me," he looked at her in concern.
"What would you have done?" she asked him in amusement. "Run over and hold my head?"
"Yes," he told her seriously. "I want to be there for everything you go through Rosa."
She stared at him and saw the intensity of his expression and realized he wanted to show her he would not let her go through being pregnant by herself, Rosa felt a warm glow circle her heart and cringed at what she had to say to him later on.
*****
"My mom and dad brought me up to believe in family," Rosa began. They were in the living room, Rosa had taken a shower and was in one of his T shirt, he had also given her some socks to put on because her feet felt cold. "Mama always said that when it comes right down to it, family is all that matters in the long run."
"What are you saying?" he had a feeling he knew what she was coming up with and he felt his heart staring to beat fast.
"Your mom and dad are your family John and I cannot, will not, be the one to come between a family, your family," she told him, determined to keep the emotion out of her voice.
He moved away from her and Rosa watched with a sinking heart as he went over to the mantel. The fire was blazing in the hearth and it reflected on his face, showing his features in stark relief.
He was quiet for so long that Rosa wondered what he was thinking.
“Marry me,” he said abruptly, pushing away from the mantel where he had been staring at the red glow of the fire as if seeking guidance there.
"What?" Rosa gave him a startled look.
"Don't look so surprise Rosa," he gave a rueful laugh. "You knew that was coming. I have been leading up to this from the second time I met you and even though I have told you over and over that I love you, you have not said it back to me."
"I won't be responsible for coming between you and your family John," she told him stubbornly, even though her heart clung to a little hope inside her. He had asked her to marry him.
"You are my family, dammit!" he told her tersely, coming to stand in front of her. "You and my baby.” He placed a hand on her stomach. ”You are my family and I have lived without my parents for a long time now. I could not wait to get out of there. I cannot say the same about you and our child. If I have to stand on the street and sell whatever it is I have to sell or if I have to go and work in some corporate company then so be it, whatever it takes. I am not letting you go. If you are not sure about being my wife then I will still be here by your side but I am not leaving."
"I don't want you to resent me when you wake up and realize what you have given up because of me John,” she told him tremulously, her hands clasping his face as she looked up at him. His words had managed to weaken her and she was almost ready to believe that it would work out.
"The only way I will resent you is if you give up on me, on us," he told her grimly, holding her hands against his face as he looked into her eyes. "Let me love you Rosa, let me show you what incredible mind blowing love can be, the love I have for you and the baby we made together. Feel this," he took her hand and held it against his erection and Rosa cupped it, her hand trembling. "You have the power to make me ache for you; you have the power to make me weak for you and know that there is nothing I would not give up for you. Let me show you."
"Yes," she whispered, the word hardly getting past the lump in her throat. Never in her life had she experienced a love like what he was giving her and she wanted it so much that she could taste it.
"What?" he breathed, not daring to believe that she was saying yes to him.
"Yes, John Phillip Yang, I want to marry you!" she told him, her eyes shimmering with tears.
He did not dare breathe. He did not know what to do with his hands, he had always been laconic and indulgent about life, things had come easy to him because of his parents money and because women had always been easy for him to get. Now, before her, he was humble and so grateful that she was in his life that he was lost for words. "You will never regret it," he told her thickly, pulling her against him. "I promise you, on everything that I hold sacred that you will never regret being my wife and as long as we live I will show you how much you and our baby mean to me."
*****
"I am going to speak to my parents again," he murmured as he held her against him in bed. Their lovemaking had taken on a new height and they had cried together. John swore he had felt the baby moved inside her belly.
"Are you sure?" she asked him, not wanting him to get his hopes up and then have it dashed to pieces.
"Don't worry," he told her softly as he rubbed the small of her back. "I have already made up my mind about us, no turning back for me."
"I love you," she whispered against his chest. He was naked beside her and she had decided she wouldn't be wearing any clothes either.
"Tell me again," he murmured, his hand had stopped its circular motion as he went still at her words.
She raised her head to look at him, her eyes brimming with love. "I love you," she repeated, training a finger against his mouth. "I love you so much that it is like a pit of fire inside my stomach and when you touch me it is like you touch my very soul. I was afraid of such intense feelings and I could not believe that something like this actually exists but I can't run away from it anymore and what's more, I don't want to. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I don't care if you don't have a cent."
He held her face between his hands and Rosa saw the tears that he was not ashamed to let her see. "My heart," he said hoarsely as he raised his head and took her lips with his.
*****
He met with them at the house for dinner which he did not really want
to do but he was on a mission. He was determined to make a life for himself and Rosa and the baby so if it meant sucking up to his rigid and unbending parents then so be it. He kissed his mother on her soft cheek and she gave him a gentle smile. She had tried to be a good mother to him but was so bowed down by tradition that it always seemed to come between them.
His father told him there would be no discussion during dinner so the meal was consumed in silence except for the polite clinking of the chinaware. John had always detested dinner time at home and even though he was told sternly to chew his food properly, he had tried to finish as quickly as possible so that he could escape to his room.
As soon as they had finished eating and the table had been cleared he spoke, "I am staying with Rosa and I have asked her to be my wife."
They remained silent. John wanted to light a fire under them.
"So you are determined to throw away a tradition that has always been a part of our lives for a girl who is not one of us?" his father asked him mildly.
"I am not throwing anything away father, I am starting a family with a woman I love more than life itself." John answered steadily, determined not to get upset.
"So you love this woman?" her mother asked him softly.
"Yes mother, I do," he said smiling at his mother. "I am not asking that you embrace her and our baby but she wants to open a restaurant and I am asking for some help to do so."
"This restaurant, you think it's a good business venture?" his father asked gruffly; leaning forward, his hands clasped in front of him. John knew that look: his father was a very smart businessman and that had served him well in accumulating a vast amount of wealth. He had started peddling his wares out of the trunk of his car and had moved up to a small shop catering to peoples' needs and had built up from there.
"I think so, she has some great ideas and is very ambitious," he leaned forward earnestly. "We are determined to make this work father, I promise."
They left him alone in the huge dining room to discuss the matter between them and John spent the time pacing the carpeted floor. He wanted this to work but as he told Rosa, even if he had to go corporate he would make sure they were taken care of.
They came back into the room shortly and he realized there was a slight smile on his mother's placidly beautiful face.
"We will give you the money and the apartment you live in," Peter Yang told his son. "And we wish you all the best. I am going to deposit the money into your account and I think this will be enough to open that restaurant?" He showed him a figure he had written down on a notepad and John almost shouted with joy. It was far more than he had expected to get from them considering the way they felt about him being with Rosa.
"Thanks father," he said giving a formal bow. Peter Yang nodded and left the room.
"You are happy with her?" his mother asked him softly.
"Immensely mother. I have never felt this way before and it does not matter what I have to give up as long as it's not her or our baby.” He told her sincerely.
"Be happy son," she told him softly, placing a hand gently against his cheek. "What you are talking about is not something many people have."
"Are you happy mother?" he asked her suddenly.
She smiled at him gently. "Happiness is a state of mind. I am contented and I am satisfied with that."
*****
Rosa felt her belly stiffened as she stood up from behind the desk. It was approaching February and she was not as sick as she was before but she noticed, the more the baby was growing inside her the stiffer her tummy was getting.
John had called and said he had some great news he wanted to share with her as soon as she reached home. Ever since she had agreed to marry him, she had been spending more time at his apartment than hers and he had teasingly told her that she was paying rent for nothing because she was never there. She knew he was concerned she was not giving up her apartment but she had assured him she just had not gotten around to doing so.
They were going to get married as soon as possible, maybe in March because it was only going to be a small ceremony.
She was so happy she could not believe it was at all possible. He made her feel very special and she was glad the day she met him.
Her phone rang just then and she realized it was her mother. "Mama, hi."
"Hey there baby girl," her mother responded warmly. Ever since she had learned about the baby and they had told her about the impending nuptials she had been beside herself with joy. "I was thinking of having a little engagement party here at the house for you guys."
"Mama, we had not thought of that," Rosa said with a laugh. "We did not even think about a ring."
"Think fast girl. I want to throw an engagement party for you and that fabulous man you landed." Her mother told her with a laugh.
"Okay, I will tell John about it and see what he says." Rosa told her.
"How is the pregnancy treating you?" she asked in concern.
"I have been getting a little stiff and the morning sickness is getting better." Rosa said with a grateful sigh.
"Welcome to parenthood honey," her mother said indulgently. "You were such a fighter when you were in my womb, could not wait to come out and view the world. I was sick like a dog for almost the whole nine months, could not keep down a blessed thing. Your poor daddy was beside himself with worry and in the meantime I was craving all sorts of nonsense at different times of day and night."
"Oh mama," Rosa exclaimed, feeling a sense of appreciation of what her parents, especially her mother had gone through to get her here. "Thank you for being such a good mother."
"Oh darling girl, you made up for the troubles I went through in so many ways. I am so proud of you girl." She told her daughter.
"Thanks mama," Rosa felt the tears prickling her eyes and she noticed that she had been getting pretty emotional ever since the pregnancy.
"You are welcome baby," Joan said softly before hanging up the phone.
The lunch hour had long gone and they were now preparing for the dinner crowd. Rosa went out to the dining area to make sure everything was ready for the evening crowd. She massaged the small of her back and felt the tiredness descending on her like a cloud. John had pleaded with her to take it easy or else he was going to come to the restaurant every day to see that she did.
She had looked at him in pretend outrage and told him he wouldn't dare.
"Try me," he had whispered softly, pulling her up against him pushing his tongue inside her mouth. She had sagged against him, her arms around his neck as she returned the kiss with increased fervor.
*****
He picked her up from the restaurant at a half past eight. They had gotten a night manager since she had become pregnant so she was able to leave at a decent hour. The weather was getting increasingly colder and it had snowed the day before, leaving the place looking like a white winter land.
"Where are we going?" she asked him puzzled as he turned the opposite direction from his apartment.
"We are going to dinner." He told her mysteriously.
He took her to the little Italian restaurant they had gone to some months ago and pulled out a chair for her as they went to the table. He took her hands inside his. "I got the money to buy the restaurant." He told her without preamble.
"What?” she looked at him frowning.
"My parents gave me the money; it's in my account as we speak." He released her hand and reached inside the pocket of his black winter coat. "I also want to make it official." It was a black velvet box and he opened it to reveal a sparkling diamond solitaire. He took her finger and slid the ring onto it; leaving Rosa staring at it wordlessly.
"I can't believe this is happening." She whispered, looking up at him, her eyes rounded in shock.
"He gave us three million dollars Rosa," He went on. "Think that's enough?"
"Are you kidding me?" Rosa exclaimed, reaching across the small nondescript table to pull him over for a tight hug. "This is by far the happiest day o
f my life apart from finding out that I love you and am carrying your baby." She told him tearfully, raining kisses on his face, not caring who was looking.
"So I take it, that's a yes?" he asked her in amusement, his voice husky.
"It's a yes." She murmured, kissing him full on the lips, her tongue reaching inside his mouth.
He held the back of her head and deepened the kiss, his mouth moving over hers with an intensity that shook her to the very core. He released her lips and ran a finger over her throbbing mouth. They were both so hot for each other they could hardly contain themselves. "We are starting our family," he told her hoarsely, he sat back in the chair and had to take deep breaths as he fought for control. He had made a decision not to touch her like that when they were out in the public because touching her was like lighting a match to a brush fire, the blaze could get out of control and the need for her was blazing inside him something fierce.
"Want us to leave?" she asked him softly, seeing the intense look of desire on his face. She loved him so much that she could not think of her life without him.
"No because I planned this dinner for us and so that we could have a civilized conversation and make plans for the future and if I take you home now, that is not going to happen," he told her with a shaky laugh. "I can't control myself around you baby, I have to learn to do so."
"So we are staying?" she asked him in amusement.
"We are staying," he told her firmly.
They stayed and made plans regarding her acquiring the restaurant. He told her he wanted to be a part of it; he wanted it to be a joint venture and he was going to be there to make sure she did not work too hard.
"We have a wedding to plan, a baby to look forward to and a restaurant to buy," she said with a grin. "How are we not going to be busy?"
"A small wedding," he told her with a slight frown. "I want to marry you right now Rosa, so it will not be a long time for planning."
Chapter 8