Chapter 77: Chapter 77
Allesandro
Three months later
It was Sunday and Charla is on leave. I was making spaghetti for me and Edith when I hear my telephone ring in the living hall. God, let this not be a call from the hospital. Today I not only have to feed but also cook for my little wife. I cannot afford to make Edith cook in the house. Last time she attempted to do the feat, the house was almost on fire. I had to use my influence and several of my important contacts to send the fire department workers away from my house without making an issue.
I reach the front hall and look at my phone to see Charles name blaring on the screen. I breathe out a sigh of relief and press the answer button. On the other end of the line I hear the cheerful voice of my brother-in-law. "Hey man how are you and how is life with my little sister?" I run my hand on my neatly gelled hair suddenly going drained. "Do not ask me that." He chuckles loud as I cut the last carrot to put it in the already steaming pan for making us the breakfast.
"So you are having fun." Oh yeah, a lot...."Where is she? Is she in a mood to speak to me?" He asks going instantly agitated. Ha ha this was my chance to laugh. Since the day Edith is married, she raised a cold war against her family for hiding her groom's identity from her...in other words my identity. She is speaking to no one in her family including her mother. Her dad is very disturbed about it but Edith is always Ms Princess obstinate .... a stubborn and too much pampered little incendiary.
Of course I'm in no better position that I can jeer at her family. I'm the worst effected in this ménage because I stay 24/7 besides her handling her tantrums. Sometimes the blowout is for the same reason that I hid the truth of my place in her marriage, at times it is simply to avoid eating when her favourite meal is not prepared and often times it is for time-pass or doing some drama to seek an attention.
I wonder if I'm actually married for companionship or adopted a child to raise up. "She is sleeping and do not ask me to wake her because from the moment she is active, the house is in a chaos with her frenzy fits that unfortunately have no impetus." I hear another burst of laughs from Charles. Tightening my lips I scratch the corner of my eyebrow and tell him irritated. "You seem to have a lot good time poking fun at me."
"Oh do not lie to me now. I know you had a soft spot for my sister since the beginning." He tells me between his laughter. I had a blow of the decade learning about the new discovery of my love story and bit the inside of my cheek to arrest a curse. How did he know? Smart arse that he always is! He sneaks under the people's noses without their knowledge.
"On your first meet itself with her I could see that spark. She was crying with her hands in little fist when you held one of them and told her going super soft in your words. "Do not cry." He mimics my sentence with the same intonation that I spoke sixteen years ago when I first met Edith. Someone other than me knew about my feelings for my little wife. With the shock received I dropped the sauce pan on the floor. "Fuck! Because of you now my fire cracker would wake up and make a mess here." I accused him grunting.
"I get a hint that Dr Allesandro Martin is afraid of someone." He teases. I check on the vegetables if they are cooked completely ignoring Charles's statement. Yes I'm afraid of the bombshell in my house because I do not have the energy to deal with her hissy fits now. I need to fresh up and go to the hospital. You never know when the duty calls. Yeah today is Sunday but I have a very important case to deal. Being the best cardio surgeon in the city has its own perks and drawbacks. My profession requires me even on a holiday.
Yesterday Allen called Edith like usual and in her customary standard Edith refused to receive his call. Today he is supposed to visit us in the evening to meet his daughter. I am afraid what nutty throes Edith is going to pull. Before the drama begins I need to reach home. Otherwise with the anger she toasts she is going to make the complete house a burial ground by destroying the things.
"Edith, wake up Princess..." She pushes my hand away and turns to the other side. "I'm not hungry. Go away." I blow the air out of my lips and look at my watch. "Edith if you are not going to wake up now I'm not taking you to your favourite movie today evening." I declare and was about to get up from the bed. Like a zombie she gets up from the bed, brushes her teeth in the speed of a rocket and snatches the breakfast tray from my hands to finish it in five minutes. Those words surely work whenever I need them. "I finished." She declares like a kindergarten student to her teacher showing her empty plate to me.
I wipe the sauce from the corner of her lips with the pads of my thumb and do victories dance in my mind. But give her a deadpan expression.
"Today your parents are coming from California to meet you. Your dad cancelled all his hospital appointments just to come and talk to you. He is fretting for your hostility towards him. Do you have any idea he is slowly going into depression because of your bumptious attitude? Behave." I raise my finger to her and tell in warning. "Else I'm not going to take this easy."
I turn back and was about to walk out of the room when I hear a fizz. Closing my eyes for a second, I give out a heavy breathe. Now what? The bed was empty. Where is she? Then my eyes fall on the half open bathroom door. I walk back inside the room and to the bathroom to see Edith puking her guts out. I pull her hair back to aid her in the process. What happened this time? She did not even go drunk yesterday?
After she washes her mouth and face, I wipe her facet dry. "My head aches…." She complains like a three year old pulling my shirt sleeves as if I had a magic wand to free her of the aches. But I was happy she had so much of confidence in me that I could ease her of her pain. I pull her head to my chest and hold her wrist with my other hand to check her pulse. What the fuck! Something unsettling goes down my instance. What I doubt shouldn't happen, I pray God. Handling one in the house is getting me to pull my hair off my head and now two? This is entirely my mistake. I should have been more careful. Edith goes cranky when chased by passion and doesn't allow me to practice protection. I should have placed her on pills but I didn't, going apprehensive about the side effects of oral contraceptives and now I taste the bitterness of my actions.
Edith is too young for all this. Pushing away the hairs out of her face I ask trying my best to sound normal. "Sweet cakes since how many days are you feeling sick. She looks ahead somewhere behind me and then stares back into my eyes. "I think around fifteen to twenty days." I groan in dissent. "Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?" Her lips slowly curl. "Okay okay...I am sorry." That wasn't the outcome I want now. I nuzzle her head back to the crook of my neck. That's her favourite place...the place where she stays pacific.
"I..." She sniffs. "I ate all the ice cream and sweets in the house. I hid the news from you fearing your anger and I think my stomach hurts because of that." She brings out her head from my chest and stares back at me. "But I cannot stop craving them more...." She complains like the sweets are humans and having a fight with her resistance.
"Pinky promise, I hated sweets earlier." I chuckle at her innocence at the same time feel sorry for her. I am the culprit here who brought all this problem to her but she thinks the mistake is hers. "There is no fault of yours in this Sweet Cakes. I will take you to the doctor today and your entire health issue will be taken care. Okay?" I kiss her head and help her night shirt out of her head.
My hand casually runs on her belly but careful not to invoke a doubt inside her head. I do not wish to share any of my uncertainties with her because if the test goes negative Edith will be disappointed. She loves kids though she doesn't know she herself is still a kid. "I'm feeling tired I want to sleep." She tells me like always, reaching the sleeve of my shirt. "You will but first let us get you checked up, Sweet cakes...." I request her.
In the next half an hour we were in the hospital and the tests confirmed my suspicion. Edith was pregnant. As expected her joy was boundless where as my worries amplified. I am having difficult time dealing with one and within seven months I have a gift from God to trade with two. I shouldn't have done this, should have been careful. Now I need to deal with the repercussions.
Within a few hours her parents came home and the news spread like wild fire in both our families.
I only wish and pray Edith acquires some maturity before she becomes a mother.