Chapter 96 AWKWARD SILENCE
1743words
"Tessa..." My mother squeals in joy and she then hugs me warmly.
"Mom." Like a small child, I sob in her arms and she let me.
After a while, she takes me inside the home and then looks at me with surprised eyes, she eyes my belly and I smirk at her facial expression, "I am seven months pregnant, mom."
"It looks huge, dear." My mother says and I laugh.
"Why haven't you told us the great news?" My mother asks and I look at Andrew, what am I supposed to tell her.
"Ann doesn't want anyone to know yet. You know she is very careful with the child." Andrew says with a tense face, his before smile and warmth are completely gone now.
My mother raises her brow in order to argue but then stops as she looks into my pleading eyes.
I don't want any arguments that would bitter the situation today.
"Mom, where are Cyril and Dad?" I ask my mom.
"Your father is at work, as usual. Andrew asked me to not tell him about your arrival and Cyril is in the room. Go and meet him, he has been waiting for you for a long time." Mom says with a smile and nodding my head, I walk towards the stair before I am able to climb the first stair my husband comes behind me to support me.
"Thanks," I tell him as he takes my hand and I finally reach the front of Cyril's room door.
I knock on the door first,
KNOCK... KNOCK...
And then we both enter together. Cyril was writing something in his book. He looks at us absent-mindedly and then his eyes widened in shock.
"Sis, is this a baby?" He asks, looking overexcited.
I nod my head with a huge smile as I approach him.
"You have the baby." His smile broadens as he looks at me with eyes that are filled with delight.
"Yes, I have one," I tell him happily and he couldn't stop grinning and so as I.
Cyril notices Andrew and then greets him apologetically as he gets too immersed with the presence of a baby with me. We all three chat and Andrew leaves us after a while to check on my mother.
Such a caring son-in-law.
"Sis, you look happy," Cyril tells me childishly and I laugh at his remark. "Yes, I am after all I am with my brother, now."
"Really? So then why you didn't come to meet me for all these days?" He asks, and I want to tell him the truth but I purse my lips.
"I am sorry, Cyril. I wasn't able to give you a visit but I will keep in touch with you, ok." I tell him assuringly and he gives me a polite smile before he makes a request to me.
"Sis, can I name your child?" He asks and I look at him bewildered.
Name? I haven't thought about it, yet.
"Do you have a name?" I ask him.
"No, not at the moment but I could think of one." He says thoughtfully.
"Ok, you can think of two names, one for the boy and one for the girl, ok," I tell him and he smiles happily at me.
It comes to dinner time as I climb down the stairs carefully and then find my mother in the kitchen alone, "Mom, where is my husband?" I ask her.
"He is outside dear, attending your father." My mother tells me and before I am able to go over to look for them she hands me a salad bowl.
"Tess, go and set the table."
"Ok, Mom." I take the bowl from her hand and then start setting the table.
After placing all the dishes, I look down at the table, baked chicken thighs, Potato Gnocchi, Lasagna with parmesan and peas, tomato salad, and smoked salmon. It looks like a great feast and my mouth waters but where is the desert? I look again carefully.
No dessert, my hungry stomach growled in dissatisfaction.
Just when I am supposed to call my husband and father, the main door opens and my father enters with a livid face, "Tess." his face lights up as he sees me, and his eyes warm as he notices my bump.
"My lovely daughter, how are you?" He pulls me in his warm embrace and hugs me tightly.
Since I got married this would be the first time I am seeing my Dad in the same way he was supposed to be before my marriage.
"I am fine, Dad." I couldn't help but sniff my tears emotionally.
My dad caresses my hair affectionately and I stay in his embrace for long before my husband enters and starts singing a birthday song.
I look at him, puzzled, and then at my father.
Soon, everyone starts to sing together and suddenly something hits my head.
Today is 19 December, that is my birth date.
Oh F**k, how could I forget my own birthday. I feel like a stupid but feel overwhelmed as everyone remembers it, especially my husband.
He places the cake at the table and then waits for me to come over, I blow the candles, and everyone claps together.
I cut the cake and feeds the first piece to my father, and then to my husband and then my mother and Cyril.
After the little celebration, we all sit together for the dinner, my husband sits beside me he doesn't look happy, I don't know why?
He looks at my father with a serious gaze and when I look up I could see that my father is too glaring.
There was an awkward silence at the table between Andrew and my father.
I pick Salmon to eat and my mother looks at me with surprise.
I smile knowingly at her, "I have started to like fish, mom."
My mother's smile broadens as she fills my plate more and I eat all the fish happily. My mother looks completely amused when I finish my plate because before I would never look at the Salmon touching it and eating is a faraway thing.
But many things have changed now.
I am not the Tessa I was before.
After the dinner, I look at my husband who is sitting calmly, "Aren't we supposed to leave?" I whisper as I shake his arm lightly.
"No, we are staying tonight." He says firmly, his eyes still on my father and I see my father gulping nervously.
What is it between both of them?
I look at them both suspiciously and then ask my husband straightly, "What is it?"
He removes his gaze from my father and then looks at me, finally.
"What?" He asks blankly.
"Why you're staring at my father?" I ask him.
"Uhm... Father-in-law has something to tell you, right?" He looks up at my father with a raised brow.
COUGH... COUGH...
And my father chokes on his food.
My mother hands him the water and then rubs his back as I look at him blankly.
"What is it, Dad?" I ask, the panic in my heart starts to rise what is it between both of them.
The seconds stretch between us as I look at Andrew and then at my father, waiting.
"I was thinking to bring you hereafter the baby, Tess... That's all." My father reveals finally and I breathe a sigh of relief.
Why do both men have to make such a small matter so huge?
"I'll ask Ann about it, Dad," I tell my father politely and my husband looks displeased, I don't understand why?
At night, my mother prepare my old room for us to spend the night, and my husband helps me to climb the stair, as usual, the bed in my room isn't huge and neither my room is huge but Andrew looks happy and comfortable in my room.
I am very much tired as I fall into a deep sleep as soon as I touch the soft mattress while my husband hugs me in his arms but his body stays tense. I want to ask him what was bothering him but I couldn't as my eyelids started to get heavy and soon I am heavily asleep.
****
My stomach twists and my bladder is full, I reluctantly leave the bed and groaning make my way to the washroom. After I walk out I look at the empty bed, frowning, I leave my room and then hear light voices, following the voices, I climb down the stairs slowly and stop as I hear my husband's voice, "You have to tell her, now."
"No, I won't." The second voice comes that is my father.
"You have to, she is getting close." My husband says in a restrained voice.
"Cyril still needs..." My father begins and my husband snaps suddenly, "What about her?"
And at this moment I feel something weird in my stomach as I groan unknowingly and the voices stop.
I see my husband emerging from the living room my father following him behind.
"Tessy, why did you come down like this? You should be in the bed." My husband says worriedly and I look at him frowning.
"Why you're not in bed? And what are you both talking about?" I ask, looking at both of them suspiciously.
"HUh... We were just talking Tessy, I came down for the water and meet father-in-law. It's a new place for me so I am not able to sleep." He says confidently and I seem to trust his words.
"Yeah, I'll bring the water for you." My father jumps in agreeing to his words.
I want to keep asking more but the child in my belly seems to get naughty as the movement starts to get too much that I again starts groaning uncomfortably.
"What is wrong?" Andrew asks anxiously.
"Nothing, just the child's movement." I tell him with a smile and he brings me back to my room.
Later, my father enters with a jug of water and then giving me a worried glance he leaves quietly.
