Chapter 508: It Was Just A Dream
Around five o’clock, the two children came home from school. Leah walked into the house and saw both Wendy and Michael at home. She immediately smiled and ran to them. "Mommy, Daddy," she called out sweetly.
Michael saw that Leah was about to jump onto Wendy so he used his arm to intercept her and scooped her up instead.
"Daddy, Mommy, why are you both home so early today?" Leah asked. She was surprised because Michael usually came home very late.
"Isn’t it good to be home early?" Michael asked, caressing Leah’s little cheeks.
Leah nodded seriously, "Of course." She then looked at Wendy’s red and puffy eyes and was concerned. "Mommy, did you just cry?"
Leah wriggled out of Michael’s arms. She went right up to Wendy and stared closely at her face. Wendy lowered her head. She did not know how to respond.
Leah touched Wendy’s face and asked, "Mommy, who bullied you? Was it Daddy?"
"No..." Wendy smiled. "Something got into my eyes and caused an allergic reaction.
I’ll be ok after a while."
"An allergic reaction? Did you see a doctor or apply any medication?" Leah asked out of concern. "But your eyes have never been allergic to anything." Leah frowned and looked puzzled.
Jake heard what Leah said and silently walked over. He took one look at Wendy’s eyes and could tell that she had obviously been crying. Naturally, he looked at Michael.
Leah might be easy to fool, but it was not as easy to hide anything from Jake. It was only five o’clock and both of them were at home. On top of that, his Mommy’s eyes were red from crying. Something must be up.
"Leah, could you get some fruit for us?" Jake asked, trying to get Leah out of the way.
"Okay! What would you like?" Leah blinked and asked everyone. "Daddy, Mommy, Zess, which fruit would you like to eat?"
"You could get a few different ones," replied Jake.
Leah nodded and went off happily. After Leah left, Jake stood in front of them.
Wendy kept her head down as if she was trying to hide her face from others.
"What happened?" Jake questioned Michael. From Jake’s perspective, if his mommy was suffering, even if Michael had not bullied her, it was all his fault. Because if it weren’t Michael who bullied her, then he should have protected Wendy and not let others bully her.
"Nothing’s wrong," Wendy said with a smile. She pulled Jake by his hand and hugged him.
They both knew that Jake was very smart and was not easily fooled. But this time, this matter was really not suitable for their children to know. Wendy was still unsure whether or not to keep this baby.
Wendy smiled and tried to sound as if nothing was bothering her, "Mommy’s fine.
Don’t think too much."
Michael saw that Wendy was about to lift Jake up and was worried about her tummy.
He said, "Wendy, I think you’d better not carry him. Be careful of your tummy."
That warning caused Jake to jump out of Wendy’s arms immediately. Jake then looked at Wendy’s tummy. This morning, Michael had asked them suddenly if they had wanted a sibling. Jake had found that question strange. And now, the moment his mommy picked him up, Michael warned her to be careful about her tummy.
Jake did not know much about pregnancies, but he had seen on television and knew that pregnant women were most wary of others bumping their tummy.
...
Jake looked Wendy over and asked, "Mommy, are you pregnant?"
If Jake had asked this question in the morning, Wendy could have denied it straight away. But now, she opened her mouth yet did not know how to deny it. Or, should she lie? It was too difficult for her to acknowledge the truth.
"Go and see if Leah needs any help. If she were to wash the fruit by herself, there will be water everywhere," said Michael immediately.
Jake knew what Michael meant. He did not want Jake to continue asking.
However, Jake could already guess the answer. But if Mommy were really pregnant, why would she be crying?
Daddy and Mommy did not look happy at all. Jake frowned as he had difficulty wrapping his head around it. Michael saw that Jake still had not moved so he stood up and took Jake’s hand. "I’ll go with you," Michael said.
With Michael holding his hand, Jake had no choice but to go with him. After a few steps, Michael spoke to Jake in a very serious and stern manner, "Jake, you are still young so there are some things that aren’t suitable for you to know. I hope you won’t be too curious."
"I’m not curious, I’m worried about Mommy." Jake’s voice took on a serious as well as he continued, "When Mommy had Leah and me, she almost lost her life. Don’t you know what?"
When Wendy gave birth to them, Michael was not by her side. He did not know how much Wendy had sacrificed while giving birth to these two children.
Jake’s words made Michael feel even more guilty. He had not fulfilled his responsibility as a husband and a father. He had only thought of having another child with Wendy but he had completely forgotten how big a sacrifice that would be for Wendy to have another baby.
"Daddy, Jake, why are you here?" Leah looked at them and smiled. "I’ve already finished washing the fruit."
"Good job, Leah," Michael forced a smile as he praised her.
"Let’s eat," said Leah. She had arranged the fruit on a platter but when her little hands tried to lift it up, she realized that she did not have enough strength to do so.
Michael saw this and swiftly gave her a hand, picking up the platter before he walked out.
"Wow! Daddy’s great!" Leah smiled and clapped, walking behind Michael.
Michael felt a mix of emotions at his daughter’s praise.
And then, while still holding the platter in one hand, he suddenly slapped himself with his free hand. Leah and Jake were very surprised.
"Daddy, why did you hit yourself?" Leah asked in surprise.
"Nothing." Michael was now regretting the fact that he kept wishing for Wendy to have another baby. He should not have had that desire. It was very obvious that the atmosphere at home was not quite right. Even Leah could tell.
After dinner, she slipped into Jake’s room and asked, "Jake, why do I feel that Mommy and Daddy are weird today?"
"I don’t feel that they are weird today," said Jake. He did not want Leah to think too much of it. Since Michael did not want them to know, Jake pretended that he did not know anything. "Nothing’s unusual."
"Really?" Leah frowned as she started thinking hard.
"Yup," Jake nodded his head and insisted. "Leah, go back to bed. We need to wake up early for school tomorrow."
"Okay," said Leah. She had always trusted her brother. Since he said their parents were not acting strange, then it must be so.
Leah waved and said, "Good night, Jake."
"Good night."
...
That night, Michael held Wendy to sleep as he always did. But he was careful not to put any pressure on Wendy’s tummy.
"Good night," said Michael as he kissed Wendy on her forehead, giving her a good night kiss.
"Good night," said Wendy. She closed her eyes as Michael watched. It took a while before Wendy finally drifted off to sleep.
She was having a dream. In the dream, there was an adorable little angel standing far away, waving at Wendy. He seemed to be calling out to her.
His smile was really cute but Wendy could not hear what he was saying.
But Wendy knew that he was saying "Mommy." Wendy happily ran toward him and wanted to lift him into her arms.
But just as Wendy reached him, that baby started to age. From a few months, to a few years old, to a teenager. Finally, the baby’s face became Clement’s. Wendy screamed in fright. The smile on her face was all gone.
The child with Clement’s face saw that Wendy had become unwilling to carry him, and so he started chasing after Wendy. She was so scared that she turned around and started running. "Stop chasing me, I’m not your mommy, I’m not!" She kept shouting in fear.
"Wendy..." Michael heard Wendy’s voice and turned on the light by the bed. He saw her head covered with sweat. He gently wiped the sweat away and hugged her. He was trying to comfort her, telling her that he was there with her.
"Wendy, don’t be afraid. I’m here," he said.
Wendy woke up from her nightmare, gasping for air.
"Michael, I..." Wendy swallowed hard. "I don’t want this baby, I don’t want..."
Wendy grabbed Michael and said resolutely, the fear apparent in her voice, "I don’t want this baby."
"Why? What did you dream about?" Michael asked, concerned.
"I dreamed that this baby grew up looking exactly like Clement," she said.
"That’s just a dream," said Michael. He hugged Wendy and patted her lightly. "Don’t be afraid, it was just a dream," he said in a gentle voice.
"It was just a dream?" Wendy muttered softly.
"Yes, it was just a dream," said Michael. He heard her breathing calm down and helped her to lie down and adjusted the blanket over her. "Don’t be afraid, I’m here with you. You won’t have nightmares again," he assured her.
"You had that dream because you were too worried and afraid. Don’t scare yourself.
Didn’t we agree to calm down and think through this carefully before deciding what to do about this baby? Don’t think too much yet, all right?" Michael kissed Wendy’s forehead to help her relax. "Go back to sleep. Everything will be better when you wake up tomorrow."
"But..." Wendy opened her mouth to say something but she did not know what else to say.
Michael’s hand continued patting her back gently as he tried to calm her nerves.
It was the wee hours of the morning and Wendy did not want to disturb his rest. She suppressed her feelings and closed her eyes. But even with her eyes closed, Wendy still could not go back to sleep.
After a while, Wendy opened her eyes. She was afraid of waking Michael, so she slipped out of his arms and sat up. She simply could not go back to sleep, and she was feeling very awful.
So she decided to stand on the balcony and feel the night wind blow on her face.
This will calm her down. She moved as quietly as she could so as not to wake Michael. However, she did not know that Michael could not sleep either.
