Her Asian Billionaire: A BWAM Pregnancy Love Story (7 page)

Hayley
looked at her and shook her head. “You need to catch up girl,
you are there!”

*****

It was
Christmas Eve and they had decided to do a sort of soup kitchen at
the restaurant. Rosa had asked for a contribution from her patrons
and had cooked for the people who lived on the streets and who come
from homes and for the orphans as well. She had started doing it last
year with reluctant permission from Jack and Sherry the owners but
she had persuaded them that it would be a good tax write off and they
had agreed.

Her
mother and Hayley always helped and this year John had told her he
wanted to be a part of it as well. He wanted to contribute too. Rosa
had been pleased and she had given him a soft kiss on the cheek.
“What was that for?” he had asked her.

“For
being you,” she had told him softly.

She
introduced him to her mother and they hit it off immediately and
several times during the evening she saw the two of them chatting and
laughing. He looked way too cute with a large white apron over his
black pants and black sweater and Rosa felt her heart skipping a beat
as he looked up and saw her looking at him. His eyes spoke volumes
and her breath caught in her throat as he swept her with a slow
lingering look designed to start the heat rising inside her.

It was a
huge success and as the people filed inside out of the cold, their
eyes lighting up at the sight of the food on the table, Rosa felt
herself smiling with pleasure.

Her
mother had made her famous fried chicken and sweet potato pies and
had also done a huge bowl of collared green and Cole slaw.

“I
like that young man of yours, he’s a keeper,” Joan Hurley
told her daughter when they were cleaning up later that night. The
food had disappeared fast and they had barely gotten anything to eat
themselves. It was a little after ten and Rosa was spending the night
with John and they were both going to her mother’s for
Christmas dinner. He had laughingly told her that he got the best of
both worlds, celebrating two Christmases.

“I
like him too mama,” she replied glancing over to where he was
talking to a homeless man in a shabby overcoat and tattered gloves.

Hayley
took her mother home and she went with John after promising her
mother that she and John would be there by four. She watched as he
pressed his expensive leather gloves into the man’s hands and
watched as the man bowed profusely before him in thanks. He really
was a keeper.

*****

The
atmosphere at her mother’s house was one of festivity. Hayley
had reached there before them and was in the kitchen helping her
mother put the finishing touches on the meal.

To her
surprise she had included roast pork and chicken chop suey on the
menu along with a very large turkey.

John
kept them fascinated with the different Chinese cultures and his
growing up as a child in a strict Chinese home and living in America.
Then it was time to open the presents and her mother smiled in
delight as she opened the various gifts she had gotten. Rosa had
given her a tan woolen coat, complete with gloves and scarf. Hayley
had gotten her a cookbook she had been wanting for a long time.
John’s gift left them all speechless. It was an ancient and
obviously expensive Chinese vase with a beautiful painting of a girl
sitting in the garden amid some of the most beautiful flowers they
had ever seen.

“I
will treasure this forever,” Joan Hurley said softly, going
over to give John a kiss on the cheek.

They
left shortly after and in the privacy of his apartment with the fire
blazing in front of them, he gave her his gift. It was a beautiful
red silk dress with mandarin collar and fine yellow stitching around
the waist; it was beautiful and soft to the touch.

“Thank
you, I love it,” she said softly, leaning over to kiss him.
They spent the night in front of the fire and drank glasses of wine
and slept right there on the soft throw rug.

*****

The New
Year came, with it freezing cold minus the snow and Rosa having a
little more extra time on her hands. It was always slow at this time
of the year and she used to opportunity to deal with her paperwork.
She had spent the time at her apartment even though John had insisted
that with the amount of time she spent at his place she might as well
just move in. Rosa had told him no and he had not taken it very well.

It was
the second week of January before she started feeling the signs. She
had gone into the kitchen to get herself some eggs before going to
work, her stomach started churning as soon as the scent of the eggs
hit her. She ignored it, chalking it down to her not eating properly
the day before. But it happened again when she was at the restaurant,
as soon as she went into the kitchen to talk to the chef about
something the smell of chicken kiev assailed her nostrils and her
stomach started churning. She ran to the bathroom and threw up what
little she had eaten in the morning.

She
leaned back weakly in the stall, feeling miserable and wondered if
she had come down with a stomach virus.

She felt
so sick she had to leave early to go home. She was huddled in bed
when John came over. He had called her and she had told him she was
not feeling well. He had told her he was coming over.

“What’s
wrong?” he asked in concern as he saw her huddled under the
sheet. “Are you coming down with the flu virus?” he
placed the back of his hand against her forehead.

“More
like the baby virus,” she laughed shakily, her breath caught on
a sob. She had not want to believe it. She kept telling herself that
it was a stomach virus but she had checked her calendar and realized
that she had not had her period for the last two months. She'd been
too busy to even notice. On her way home she had bought a pregnancy
test. When she had peed on the stick it had turned blue for positive.

“Excuse
me?” he stared at her frowning.

“I
think I am pregnant,” Rosa told him in despair. She had never
factored a child in her planning, it had always been: get her
restaurant up and running, then she would think about a family and
the worst part was, she was not sure if he wanted a child by her,
they had never discussed it.

“Are
you sure?” He was not jumping for joy so Rosa realized with a
sinking heart that it was not something he wanted to hear.

“As
sure as a pregnancy test can be,” she told him stiffly. Her
stomach was empty and she was feeling miserable and the thought of
food made her want to hurl. She did not have time for him to tell her
that he was leaving her.

“What
do you want us to do?” he asked her gently, seeing the
miserable expression on her beautiful face. He wanted to take her
into his arms and tell her that everything was going to be fine, they
were going to be a family but he knew that would not be totally true.
He did not know if she wanted a baby. His baby and he still had not
told his parents about her.

Her
heart jumped a little and she felt a flare of hope. He had said we,
so that probably meant that he was not going to leave her.

“I
don’t know,” she shrugged, turning her face away from
him, feeling the tears starting to trickle down her cheeks.

She felt
the bed move and realized he had come beside her and had pulled her
around and into his arms. He felt so solid and dependable that she
did not want him to let her go.

“Whatever
you decided I am here for you and I want you to know that I want us
to be a family but I want you to think about what this means. I am
here baby,” he used the pad of his thumb to wipe away the tears
from her cheeks. “I am here Rosa and I am not going anywhere.”

They
spent the night discussing the possibility of keeping the baby and
what it would mean.

“I
have something to tell you,” he said taking a deep breath,

“If
you are going to tell me that you are married and have some Chinese
wife and children stashed away somewhere then I am going to kill
you,” she warned him.

He
laughed in amusement and kissed her full on the lips. “I am not
married and I don’t have some Chinese children stashed
somewhere.” He paused and with a sigh he told her. “My
parents have planned my wedding since I was a child. I am supposed to
go back to China and marry some demure young Chinese woman fitting
for my station and raise a family together. I told you they are not
very tolerant about Americans but it’s more than that. I am
their only child and I am expected to carry on the tradition of
marrying a Chinese.”

“And
you have gone ahead and defied tradition by not only sleeping with an
African American without a college degree but also planting your seed
inside her.” She looked up at him with a slightly amused look
on her face.

“That
about sums it up,” he said softly. “I have no regrets and
I want you to know that you are the one for me, I love you Rosa.”

She went
still as she stared up at him. “John,” she breathed and
with a soft moan she pulled down his head and took his mouth with
hers. He spent the night at her place and made tender love to her,
whispering how much she meant to him.

*****

The
doctor confirmed the pregnancy. She was a little past four months and
she was given a date to come back for her next check up. She was
given some iron tablets to take and something for the constant
nausea. She had decided she wanted to keep the baby and was going to
her mother’s house to break the news to her. She knew her
mother would be happy because she had always wanted grandchildren and
was always saying that Rosa was going to let her die before she held
a grandchild in her arms.

John
went with her and they were sitting inside her mother’s warm
living room sipping herbal tea when Rosa told her the news. “Mama
we have some news,” Rosa placed the cup on the center table and
John reached for her hand. “I am pregnant.”

Her
mother stared at them in wordless delight, a smile spreading from ear
to ear. “I am going to be a Grandmama!” she exclaimed,
coming over to hug them both.

“You
finally got your wish,” Rosa said with a wry smile.

John’s
smile was a little forced as he watched the excitement on Rosa’s
mother’s face and realized that there would be no such reaction
on his own parent’s faces. He felt his heart sink to his shoes
as he knew the longer he took to tell them, the worst it was going to
be for him and he did not want them to say anything to ruin this for
him and Rosa.

She was
carrying his child, a child that had been conceived in extreme love
and passion, even though she had yet to say it to him. He could wait,
right now he just needed to concentrate on being there for her at
whatever cost.

*****

They
went to his apartment and he made her plain noodle soup to settle her
stomach. “Are you going to start spoiling me now?” she
asked him suspiciously as she sipped the liquid tentatively, the fact
that she had not been able to keep anything down made her very afraid
to eat.

“Of
course,” he told her seriously as he brought her some thin
water crackers. “So you better be prepared.”

She
stuck out her tongue at him and he laughed.

“When
are you going to tell them?” she asked him, looking at him
underneath her lashes. Her stomach had indeed settled down and for
that she was grateful. They were sitting in front of the fireplace on
the throw rug, he had not bothered to take up. The day had been gray
and cold and it was predicted that they would get snow tonight.

“This
weekend,” he did not bother to ask what she was talking about
because he knew; it was something that was uppermost in his mind.
“They are not going to approve Rosa,” he told her
honestly, wishing that he did not have to say that to her.

“But
this baby is going to be their grandchild,” Rosa cried, not
quite getting it.

“Culture,
heritage, lineage and pure blood line, that’s what they are
about Rosa and that’s the only thing that matters to them.”
He told her with a trace of sadness and Rosa’s heart went out
to him. She had grown up with little or nothing but had the love of
her parents and to her that was worth much more than extreme wealth.

“What
if I tried talking to them?” she suggested suddenly as the
thought hit her.

John
looked at her as if she had lost her mind and then shook his head.

“Oh
come on!” she exclaimed. “What do we have to lose?”

He
finally agreed and said he would talk to them over the weekend and
try to set up a meeting for her. “Don’t expect any
miracles Rosa; they are very hard nuts to crack.”

“Oh
sugar, so am I,” Rosa beamed pulling his arms open so that she
could slide in and rest her head on his lap. “Don’t
underestimate the powers of a pregnant mama,” she added with a
saucy grin. His face relaxed into an indulgent smile and he slid down
on the rug and took her into his arms to hold her close to him. It
did not matter what they said, he was never going to let her go or
let anything come between them.

The
weekend did not go well. John had called and told them that he had
something to tell them and they had told him to come over for dinner.

He had
always detested the dark and austere dining room and the formality of
every meal. No matter how simple the fare, they always had to sit
around the ten chair walnut dining table with only the chink of china
sounding in the room. Today was no better and in desperation, after
they were nearing the end of the meal, he told them. “I met
someone and I am in love with her.” The china had stopped
clinking so he guessed he had their full attention. His mother had
tried her best to give him little formal hugs but he had never
experienced a touch from his father.