Seeing Debbie choke on the soup, Julie immediately picked up a tissue and cleaned the spilled soup on the table. "Why are you in such a hurry? Take your time," she said.
"Don't you guys try this on me again," Debbie cautioned, with a hand on her heart. Still a student, she had no plans to have a baby yet.
All of a sudden, she remembered something was not right—Carlos hadn't used a condom and she had forgotten to take her morning after pill.
Quickly, she gulped the soup and sent Carlos a text message. "Holy crap, old man! I didn't take my morning after pill. I don't know how I forgot that! Is it too late to take the pill now?"
Just before lunch, she had sent him a message asking about his WeChat account and he hadn't replied to it yet. But this time, his reply came immediately. "What pill?"
What was the name of the pill? She opened browser and Googled "emergency contraception". Scrolling down a few hits, she got it. Mifepristone! Quick as a wink, she copied the link, took a screenshot and sent him both.
Then her phone rang. "Debbie Nian, there are two things here. First, it's already too late for the morning after pill. Second, I want a baby. I mean, you and I should be getting desperate to have a baby by now, ' he said in a firm voice that made his intentions crystal clear.
"What?! But why?" Debbie asked in disbelief. Was he already desperate for a baby?
"Honey, listen to me." With the phone in right hand, he rubbed his arching brow with the left and started to explain. "Deb, we're a married couple. If you got pregnant, it wouldn't be something to tense about. Gladly, I'd personally want us to keep the baby. Understand?"
"But…but…" she stammered. She didn't know how to make Carlos change his mind. After a long pause, she found a lame excuse. "You want a boy. What if I gave birth to a girl? Will you ignore her then?"
Carlos was slapped hard in the face by his own words. In a flat tone, he said, "I can't afford to be choosy over some things. Whether it's a girl or a boy, I'd welcome the baby with open arms. As long as you're the mother."
"But I'm still a student!"
"College students can have babies."
"But… you want me to study abroad next year!" Debbie felt somewhat thrown off balance.
"If you got pregnant, I would go abroad with you."
"But… but…" She had run out of excuses.
"No buts. What you need to do now is not take after morning pill, but hopefully look forward to having you up the spout. In any case, I'll be there for you. In short, worry not!" he declared with finality.
"But…" Debbie came up with one more excuse. "But I'm only 21. I don't really think I'm mentally prepared… to be a mother…" The word "mother" was forced through with a muffled voice.
The misfortune of growing up without a mother had been hard enough for Debbie. Wouldn't she have a difficult time trying to love her own child, something she'd never personally experienced?
From her choked voice, Carlos could tell that something was not right. After some pause, he said, "If you really don't want a baby, I'll have to use protection from now on. But as for the pill, it's a no. I won't allow you!
For your own health, I'll strongly advise you to stay away from that stuff. It's not good for you."
The show of genuine concern in that line touched Debbie at heart. For a moment, she heaved a sigh, rubbed her tingling eyes and murmured, "Give me some time, okay? I'll consider your words. Maybe, a little more time will help me decide."
It was not because she disliked children, but that apparently, she wasn't mentally prepared yet. What would she do with a baby, at her age?
"Honey, just relax, okay? We only had sex for two nights, and you were in your safe days. Don't let it worry you so much. All the same, if you got pregnant, I'd personally take care of everything. Whichever way, you need to take it easy, okay?" he coaxed her.
"Er…okay…" At long last, his words began to take effect. In fact she was getting teary-eyed, just listening to him.
'Thank you, dad, for giving me the best husband in the world!
Dad, you know, I'm living a happy life now, ' she thought to herself.
In Carlos' class that afternoon, Debbie fixed her gaze upon the man standing on the podium, with one hand propped against her chin. The affection in her eyes made Jared's flesh creep. "I didn't expect a tomboy like you to fall in love with a man. Stop staring at your husband like that. I'm afraid that he would make out with you right here right now…"
Smack! Debbie slapped Jared on the shoulder.
'What a jerk! How could he say that in class?' Debbie thought.
She then realized that she was overreacting and immediately lowered her eyes to look at the book, as if nothing had happened. But it was too late. While she had been staring at Carlos, many in the class had noticed him watching her as well.
Clearing his voice, Carlos turned to Jared and said, "The chap at the back of the second line to my left. Please stand up and answer the question."
Everyone turned to look at Jared. He cursed inwardly, 'Damn it! So Mr. Huo is avenging his wife?'
While he rose slowly from his seat, he heard Carlos add, "Please tell us what you've learned so far."
'What's he up to?!' wondered an incredulous Jared.
Watching him struggle for an answer, Debbie giggled with mischief.
Jared turned to Dixion for help, but the latter looked away as if he didn't get his point. Jared pretended to clear his voice, but the exaggerated manner had the class in stitches. Eventually, he excused himself, "I'm sorry, Mr. Huo. I think my memory…"
Determined, Carlos cast him a cold glance and ordered, "Stand there. The girl sitting next to him, please stand up and answer my question."
The girl sitting next to him? Sitting on Jared's right side was a boy, and the girl sitting next to him… Debbie Nian?!
'Holy crap!' Debbie cursed quietly as she stood up. All through, her mind had wandered off to fantasies of her nights together with Carlos.
"What is AIP short for?"
Carlos' question surprised everyone in the class. 'Seriously? Such a simple question?'
Any jerk taking Financial at the university could answer that straight if woken out of sleep.
For a moment, Debbie had to suppress her laughter. Why was he using kid gloves on her? Anyway, she answered proudly, "AIP is short for automatic investment plan."
"Good!" Carlos praised her with a smile. The shallowness of the whole question made Jared curse. 'Come on, dude! Give us a break! Stop displaying how much you're crazy about Debbie when we are here!'
But if he thought the question was infuriating, Carlos' next words were even worse.
"Since the girl has bailed you out, will you please dance for her after the class? You can only stop dancing when she laughs," Carlos told Jared. Debbie couldn't stifle her laughter.
'At this rate, are we getting anywhere with our classwork?' she wondered.
The ridiculousness of the whole thing elicited quite some giggles and ripples.
Jared's face was as dark as ink. 'Carlos Huo, you jerk!'
As if it weren't enough, Carlos continued, "Well, if you can't dance for her, then you should see me in my office after the class."
Jared had no other choice. "Mr. Huo, I choose to… dance for Debbie," Jared said through gritted teeth, which sent the class into a hysterical bout of laughter.
When class ended, Carlos picked up his stuff, and pointing at the blackboard said, "Jared Han, you are a tall guy. You clean the blackboard."
Jared's jaw dropped.
'Again? Seriously? Did I owe him a million dollars or something?' he cursed in his mind.
Debbie propped her hand against her chin and looked at Jared who was cleaning the blackboard with a long face.
Kasie and Kristina approached Debbie and winked at her. "Tomboy, your husband is so caring."
Debbie flashed a sweet smile and said, "To be honest, I can't believe it myself. I really don't like him to dote on me like that, even using kid gloves on a hardened soul like me."
