Strings Attached (Sequel)

Small Surprises

January 20th

Faye Calinao

"So tiny..." I spoke softly as I looked onto the ultrasonography. Staring at the screen I stared at my little human being inside me. Relief had washed over me when we discovered there was one child and not twins. Lei and I went to the hospital where he made an appointment during our lunch time. Lei sat in a chair beside me while I leaned up on the bed as the nurse did my sonography.

The nurse explained to us I was about eight weeks along and my due date would be July 26th. She went over information both Lei and I needed to know and eventually we heard the first heartbeat. I looked away from the screen for a moment to look at Lei to see him filled with emotion. His mouth parted slightly as he stared at the screen and from the way he was looking, he genuinely wanted to be here.

"We should go shopping for the baby," Lei spoke calmly once the gel was cleared from my stomach and the nurse had left the room to receive the photos, pamphlets and papers. I looked towards Lei, surprised to see him with a neutral look.

"We don't... know the gender," I said lightly. There was still the discomfort of wrapping the idea that I'm having a child with Lei.

"We can look at the crib, books, furniture and some toys."

"Where would we-"

"We can have everything stay with me until we figure out where you'd like to have things. I thought... it would be nice to go shopping together."

"Ximen is going to freak out." My lips pressed to a thin line and worry immediately washed over me. Lei seemed to sense my worry and slowly sat forward in his chair and reached for my hand. His gentle touch made me instantly calm my nerves and I mentally frowned in confusion at how my body reacts one way.

"Yes..." Lei started off slowly. "He may be very angry with me. I wouldn't think he would be with you... because you currently don't remember."

"Maybe... I could be the one to tell him then." I could tell Lei wanted to avoid this topic. "He'd be maybe calmer if I was the one to tell him." Lei shook his head and sighed.

"I don't want you to worry too much about it. It's important for you to focus on school and be healthy for you and the baby. I will handle telling Ximen." I nodded and we heard a knock at the door. The nurse came in with a folder and an envelope before congratulating us and escorting us to the desk to fill out some paperwork. Me not allowing Lei to fill out the paperwork for me, Lei stood beside me as I answered the filling questions.

Towards the end of filling out the papers and handing them to the clerk, my phone vibrates in my coat pocket. Seeing it was Ximen I answered the phone and allowed Lei to lead me towards the elevator.

"Hi Ximen," I greeted.

"Hello Faye," I heard a calm and sophisticated sounding Ximen reply on the other end. "Where have you disappeared off to? I wanted to have lunch with you, but Gu Weiyi said you left physics early. Is everything alright?"

"I'm alright. I was feeling a little off and needed some air." I looked towards Lei and he turned towards me slightly wondering what was happening. "I'm... actually with Lei," I said the first thing that came to mind without alerting him.

"You're with Lei?" He questioned with a surprised tone. "You're speaking with him again?"

"Yes. We decided to head off campus for the rest of the day."

"Oh... you're not heading to the lab this evening?"

"Lei and I... are going to try and spend time together," I spoke awkwardly. To my tongue it felt foreign for me to say that. Lei looked towards me again as we waited to reach the ground floor of the hospital.