Divorce : This is a Trivial Matter

50

June was upon them, and the weather was getting hotter and hotter. Lisa gazed longingly at the iced watermelon juice in Teacher Yao's cup, only able to stand to one side and drool.

"Don't look, Teacher Lisa. Pregnant women can't drink something so cold."

It was Teacher Wang, the class teacher for Class 2, Grade 5, who had been on three months of maternity leave. Having sat at home all that time, she returned to school full of energy. Lisa, who had been acting class teacher, had abdicated with honour.

As soon as she got back, Teacher Wang learned about Lisa’s pregnancy. Having been relieved only recently from her own suffering, she could hardly wait to share her pregnancy experience with Lisa. She had even summarized them into a Word document, printed it out onto A4 paper, and pasted it onto Lisa’s desk.
Lisa glanced sideways at <Three Prohibitions, Ten Don'ts>, and huffed. Indeed, there seemed to be one saying "don't eat things that are too cold".
Teacher Yao polished off the tempting watermelon juice in one gulp, smiled at Lisa in a refreshing watermelon way, and headed off to class carrying her English textbook.

Lisa sprawled listlessly over her desk and let out a huge sigh. Pregnant women were also human beings! Pregnant women also had human rights! At home, Professor Jeon managed everything from the East to the West, and at school she had to abide by Teacher Wang's <Three Prohibitions, Ten Don'ts>. Couldn't you all give a woman a way out?!
 
The days passed by, neither fast nor slow, as Lisa endured humiliation for the sake of responsibility. In mid to late June, accompanied by Jungkook, she went to the central hospital for a checkup.

Her doctor was still that young lady doctor from last time. Lisa’s indicators were normal. She gave them a brief explanation, then had them put together a card to be checked every month.

When they got out of the hospital, Jungkook did not ferry her back home, but instead drove in the direction of Starlight Plaza. Gazing at the towering department store before her eyes, she asked, "What are we doing here?"

"Don't you want maternity dresses? It'll be inconvenient to go once you're very heavy, so let's buy them now."
Lisa: "..."

She was only three months along, why buy maternity clothes so early?! She didn't want to wear maternity clothes!

Jungkook completely ignored her accusing eyes, taking her by the hand and dragging her into the mall. A famous brand in Xingguang Department Store sold maternity clothes, and he brought her directly there.

Lisa had a preconception of maternity clothes as being ugly, oversized bags, lacking in both style and colour. Just imagining her pregnant self wearing such things challenged her sense of aesthetics.

But upon entering the store, she found that she had vastly misjudged maternity clothing.

The items in the store were not at all inferior to the most popular of fashions, whether in style or colour, and there was an enormous variety. From casual wear to business clothes, from dresses to home clothing and even evening gowns, more glittering things filled the eye than she could take in.

The shopping guide was exceedingly enthusiastic and professional. Having taken one look at Lisa’s current style of dress, she knew immediately that her new customer was a lover of beauty. She recommended several of the most popular styles and colors that year based on a rough projection of Lisa's figure.

As Lisa chose clothes, she listened to the guide talk about the differences in fabric and design between maternity and ordinary clothing, and in the end became so excited that she could hardly wait for her tummy to swell so that she might wear them and parade around.

Upon returning home heavily laden, Lisa tried on all her new things in her full-length mirror, showing them off to Jungkook once again, as excited as a primary school student carrying their brand new schoolbag on the first day of school.