Autumn is a second spring

10. Pregnant

"I have something to tell you guys," Sammy said with a bit of shyness.

Here three best friends looked at her weirdly. They were not used to seeing her looking shy.

The four of them Fluke, Prem, Earth and Sammy had gathered for their night out without their partners. Such nightouts were set up to refresh their bonds and gossip about their own lives.

Sammy bit her lip and placed an ultrasound on the table.

The three men looked at the ultrasound and then at Sammy.

Sammy nodded with a smile. "Four weeks."

"Wow, Sammy! Congratulations!" Earth was the first to react. He gave her a big hug and a smooch on her cheeks.

"Congratulations!" Fluke and Prem joined in the hug.

"You three are the first ones to know. I haven't told anyone else. Not even P' Ton." Sammy was happy and nervous at the same time. "I don't know how to tell him. Give me some ideas to surprise him, na"

"Just tell him directly," Prem said.

"That is so not romantic, bub." Sammy rejected the suggestion.

"How about you show him this ultrasound like you showed us?" Earth suggested.

"Nah" Sammy wasn't satisfied with the suggestion either.

"How about you buy a baby shoe and give it to him as a surprise gift?" Fluke took a big sip of his beer "Maybe over a dinner or something."

"My Flukie is the best!" Sammy loved the idea and she immediately hugged Fluke.

The other two just rolled their eyes at her.

"Guys help me plan everything!" She dragged her three friends to brainstorm with her.

After finalising the plans and placing the order for baby clothes and shoes online, Sammy was satisfied. That was when she realised that Fluke had been drinking more than usual.

"Fluke, is there something bothering you?" She asked with concern.

Earth and Prem also noticed Fluke's unusual behaviour.

"Well..." Fluke hissed "I too have something to announce."

He pulled out his wallet from his pocket, took out an ultrasound and placed it on the table, just the way Sammy did.

This time the friends' reaction was a little bit more exaggerated than the last time.

"Don't tell me P' Ohm got you pregnant as well!" Prem exclaimed examining the ultrasound.

"Fuck you, bitch" Fluke showed a mid-finger at his friend.

"Don't tell me you got someone else pregnant!" Earth's words were more like a statement than a question.

Fluke put down his beer with a guilty look.

"Who is it, Fluke?" Sammy questioned.

"Fame... She is two months pregnant." Fluke answered in a low voice.

"FAME???" The three friends exclaimed in unison.

Prem got up from his seat and walked up to Fluke and shook him up. "Fluke, what the fuck is wrong with you? Fame out of all people? How could you do this to P' Ohm?"

Fame was one of Fluke's admirers from their high school. She tried to kill herself on the day of her engagement when she realised that Fluke was actually in love with her soon-to-be-fiancee, Ohm.

The suicide attempt ended her in a coma state. Fluke, feeling guilty as the cause, had been taking care of her as her family had abandoned her.

Fluke squatted Prem's hands away. "I only donated alright! It was an IVF. Don't make it sound like I cheated on my boyfriend."

"She did IVF without your permission?" Earth had never liked Fame. He also disliked the fact that Fluke had been taking responsibility for her all these years.

"Actually, it is a long story"

"We three have all the time in the world to hear your so-called 'long story'" Earth folded his hands across his chest. One look at him and one could say that he was pissed.

"Alright," Fluke sighed knowing that all his friends were mad at him at this point and needed an explanation.

"As P' Ohm was not very happy about me taking care of her, I transferred her to the Taipei branch of our hospital. There, she started showing improvements and within about a year, woke up from the coma.

The doctors wanted her to undergo physiotherapy so that she could get back to her normal life. But she was unwilling to do so after all that happened to her. She even tried killing herself again by taking so many pills together in one go. Thankfully the nurse found her on time and rescued her."

"If she is so eager to die, then you should have let her," Prem commented nonchalantly earning a smack on his head from Earth. 

"Fluke, you continue." Earth looked at Fluke and said in a serious tone.

"So, to persuade her to take up the physio, I told her that I would fulfil one wish of hers other than being in a relationship with her. And she said that she wanted to bear my child." Fluke felt rather awkward at this point. "First, I thought she was joking but it turned out she wasn't."

"Then, you went ahead and signed the consent form and made the donation?" Earth asked.

Fluke nodded.

"Fluke, do you even know how P' Ohm is going to react to this news?" Earth was so angry that he wanted to give Fluke a good beating.

"I know!" Fluke groaned. "And that is exactly what I am worried about!"

"Wait! P' Ohm doesn't know that you made an agreement with Fame?" Sammy was sceptical.

"No. He doesn't even know that I am still in touch with her. He thinks that she was taken away by her family." Fluke answered.

"Bravo, Fluke!" Prem patted Fluke's shoulders dramatically. "You even hid such a big thing from P' Ohm!"

"P' Ohm gets jealous, alright! He never says it out but I know he hates me being in touch with her!" Fluke tried to defend himself.

"Then don't!" Prem sat next to him. "If you actually cared about P' Ohm's feelings you should have cut ties with her long ago, Fluke!"

"But she got in this situation because of-"

"Enough Fluke. Fame didn't get in the situation because of you. She got into this situation because she is a spoiled brat who doesn't understand what rejection means." Sammy stated in a clear voice. "You shouldn't have entertained her in the first place."

Seeing all his friends were against him, Fluke could only turn silent.

"What about Mist? What did she say?" Earth had built a bit of connection with Mist who was now Fluke's manager.

"She had no idea. Fame went behind our backs and got injected. She was as shocked as I am." Fluke replied.

"What does Mist have to do with this?" Prem frowned. 

Mist was also their high schoolmate like Fame. Mist and Fame had been really close and loved to irritate all three of them.

Even though they had a better impression of Mist after she started working for Fluke, they still had some prejudice against her.

"Fame got married to Mist last year" Earth answered with a sigh.

"WHAT??" Sammy and Prem were shocked.

Fame had been like a leech on Fluke from the day they met her. They couldn't believe that she got married, that too to another woman.

"She married Mist in Taipei last year. Homosexual marriage is legal there. So, Fluke flew over to bear witness to the wedding. He even dragged me along." Earth said massaging his temples.

He knew that the news of the pregnancy was going to do huge damage to OhmFluke's relationship. He had to think of ways to do damage control.