Begin Again

Chapter 22

Leah looked at herself in the mirror. The two-piece bathing suit Clark had gotten her was beautiful but she still felt self-conscious about her body. It was just so far now from what it had been before.

"Wifey! Bilis!" Clark called from outside. "Ang sarap ng tubig!

Leah made her way out to the patio where Clark was already submerged in the jacuzzi. He grinned when he saw her, his eyes lighting up and, in that moment, Leah's insecurities melted away. He looked at her no differently than when she had her body before pregnancy, and that meant the world to Leah. He stood and took her hands, helping her step into the tub. When she took a seat on one of the benches Leah winced and rubbed her side.

"What's wrong?" Clark asked worriedly.

"Wala. Ang anak mo kasi, gustong gusto niyang humiga dito sa right side ko. Laging dito pumupunta."

Clark reached down and massaged the right side of Leah's belly, where they could see a small bump protruding.

"CJ, can you move a little bit? That doesn't feel good for Mommy."

Leah closed her eyes and relaxed, Clark's hands and the jacuzzi's bubbles soothing her. It took a few minutes but CJ moved, lessening the pressure on her right side.

"Okay na," she sighed. "Thank you, Hubby."

Clark sat beside and wrapped his arms around her, their hands and fingers intertwining. He sighed contentedly. "I'm so glad we're here."

"Dahil sa 'yo, Hubby," Leah said. "Thank you."

"We needed this. Some time for just us, away from work and from stress."

"Oo nga." Leah leaned back into him, feeling content. They were quiet for awhile, letting the pulsing water beating against their body relax them.

"Wifey, remember we talked about the San Francisco apartment and how it's too small for us now?"

"Oo, bakit? Iniisip mo nang ibenta? O di kaya pa-rentahan natin..."

"Actually..." Clark said. "I've been working on another surprise for you. It's an early anniversary present."

"Ano?"

"Remember Mrs. Mills moved out of her apartment to live with her daughter? I bought it."

"Ano?!" Leah sat up and looked at him, stunned.

"We can renovate, knock the wall down and make our apartment bigger," he said excitedly.

"Clark, teka lang."

"What's wrong? I thought you'd be happy. You didn't want to get rid of our apartment."

"Oo, pero bakit ka nag-desisyon ng ikaw lang? Hindi mo man lang sinabi sa akin!"

"It was a surprise..." Clark said in a small voice.

"Bumili ka ng apartment sa downtown San Francisco! Clark, ang laking gastos noon!"

"Okay, okay. But I didn't use our money, per se," Clark reasoned. "I sold the house in Tahoe."

"Ano?!" Leah shook her head and climbed out of the jacuzzi. She picked up a towel and wrapped it around her body.

Clark followed her into the cottage.

"Tita Jack gave me the idea. We're not using it, we can't rent it out because of all of my equipment. To be honest, it was always more of an indulgence than anything I really needed. I bought it because I wanted to get away. So it makes sense, right?" He asked hopefully.

"Buti pa si Tita Jack kinakausap mo tungkol dito."

"Leah..."

She rounded on him. "Clark, hindi ako nakikialam sa business mo. At alam ko sa iyo ang apartment sa San Fo at ang bahay sa Tahoe. Kahit naman bahay natin, ikaw ang bumili ng lupa at nagpagawa..."