"One year, one second... You're still older." Tom raised his eyebrow and refuted Rain's opinion. He was so involved in the conversation that he ignored Duke.
"That's enough. Just shut up for a second!" Duke yelled at Tom and Rain. Tom made an irresponsible guess and left him floored. Rain was just no help at all. Both of them were annoying him.
At that point, everyone fell silent. This was the straw that broke the camel's back. Duke had just lost it, and no one wanted to be on the receiving end of that. They'd seen Duke angry, and they figured the best thing to do was to help him calm down. Daisy had no idea what was happening in the lobby. She smiled when she saw Belinda come out of the bathroom.
"What? Stop smiling like that." Belinda walked to the basin, washed her hands, and rinsed her mouth. Vomit tasted nasty on the best of days. Belinda didn't like Daisy's smile, though. She felt terrible right now, and thought Daisy was laughing at her.
When was the last time you had your period?" Daisy leaned on the wall and kept that knowing smile on her face. She was implying something with her facial expressions. But it was driving Belinda nuts trying to figure out what.
"What in the actual -- why do you ask? You think I can use it as an excuse to avoid Duke?" Belinda pulled a paper towel from the dispenser and dried her hands.
"You can use it as an excuse, but that's not why I asked. Did you use birth control every time you made love?" Daisy was trying to be calm, trying to act as a mentor. But she forgot how innocent she was when she was pregnant with Justin.
"No! What is wrong with you?" Belinda knew Daisy was implying something, but she didn't know what it was. She couldn't understand why Daisy asked her about that. And especially couldn't believe that she did in the first place.
"So you really don't know why I asked? Have you thought about what might happen if you don't use birth control?" Daisy asked again, as she saw Belinda's blank look.
Er! You mean..." Belinda's eyes went as wide as saucers, and she looked at Daisy as if she said something unbelievable. Belinda placed her hand on her belly. 'Could she be right? Am I...pregnant?'
"Uh huh. What do you think?" Daisy blinked her eyes. If Belinda was really pregnant, then she felt happy for her. And it was also a good thing for Duke, as he was aging. A baby would add a different dimension to their relationship, and they'd need to be ready for that.
I don't know. But it's been a while since I had my period. Do you really think I'm pregnant? It could be food poisoning. This was just a reaction to that." Belinda was a little thrilled at the possibility that she was pregnant. But she was more anxious because she was afraid that they were expecting too much. She and Duke hadn't really talked about kids, so she wasn't sure how he'd react.
"We don't know for sure. But you can buy a pregnancy test later to make sure." Daisy found Belinda's words funny. But she understood her. She helped Belinda brush her hair and straighten up. Daisy was pretty sure that Belinda was pregnant. After all, she had never seen Belinda have such a powerful reaction to fish.
"Er! What if I'm not pregnant?" Belinda asked hesitantly. She was afraid that things wouldn't turn out the way she wanted. And then where would she be? Would anything change between her and Duke?
"Then you'll just need to try harder! Don't worry!" Daisy answered, coming up and hugging her. Duke and Belinda were both young and healthy. It shouldn't be difficult for them to have a baby.
Alright. But don't say anything when we go in. I don't want to be called a liar," Belinda said, sucking in a deep breath. She agreed with Daisy. If she wasn't pregnant, she just needed to work harder. She'd get there someday. The best thing now was not to get everyone worked up over nothing.
"They've probably figured it out already. Don't forget Tom is there. He's the Einstein of the medical community. They might be talking about it right now." Daisy shook her head. She knew what a talented doctor Tom was. She admired him so much that he seemed like God. She hadn't imagined that a doctor was so skillful. But when she saw the miracles Tom was able to pull out of his hat, she was a believer. Tom was a genius.
But I can tell them that I ate something bad and just had to throw it back up. Even if Tom's a genius, he can only guess. He can't run tests on me in the lobby!" Belinda didn't worry too much about Tom being there. 'No one can be sure if I'm pregnant or not. If I stick with food poisoning, they'll have to believe me. They don't have any proof anyway,' Belinda thought to herself.
"Fine! But I'm not sure it'll work. By the way, I thought you cared about career more than family. I didn't know you wanted a kid. When did this happen?" Daisy looked at Belinda and asked out of curiosity. It had been too long since they saw each other last. Her friend was changing before her eyes.
Do you really think I enjoy being a tough woman all the time? I had no choice! I'm an only child! They made me take over the family business. If I'm really pregnant, it will be a perfect excuse for me to take some family leave and let Duke take over. He doesn't have enough to do anyway. He always seems to have so much time to just hang out while everyone else is busy working. I've worked too hard. If Duke can help, then..." She trailed off, not sure of what else to say. She was really tired.
"Oh! So that's what you think of your job. I thought so! I was wondering why you seemed so willing to be a mom after you got married. It wasn't a sacrifice. You had it all planned out," Daisy teased Belinda. But she got it. Daisy always felt stressed out when she went over Edward's business files. She had no talent for business. Her least favorite subject when she was a student was business management. No wonder Belinda wanted to get away from work. Sometimes, it just got to be too much.