“What to wear as in...when we go to Max and Matthew’s parents’ house?”
“Yes,” Becky said, fanning the steam with her hand. She looked over her shoulder to me when I didn’t respond. I was too worried about how Max’s parents and my parents were going to respond to my pregnancy. After all, we weren’t high school kids. We were responsible adults with careers. Maybe we’d messed up on the responsible part, though.
“Well?” Becky narrowed her eyes at me, assuming things. I knew her thoughts were correct, as usual. She knew me too well; it was as if she could read my mind. “I hope you’re not thinking about whether Max’s parents are going to approve of this early marriage and the baby. They already know Max proposed to you, and he told you they were happy about it. You even had dinner together.”
“I know,” I sighed lightly, handing her two plates. “They were happy about his proposal, but having a child before marriage...I’m worried about that. Knowing them, I’m sure they’ll be fine. I don’t know why I feel so nervous.”
After running cold water on the dumplings, she used a ladle to scoop them up and place them on the plates. “Not that many,” I said. “I’m still nauseous.”
Becky nodded in understanding. “I know why you feel so nervous.”
“Why?” My eyebrows arched, already knowing what she would say.
“Because...you are a good girl. Getting pregnant before marriage is frowned upon. It’s something an irresponsible person would do, and you’re not that at all. Somehow you see it as something you did wrong, and not Max. That is the kind of person you are. You’re putting the blame on yourself when the finger should be pointing at the both of you. To tell you the truth, nobody really frowns upon pregnancy before marriage any more unless you’re a teenager.”
I knew Becky was right, I just didn’t want to admit it. Taking the plates to the table, I said, “I know. Maybe you’re right.” I went back to the kitchen to get glasses of water and walked back out with Becky, who brought out a dish that she’d heated up in the microwave.
Becky put the dish on the table and sat down. “They call this Chinese broccoli. I love this vegetable.”
“I had that before with Max. I call them long, skinny trees. But they don’t look appetizing right now.”
Becky let out a short laugh and placed some on my dish. “Try...for the baby’s sake.”
“Okay, Mom,” I joked.
I didn’t know if she heard me. Suddenly, she looked at me as if she realized something that she hadn’t before. “You didn’t tell your parents, did you?”
I stabbed a fork through one of the dumplings, dipped it into the soy sauce, and took a nibble. “No, not yet. I wanted to see how his parents would respond first. My mom is going to want to know how they reacted. She’ll want to know that they have embraced the news so that it will make it easier for her to do the same. My dad is pretty easy going, so I’m not worried about what he will say.”
Becky took a sip of water and nodded. “I understand. I really do. Just don’t think that this is your fault and don’t think there is any fault to being pregnant. You told me before that you were so worried that you couldn’t. Well …” She swallowed the bite she’d just taken. “Embrace it. You’re supposed to be glowing. It’s not good for the baby to be sulking. Happy Mommy makes happy, healthy baby.”
“Thanks.” I smiled at Becky. She was right. I just needed to hear it.
“When’s the due date?”
“November. A week before Thanksgiving day.”
Becky’s eyes twinkled with delight. “See,” her tone went up a notch, “a Thanksgiving baby.” She let out a hearty laugh. “Even your baby is trying to tell you something.”
Smiling from her words, I looked down at my stomach, which would be growing soon. “Yes, my baby is.” I looked up at her again. Becky’s mouth was stuffed, chewing as fast as she could while trying to tell me something. Nodding, chewing, and pointing a fork in the air, she mumbled a few incoherent words. All I heard was “… dumplings are so good …”
I had to admit it, they were. After I nodded to agree, I spoke again. “I’m going to answer your question that you asked me earlier before you changed the topic. I think you should wear whatever you want. You’ll look beautiful no matter what.”
Becky’s head tilted in a shy manner with a smile, but it was more of a thank you gesture. She was never shy, or at least not that I knew of. When she finally swallowed, she asked, “What should we bring? This is my first time.”