LOVE YOU, UNCLE

Randy glanced at the circular watch on his left wrist, feeling uneasy. He was both hopeful and worried that he might be late to pick up Ghea and then take his wife to a dinner event with the extended Walters family.

It required extra persuasion to make his wife agree to attend the dinner tonight. It wasn’t because Randy had any issues or objections to what his wife wanted to do. Since Ghea entered the last month of her pregnancy, she became the type of woman who preferred to stay at home, lounging in her room while enjoying snacks and watching Korean dramas.

Actually, Randy had no problem with whatever activities Ghea wanted to engage in. As long as Ghea was happy, he was fine with it. It’s just that sometimes it became a bit troublesome for him. Due to her extreme laziness, Ghea often refused to go anywhere.

“Darling… I’m sorry I’m a bit late. The traffic on the toll road was really bad.”

Upon arriving at the house to pick up Ghea, and now that his wife was already in the car, Randy quickly apologized. He was afraid that being 10 minutes late might drastically change her mood.

“It’s okay,” Ghea replied shortly.

She said it’s okay, but Randy could hear the clear annoyance in her tone. Moreover, Randy knew that when a woman said “it’s okay,” it usually meant the opposite. Right?

While driving, Randy turned to Ghea. He took her wrist and gave it a kiss.

“Don’t be angry, honey. Seriously, I didn’t mean to be late. The traffic was really bad.”

“Yeah, I know,” Ghea replied with a pout. “That’s why earlier, I offered to follow Uncle to the office, right? So that we wouldn’t be late, and after work, we could go straight to Grandpa Anthony’s house.”

Randy took a deep breath. It was his fault because when Ghea offered to follow him earlier in the day, he declined. But, not without reason, Randy had discouraged Ghea from following him.

“I intentionally discouraged you so you wouldn’t get tired waiting for me at work. Besides, at the office, I was worried you wouldn’t get enough rest. If you were at home, you could wait for me and relax.”

“Well, if you knew there would be traffic, Uncle should have picked you up earlier.”

Oops, Randy made a mistake again.

“Anyway, nothing I did this afternoon was right. But ever since entering the third trimester, Ghea’s mood has been up and down. Fortunately, Randy is patient. He’s also very caring. If he weren’t the type of guy who likes to give in, they might argue every day.”

“Yeah, I apologize. I was wrong. Next time, I won’t be like this again.”

Randy spoke as gently as possible. Anyway, he didn’t want to provoke Ghea’s anger and make her mood plummet. It wouldn’t be funny if, in the middle of the road, she insisted on going home because of a tantrum.

“Okay, I forgive you. But there’s a condition.”

There you go, as Randy said. It’s not easy to win over his wife’s heart. There’s always a condition attached.

“What condition, dear? Please, nothing weird,” Randy pleaded. In his heart, he prayed. Hoping Ghea wouldn’t make any strange requests.

“After we return from the dinner event, I want to be accompanied eating ice cream while watching Korean drama. Basically, Uncle must accompany me until it’s finished. Tomorrow is a holiday anyway.”

Randy quickly nodded in agreement. It was fine for him to stay up late accompanying his wife watching dramas. For Randy, it was better to watch a movie he didn’t understand than to risk Ghea being angry and not speaking to him for days. That would be more dangerous.

“Okay, deal. After the event, we’ll stop by the supermarket to buy ice cream and snacks.”

Ghea smiled broadly. She was delighted that her request was immediately granted.

After arriving at Anthony Walters’s residence, Randy first escorted Ghea to meet her mom and the other female cousins. Making sure Ghea was safe and peaceful, he then joined the male cousins who were busy grilling meat in the backyard.

“I thought you wouldn’t come tonight.”

Darwin immediately addressed Randy. While brushing barbecue sauce on the pork belly he was cooking, he waved, inviting Randy to come closer to where he was standing.

“How could I not come? Do you want Mama to scold me for a whole week in a row?”

“And where’s Ghea? Did you go with her?” Kennedy, who was also there, asked. She knew about Ghea’s recent difficulty in being persuaded to leave the house.

“I’ve handed Ghea over to her caretaker,” Randy replied casually. “She’s with Mom and the other ladies.”

Randy looked up, then glanced at Rama, who was also there that night.

“How’s Korea, Ram? Everything okay?”

Rama nodded casually.

“So far, so good. If it wasn’t safe, how could I visit here?”

“Then, where’s your future wife? Aunt Liliana said you’re going to marry a member of Blackpink.”

“A Blackpink member? What nonsense. Rama’s taste is not in younger leaves anymore. He’s busy with his secretary, the widow.”

Kennedy immediately pinched Darwin, who seemed relaxed in speaking. He was such a gossip. His behavior was 11:12, very similar to Randy.

“What’s wrong, Ken? Don’t pinch me,” Darwin protested.

“Your mouth, Darwin. You speak without thinking.”

“It’s called Darwin,” Randy chimed in. “He behaves like a woman. Loves to gossip about people.”

“I don’t gossip!” Darwin defended himself. “I’m just reviewing people’s habits and behaviors. Besides, what I just said isn’t gossip. It’s the actual facts. Right, Ram?” Darwin expressed, looking towards Rama.

“Yeah. Do as you please,” Rama replied coolly. Known for being the most indifferent and cool, he responded casually. He didn’t like it when his personal matters became public consumption, even among his own cousins.

“So, how about Ghea, Ran? Is she not having any relapses?”

After a brief silence, Kennedy took over the conversation again. Instead of feeling awkward, she chose to discuss Randy and his wife. After all, Kennedy knew that her complex life right now was Randy and Ghea.

“So far, no. And she better not. I’m tired, Kennedy. Honestly, dealing with her random behavior sometimes wears me out.”

“Just like Luna when she was pregnant,” Kennedy added. “I’ll never forget the night Luna cried and begged to be taken to Seaworld just to see how the fish sleep.”

Darwin chuckled. Grateful that of his two cousins, only Velove behaved quite normally during pregnancy.

“That’s nothing, Ken.”

Randy then took the stage. With a serious face, he began to tell the tale of his experiences dealing with Ghea during her pregnancy.

“As you know, there was this one time when I have no idea what happened to Ghea, or what kind of dream she had. She suddenly woke up and started crying.”

“Why was she crying?”

“She said she had a bad dream. In her dream, she saw me cheating. As a result, for three days, she didn’t talk to me. She even told me to sleep outside.”

Darwin burst into laughter, thoroughly enjoying Randy’s torment.

“Just being asked to sleep outside the room is normal, Ran,” Darwin teased intentionally.

“Not only that, Win. Do you know? Ghea once had a completely random craving. Imagine, I came home from work tired, expecting some love and pampering. Instead, she gave me a strange request.”

“What strange request?”

“She suddenly wanted to go on a weekend trip to the beach. Since I thought it was easy, I agreed. Little did I know, she wanted to go to a beach in Africa. She said she wanted to swim with hippos and zebras released in the wild.”

“Hahahaha, she’s crazy.” Kennedy and Darwin burst into laughter again. Randy’s cousin seemed to have quite a fate.

“So, did you agree?”

“No, of course not. Crazy, right? If you want to go to the beach, Ancol is right there. No need to go all the way to Africa.”

“So, you rejected Ghea’s request?”

Randy nodded.

“I refused. But it still didn’t go smoothly. Because I refused, I faced consequences.”

“So, Ghea punished you?”

Randy nodded again.

“Yes. Because I rejected her request to go to Africa, that night she made me sleep not in pajamas but in a bikini.”

“What? Isn’t that wrong?”

“Yes, Win. You heard it right. Just imagine. I had to sleep in Ghea’s bikini. I swear I caught a cold the next morning.”

Once again, laughter erupted from Kennedy and Darwin’s lips. It was quite pitiful for Randy, who seemed to be at the mercy of Ghea’s fate.

“Fortunately, I love her. Otherwise, I would have left a long time ago. Her requests are really strange,” complained Randy, shaking his head.

After finishing the story, Randy and the other cousins enjoyed the dinner together. While savoring the various dishes, they exchanged stories with each other.

“Sis…” Ghea whispered during the meal.

“Yes, dear. What do you want?”

Ghea nodded. Her face clearly showed a grimace, as if she was trying to endure some pain.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

“Can you take me to the hospital now? To where? To the hospital? Why?”

“Hmm… I think I’m about to give birth,” she replied, trying to sound casual. “My stomach is really feeling the contractions.”

“What? Are you giving birth?”

Randy’s loud exclamation immediately caught the attention of everyone at the dining table. Just as panicking, they all escorted and accompanied Ghea to the hospital.

***