Thirty One

Book:Rich Love Published:2024-6-2

She went downstairs the next morning, feeling more energized than she had been the past week. She wanted to try to dip her hands on the breakfast buffet, see if her appetite was getting better. And also, she was planning to sneak out to the conservation and have a day out in the sun.
She grabbed a plate and got herself some salad and smoked salmon, she went to the egg station for some omelette, took a piece of sourdough and spread it with cream cheese. It tasted good in her head.
She chose the seat in the corner by the coffee and tea. Poured herself a cup of black coffee, sat down and took the first bite.
“Why are you here?” a deep soothing voice startled her. He stood towering next to the table, pulled a chair and sat down in front of her.
Her mouth was still opened, the sourdough hadn’t even reached the tip of her tongue. “I’m having breakfast … keeping myself nourished, right?” she bit on her bread.
He looked at the bowl of salad and her cup of coffee. “Salad and coffee? You know you shouldn’t be eating raw vegetables and caffeine, right?”
She knew about the coffee, not so much about the veggies, “Vegetables are good and sour dressing is good, it doesn’t make me want to vomit.”
“Raw vegetables are prone to salmonella, you can’t eat it, you have to eat cooked ones and change to decaf, please,” he put up his hand and called out for a waiter to take away the bowl of salad, changed it to soup.
She held on her coffee cup, “Oh no … you should just kill me right now if you think I’m switching to decaf … I’m serious, Gabriel, you are not making me stop my coffee.”
Gabriel looked at her exasperated, “You can’t drink coffee while pregnant.”
“Yes, I can, and I will … one cup a day … that’s all I ask,” she slapped his hand to let go of her cup. “Let go of my coffee … What are you doing here anyway? Don’t you have important meetings to attend to or something? Or are you just going to make it a new habit to check on my diet every meal time?”
“Have you been taking your vitamins? You should be doing some research on how to care for the growing fetus inside you, that way you’ll know what food and drinks to take and what not to.”
“It seems like you’ve been doing that for the both of us … I’d rather go back to work, I’m going to the beach after this,” she chewed on her food.
Gabriel glared at her, he almost didn’t blink, and then he blinked once.
“What? I’m fine … you can’t keep me in my room forever, I have things to do, I’m going to the conservation and the beach,” he repeated her intentions to get a reaction.
He thought for a moment, took a deep breath, “Fine … I’ll get someone to go with you, you’re not going out there alone.”
“What? Why? Are you scared I’m going to run away or something? Relax, Gabriel, I won’t do anything like that.”
“You need an aide, to make sure you stay hydrated, eat on time, remember the last time you went to the beach?” He took his phone and dialed a number.
“Jeez … I’ll be fine, I’m not used to being followed around everywhere, it makes me feel like I have to keep him entertained or something, it’s cruel to have someone waiting on you and ignore him completely … and I don’t have time to make conversations with him.”
“You don’t have to make conversations with him, he’s a very professional aide, I won’t be needing him anyway, it’s better that he keeps an eye on you.”
“But …”
“This is not a negotiation, Jamie!” he was losing his patience. He spoke on the phone with Melvin, told him to come to the dining hall and hung up. “It’s either Melvin or your coffee? No Melvin, no coffee, make your choice.” He was serious.
“Urgh … fine.”
“Thank you,” he stood up to greet Melvin at the front of the restaurant, gave him his instructions and left.
**********
Melvin turned out to be a sweet gentle giant. He stood a few feet away from her in his suit and tie, really dark sunglasses, an earpiece hanging from his ear to the back of his jacket. He carried an umbrella, tried to shade Jamie under it every time he got the chance. He was sweating profusely, can’t imagine how warm it is under his wardrobe.
He carried a bottle of water and offered her to drink every once in a while. He kept his expression straight and fierce, but whenever he spoke to Jamie, the sweetest smile bloomed across his face. She felt bad from having him following her around all day, especially in an outfit that was totally inappropriate for the beach.
“Maybe you can ask Mr. Love is you can wear something lighter tomorrow, Melvin, I will be out on the beach all day, everyday … I don’t want you to blackout from the heat,” she told him.
He nodded, “Certainly ma’am.”
“Okay … if we’re going to do this, don’t call me ma’am … I hate it when people call me ma’am.”
“Apology, Ms. Knox,” he slightly bowed his head.
“Jamie … just Jamie, ‘kay Melvin? We’re going to be friends here,” she needed one too now that she’s estranged from Perry and the only friend she had in Bhorma was shifting into an overprotective father to be of the secret baby that no one suppose to know.
Melvin smiled and nodded, he was still in an awkward phase. As the sun got higher, Jamie took off her shirt, it was soaked with sweat. She was wearing her bikini top underneath it and she smeared sunblock all over her upper body. She hung her shirt on Melvin’s arm, “Sorry for this, it’s too short to be around my waist.”
“Would you like me to put this in the laundry … Jamie?”
“No, it’s fine, just hang it up somewhere, I’ll use it again later when it’s dried … thanks Melvin.”
Melvin looked away because her swelling boobs were distracting.
She didn’t realize that her body was slowly changing. Other than the nausea, she felt pretty much the same. After being pregnant for eight weeks, the first visible change was her swollen breasts. She felt the aches but didn’t notice they were bigger than they used to be. They filled up her bikini top and touched in her cleavage and she was starting to show her pregnancy glow.
“Did you lose your shirt?” Gabriel noticed them too when he came to check on her before sunset.
Melvin quickly ran to get her shirt under the shed when he heard his boss’s comment.
“It’s hot, Gabriel.”
“You could’ve worn something else than just a bra.”
“It’s a bikini top … not a bra.”
He rolled his eyes, “It looks like a bra.”
“Because it has the same function, to cover my boobs,” she cupped both her breasts and shook them.
Melvin arrived with her dried shirt, Gabriel looked away.
She took the shirt and put it on, “Happy now?”
He didn’t reply.
“I’m done here, thanks Melvin, you’ve been wonderful … I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said and left them at the beach.
“Should I follow her, Sir?”
“No … that’ll be all for today, thanks Melvin.”
“Very well, Sir.”