25. Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Five
Young Jae
T he animal shelter is busy for a Saturday and I hope Pepper is still there. I heard Elise crying over her again last night and she only met the dog a few days ago.
The doors are propped open, a couple in front of me asking about small dogs. Brynne is at the counter, but she sends them back to where Adeline must be working.
When she sees me, she grins. “Let me guess, Pepper?”
Laughing, I stride to the counter. “How’d you guess?”
“Just a hunch. I already put her as pending. You don’t look at a dog the way Elise looked at Pepper and not come back.” She motions for me to follow her. “I already pre-filled most of the paperwork. It’s a requirement for accounting otherwise I wouldn’t bother.”
We stop outside a cage and the smallest little fluffball comes scurrying over. “Elise wasn’t exaggerating. She is tiny.”
“She’s almost six weeks old, small for her breed because she lacked the nutrients she needed until she was found. But she has a clean bill of health.” Brynne opens the cage, gingerly lifting Pepper and handing her over to me.
“Isn’t she a little young to be adopted?” She barely weighs anything.
“She’s eating solid food and everything checks out. She will flourish in a home environment better than here.” Brynne gives Pepper’s nose a tiny boop and she tries to bite her finger.
Shoes echo on the concrete floor and we turn to see Adeline.
“Young Jae? This is a surprise.” She looks at Pepper, her eyes widening a little.
“I want to surprise Elise. You know she hasn’t been feeling well lately, and I thought snuggling with a puppy on each side would help. Kimchi would love a friend too.” Brynne excuses herself, her expression neutral.
Elise was right about that too—the woman is a vault. You would never guess she knows about the pregnancy.
“She’s going to love her.” Adeline gushes, leading me back to the front. “I know she hasn’t been well. She said she has a parasite.”
Coughing back a laugh, I cover my mouth and pretend I’m clearing my throat. “Oh yeah, she should feel better soon.”
Adeline takes the paperwork Brynne has ready and hands it over, pointing out where I need to fill out info and sign.
I pay the adoption fee and say goodbye before heading out.
Getting home, I carefully introduce Kimchi and Pepper. Kimchi looks huge compared to Pepper, but after a couple sniffs and Kimchi accidentally knocking Pepper over, they start playing.
I watch closely, but Kimchi tones her energy down, seeming to realize how delicate her new sister is.
When the front door opens, I’ve just settled the two of them down for a nap. Picking up Pepper, I tell Kimchi to come and we walk to greet Elise.
She doesn’t notice the small dog in my hands, bending to say hi to Kimchi. As she stands and catches sight of the gray bundle of fur, she gasps.
“Really?” Her words are choked, and I see her eyes glistening.
Hiding my smirk, I hand over the dog. “I could tell how much she imprinted on your heart and couldn’t imagine not bringing her home. Happy pregnancy gift. Is that a thing? If not, it should be.”
She tucks herself into me, snuggling Pepper, a wriggling bundle of fur, trying to lick Elise all over. “I’m so happy. Good thing we have like eight months to train her before the baby comes.”
We laugh and head into the living room to snuggle our fur babies.
“By the way, it would have been nice to get a warning that you told Rae and Adeline that you have a parasite. I almost choked on my tongue, which should be impossible when you’re conscious.” Giving her my best glare, I can’t hold it in when she starts laughing.
“I totally forgot I said that. It’s kind of true though. The baby is surviving on me and my nutrients. Including the calcium in my bones. I just read that today.” She shudders a bit. “I think I’m going to stop reading about it so much. Pregnancy is kind of gross when you really explore all it does to my body.”
Shaking my head, I chuckle. “I guess you’re right, but can we find some other name for the baby other than little parasite?”
“Aww, c’mon. LP is kind of funny. It could be an inside joke.” She smirks, her eyes dancing with humor.
“Fine. It seems wrong, but it’s funny.”
The rest of the week passes in a blur, Elise crashing every night as the first trimester exhaustion continues to hold her hostage. It’s hard, not spending the same amount of time with her, but I know she needs to rest, so we make the best of the time we have.
I’m in the kitchen prepping for our guests when Elise comes downstairs wearing a flowy dress, her hair pulled back into a couple braids. She looks a little pale and I don’t think it’s from having our friends over.
“You okay?” I bring her some orange juice, her most recent craving.
She sighs. “No, the nausea is bad today. But nothing a few saltines shouldn’t take care of. I forgot to snack today, so I think my stomach is just a bit too empty.”
Turning, I head back to the kitchen and grab her box of crackers. Handing them to her as the doorbell rings, I pull her in for a quick hug. “Eat. I will let them in. It’s going to be great.”
I decided on barbequing since the smell of raw meat makes Elise’s nausea worse. It’s also a good chance to get outside while the weather is good.
Opening the door, I greet our friends. They all have different goodies in their arms. Beer, wine, a cake, and Adeline is holding a bag of treats for the dogs.
“Where’s the new puppy?” Rae asks, searching between everyone’s feet.
Elise comes in, holding Pepper. “Here she is. I didn’t want her to accidentally get stepped on.”
Rae swoons over Pepper, cooing as Elise hands her over. “Oh my gosh. Aren’t you just the tiniest thing?” We all head into the house, chatting noisily as everyone catches up, pouring drinks and handing them out.
As Adeline goes to hand Elise a glass of wine, she takes it, but doesn’t drink. Her eyes meet mine and she nods.
“So, we invited you over for an end of season barbeque, but also because we have some news,” I start.
Elise licks her lips, focusing on Adeline and Rae. “I’m pregnant.”
It’s so quiet, you can hear the fridge whirring before the room erupts.
We’re surrounded by excited congratulations, and I watch as Rae and Adeline envelop Elise in a hug, with nothing but pure joy on their faces. They hug her and when she meets my gaze, I see happiness radiating from her expression. The last of her hesitation is gone as she starts talking about morning sickness and feeling exhausted.
We have a blast with our friends, eating and talking about how much life has changed. Brynne joins us later after the shelter closes and we celebrate the fact that our little group is growing.
***
The next day we head to my parents for a family dinner. Elise’s hands twist in her lap as we pull into the driveway, the last ones to arrive.
“They’re going to be ecstatic, don’t worry.” Reaching over, I squeeze her hand.
She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes.
I get out of my car and round it to open her door, taking her hand. She’s squeezing so tight I’m pretty sure I’m losing blood flow.
We walk in, and my family sits in the living room chatting. It sounds like things are going well at Ji Hoon’s shop and they should be ready to open before the new year.
Elise puts her shoes away, slipping on some slippers before we head toward the chatter.
“You’re here!” Ari jumps up, running over to Elise. The two have grown closer since Elise helped get my parents on track to retire. I can only imagine how thrilled Ari will be when we tell them the news.
She drags Elise to the couch and proceeds to talk her ear off about their collaboration.
I give my mom a kiss on the cheek before greeting my dad and brother.
Ji Hoon updates me on what he was sharing. “We finally got our estimates back and booked the contractor—yes, we’re using Owen. He’s going to start in two weeks once his current project wraps up.”
It’s not long until dinner is on the table and Ari is going around pouring wine into glasses. When she gets to Elise, Elise covers her glass and politely declines.
Ari’s eyes narrow and then, “Oh my god, you’re pregnant!”
The entire table freezes, their eyes flying to me and Elise, who looks like she wishes she could melt on the spot.
Reaching under the table, I rest my hand on her bouncing knee. “Well, thanks for that Ari.”
She slaps her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide as I don’t deny it.
“But you’re right. Elise is pregnant. We just found out. She’s due in May.”
The table erupts into excited chatter. My mom sits quietly, but I can see the sheen in her eyes.
When everyone finally quiets down, Elise looks to my mom, her expression more relaxed, but still a little worried at my mom’s silence.
“Elise, you have made us so happy. Anything you want or need, you tell me and we will help. And if you want any special food, you tell me and I will cook.” I’ve never seen my mom smile the way she is currently smiling at Elise. My mother has always wanted to be a grandmother, and I think she lost hope at some point.
Now that hope is a reality.
“Gamsahamnida.” Elise thanks her, the tension gone and pure joy radiating from her.
It doesn’t take long for the entire town to find out. The excitement is palpable as people stop Elise to ask her how she’s doing. I run into Jake a couple weeks after the news breaks and he just turns and walks away. He knows he’s at fault for what he lost, hopefully he learns from this and can move on.
As for me, I can’t imagine being any happier.