Nothing Better (Than You) - English Vers.

¤ Chapter 22

"Eat a lot, Matilda. You look all bones," said Aunt Fanny, placing another piece of roast chicken on Nate's plate.

Nate responded with a smile. Aunt Fanny was always good at cooking. She never failed to make Nate gain weight every time she visited her house. Today, however, Nate didn't have much of an appetite. She felt nauseous every time she thought that she was planning to leave her husband today.

"Don't have an appetite, eh?" Aunt Fanny pointed at the untouched broccoli on Nate's plate. "Are you sick?"

"No, I'm fine." Nate replied.

"Or maybe..." Aunt Fanny leaned toward Nate. "Are you having pregnancy sickness?"

Julian, who was sitting beside Nate, immediately choked. He rushed down the water in his glass. "What does a lack of appetite have to do with pregnancy sickness, Aunty?" He asked in a hoarse voice.

"That's one of the signs that you're pregnant, honey." Aunt Fanny replied with a cheerful face. "You'll feel nauseous in the morning, or even when you smell something. Then your appetite decreases, or even increases. You also get your mood swings. You can be delighted, or dejected, or enraged. Everyone has different symptoms."

"Your aunt went through it all when she was pregnant," said Uncle Tim who was working in front of the grill. "She would be on the toilet for thirty minutes every morning. She would ask me to cook various dishes, but then spat it out a second later, and scolded me afterwards."

They laughed at Uncle Tim's story. Aunt Fanny placed a plate of fruit in front of Nate.

"Have you checked with the doctor?" Asked Aunt Fanny.

"No, we haven't. But, we're planning to have a baby. Maybe we'll check it out when we have time later," replied Julian.

"If it's a boy, I bet he'll be as mischievous as you," said Uncle Tim, hitting Julian's back who was laughing.

Nate couldn't enjoy the conversation. Her mind was filled with worry that Uncle Tim and Aunt Fanny would be disappointed if they found out that she had planned to leave their dear nephew behind. After they finished their lunch, Nate went to the sheepfold under the pretense of getting some fresh air. Aunt Fanny had a pretty big farm, they even sold milk from their dairy cows.

Nate pulled out her smartphone and tried to call Keith. She tried to contact him this morning, but no answer.

"Hello?" Keith finally answered after three attempts.

"Keith? Where have you been? Did you not receive my message?" asked Nate in a low voice.

"I'm sorry, Hun, I can't talk right now." Keith whispered. "I'm at the police station."

"What?" asked Nate in surprise.

"My friends and I went to a club last night. Then one of my friends got into a fight with someone who was drunk, so now I'm accompanying him. That person sued us, we don't accept his accusations."

Nate was stunned for a moment. "O-Okay. Let me know if anything happens. Sorry, I can't do anything for you."

"No problem."

The call ended. Nate felt even more worried now after hearing the news. She cursed Keith, who should have had nothing to do with what happened to his friend. However, considering that Keith had clearly mentioned that friends were everything to him—even more than his priority on Nate herself—she couldn't really say anything.

"What is it? Is there any problem?"

Nate put her phone in his pocket in a hurry when she heard Julian approaching her. "Nothing." She replied nervously.