Mystified Warmth

The giant balloon in the center blast off, then pieces of blue confetti spreads throughout the place. Everyone cheered and congratulates the couple. Both Christine and Ethan’s eyes were cornered with tears as they cried out in joy. I ran towards her and gave her a big hug. My best friend is having a baby boy soon!

She hugged me back in a tight hug. I can feel her stomach pushing against me. Tyrone, my fiancee, came towards Ethan and gave him a very big congratulations.

“I wonder when it’s my turn?”

I know he intentionally said that aloud as he took a glance at me with a teasing smile on his face.

“Oh, ghad Tyrone! There’s lots of time to do that” Christine chuckled as she answered Tyrone instead.

The other guest had to spend their time acquainting to each other while the four of us headed to our table, chattering this nonsense stuff.

“Mind if I join?”

All of us lifted our eyes to the guy who just suddenly spoke. It was Aziel, Tyrone’s best friend.

“You’re always late”

“At least I arrived than being absent”

He sat between the guys and handed them both a drink. Christine and I ended up talking about maternity and mother stuff since she’s gonna be a mother soon. I also kept on reminding her to maintain her diet and vitamins regularly.

“Despite the excitement, I can’t hide the fact that I’m scared and nervous. Every time I thought about delivering the baby, I started to panic”

“That’s normal, that’s what new mothers felt, and you’re gonna get through it, okay? I’m here for you, don’t worry, and also Ethan is there for you too”

I caressed her back to give a gentle gesture of assurance. The guys suddenly stood up and told us that they were just going to get more drinks. Ethan went to the counter while Aziel and Tyrone went to the other side. They seem to talk about something important. Is it work?

I just let them be and turn towards Christine to continue our conversation. Suddenly my phone rang, and it appeared a message from an unregistered number of someone.

From: 0956******

: Sorry, I have to do this.

I was a bit confused. Is this sent in a wrong number?

I instantly hid my phone back in my purse when Tyrone appeared in front of me.

“Vell, are you okay? You seem bothered,” He asked in concern as he sat beside me. He wraps his arms around my waist as he finishes his drink.

“I’m fine”

“Don’t be sad, ill give you a baby, don’t worry”

“Hey, that’s not what I meant! Take it back Tyrone right now!”

He chuckled as he gently pinched the bridge of my nose. I felt butterflies flying over my belly. That’s cute.

They held games amid the party, which we came here for. We joined a few activities here, and it’s quite fun to do. Tyrone wasn’t fond of this kind of stuff, so he was just sitting there watching us.

Even though I’m in the game, I always steal glances at him to check on him, and I caught him staring at his phone with a scowled look. He seems pissed. Is there something wrong?

After the game, I hurriedly came running toward him. The moment he saw me, his face changed quickly, and smiled at me.

“Did you enjoy the game?” He asked as he held my hand and pat an empty seat beside him.

“Is there something wrong? You’re always on your phone today? Did something happen at the company?”

“No, there isn’t,” he smiled.

I gently nodded, even though I’m still not convinced by his answer. The party continued. Since Tyrone felt like going home already, we bid goodbye to Ethan, Christine, and Aziel.

“Thank you again!”

“Take care, guys!”

We bid our goodbyes together and we head to the parking lot right after. The chilly wind blew through us, which makes me quiver in the cold. He notices me hugging myself, so he took his coat off and place it around my shoulder. He opened the car door for me before he turn around to seat in the driver’s seat.

“I’m craving Chinese food,” He said out of the blue.

“But we just ate earlier?”

He look upon me and pouted like a child, “but I’m still hungry”

“Alright, let’s get Chinese food,” I can’t help but to let out a laugh.

He started the car and drove fast to a nearby restaurant. We made our way in, and the waiter guided us to our table. I had the menu and Tyrone waited for my order first before he could add his order.

“Can you recommend me some popular dishes or any specials tonight?”

“Spicy crawfish is our special tonight, and I’d like to recommend the shrimp dumplings and Hokkien prawn mee”

“Oh, I loved that!” I squeaked in excitement as I closed the menu.

“We’ll take that”

Tyrone handed the menu to the waiter as he scribbled down our orders on his notepad. We were sitting beside a large window of the restaurant where we can see what was outside.

“Earlier you were so bothered. Can you tell me what was going on?”

The look on his face says everything. He doesn’t want to talk about it, but he sighed as he looked at me. Before he could speak, the waiter suddenly came along and handed us a large hot pot.

“No, we didn’t order this” Tyrone waved his hand gently.

“Sir, the person next to you has ordered it for the both of you”

Both of us turn our backs to see who that person was. Tyrone’s eyes gape in surprise as his brows rise.

“Oh! It’s Mr. And Mrs. Walsh”

I quickly turn to see Tyrone and mouthed him who are they? He then leans closer to me and told me it was the owner of the Walsh Pharmaceutical industry who partnered with their hospital, the silver oak hospital.

“Oh, that’s them?” I happily turn my head back to them and gave them a genuine smile.

“Enjoy the evening lovebirds,” Mr. Walsh said as he raised a toast to us. We both smiled back at them and turn our gaze back to our table.

“I’m surprised to see them here. Who could’ve thought they had to send this food to us”

Just in time, the waiter arrived with a tray and place our food in front of us, and the food was still steaming hot. Tyrone and I started to dig in. Silence followed after a few minutes, which makes me feel awkward, so instead I spoke.

“Tyrone, I want you to be honest with me. You look so bothered earlier. Is there something wrong?” I kept bugging him to tell me what’s going on, or maybe I just want some topic we could talk to avoid silence.

He looked so annoyed already, but he sighed and looks at me once again. He cleared his throat before he could speak, “it’s just about work love, don’t worry about it”

I know he’s already pissed, but I appreciate how he stayed calm as he answered me.

“Don’t stress yourself too much about that, okay?” I reminded him.

He caress my arms and gave me an assuring smile. Amid our meal, I can’t help but feel this kind of uncertainty. I don’t know if I’m just imagining things or being paranoid, but I felt like someone is watching over us.

Seems like Tyrone also noticed this weird feeling, which made him look at me with a perplexed look. “Are you okay?” he asked once again and followed my gaze in the direction where I’m looking at.

“Can we go home now, Tyrone?”

Luckily, he easily gets that I’m feeling uncomfortable already. He quickly called the waiter and told him to pack the meals we ordered so we can eat them at home. A few moments later, the waiter arrived with packs of our food.

Tyrone and I headed straight to the car, but then a silhouette of a man crossed over a few meters away from me. Tyrone noticed me once again and quickly dragged me closer to him as he place his arms on my waist in a protective manner.

He took glances at each of our side before he opened the car door for me and sat in the driver’s seat. He laid his eyes on the rearview mirror before he started the car and drove fast. Silence stood between us for a few minutes before I initiate a conversation telling him about the message I received earlier.

“I actually got a message from an unknown number. It says sorry, but I have to do it“

He opened his palm in front of me, patiently waiting for me to hand my phone to him. I gave him my phone, and he instantly looks at the message while his other hand was on the steering wheel, alternating his gaze to the road.

“Maybe it was sent by mistake—”

“Or maybe not,” he cuts my speech off.

I don’t really get what he really meant by it, but I’m pretty sure it’s something that we should watch out for in the near future.

“Something might happen”

“What do you mean?”