Take My Breath Away

"Yes, there was a report from the hospital. Both your mother-in-law and I saw it ourselves. What's going on, Matthew? Why are you asking about all this stuff right now?" Wesley asked.

Matthew thought it unnecessary to hide anything from him. "Dad, can you do me a favor?"

"Go ahead."

"Can you call Rika now and ask her if she had a Caesarean section or a natural labor when she gave birth to Ethan?" Matthew asked cautiously.

Even for his age, Wesley was sharp as a tack and he understood what was going on at once. "Are you suspecting that Ethan isn't Erica's son?"

"Yes."

Matthew's intuitive hunches had rarely failed him before. Wesley took a moment to regain his breath as he started to feel dizzy. "Hold on a minute!"

"Okay!"

Meanwhile, when Erica was waiting for Matthew to come out of the bathroom, she suddenly received a call from Blair. "Hey, Mom!"

"Rika, were you sleeping?"

"No, I'm still watching a movie."

"You're watching a horror movie again!" Blair knew what she was watching without even having to ask.

"Yes. I'm waiting for Matthew to join me in the home theater room. How's Ethan doing?"

"He is playing with his toys. I have something to ask you."

"Go ahead!" Erica said curiously.

The unsuspecting girl had no idea that her mother was actually acting on behalf of her father. Blair portrayed a casual demeanor to Erica and said, "Honey, when you gave birth to Ethan, was it a C-section or a natural labor? I heard that there's a new vaccine on the market. Apparently, you can get two shots."

"What? Vaccine? For a C-section or a natural labor?" Erica panicked.

"Um, for... natural labor."

"Then I can't have it. I had a C-section," Erica said feigning a remorseful tone as she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, that's all right. That's all I wanted to know. Don't stay up late, sweetie."

"Okay. I'll talk to you later." After hanging up the phone, Erica patted her chest. Fortunately, she was quick enough to avert her mom's questions.

A few minutes later, Matthew finally returned to the home theater room.

Erica sat up and waved at him. "Come on. The movie is just about to start!"

When he walked in, Erica noticed Matthew holding a plate of peeled apple slices and a can of coke.

Erica was touched to see the peeled apple slices. "No wonder it took you so long. You were peeling apples for me downstairs!"

Erica took a bite when Matthew picked up a slice and brought it to her mouth.

mmediately grabbed the camera and said, "Let me carry it for you!"

"No, no. I'm fine..." The lens she was using for today was extremely heavy, but she still managed nonetheless.

Hyatt, however, disregarded her completely and took the camera away from her to hang it around his neck.

Erica was deeply moved by his gesture of kindness. She patted him on the shoulder and said, "Thanks, buddy. I owe you a treat for this!"

Hyatt smiled shyly and said with his head lowered, "Thank you, Erica."

The classes that morning went smoothly. At noon, when Erica was resting in the dormitory, she realized that the cleanser and toothpaste she kept in the bathroom had been used by someone else.

Erica could tell the difference at once because she had bought them just before she started school and she never stayed over at her dormitory long enough to use them.

When her roomie Kaitlyn Dong, who slept in the bunk below hers, passed by the bathroom door, she found that Erica was staring at the cleanser in a daze. With a hint of guilt in her eyes, the girl came over to her and said, "Oh, Erica, I'm so sorry. I forgot to tell you. I bought a new cleanser two days ago, and it took me two uses to realize that we had bought the same brand. But I haven't used yours again after that. I hope you don't mind?"

The mystery of the missing cleanser had been solved! Since Erica's doubts were solved, she didn't care too much about it really. She just wanted to maintain a good relationship with her roommates, so she smiled back and said, "It doesn't matter. I was just a little confused. That's all."

"Thank you, Erica. You are so generous!"