Chapter 244
Suzan’s eyes darkened, a flicker of anger darting across her face. Her voice suddenly shot up an octave. “Why can’t I go in? Are you discriminating against pregnant women? I’m posting about your shady business online-everyone’s going to hear about this!”
The waitress paled, clearly rattled. She’d only meant to be helpful, but who could have guessed she’d run into someone like Suzan?
Desperate, the waitress glanced at Mitchell, silently pleading for help.
Mitchell was at a loss. They’d just been out shopping when Suzan suddenly insisted on sushi. He’d tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn’t budge, so here they were.
“Suzan, why don’t we just go home? I’ll have it delivered by air if you want,” Mitchell suggested gently.
“I don’t want to!” Suzan snapped. “I want it now! Your son says he wants it now, too!”
Mitchell could only sigh. Turning to the waitress, he asked, “Is there any way you could make an exception? Pregnant women can’t stand around for too long.”
“I’ll go check,” the waitress replied, hurrying off.
A moment later, she returned with good news. “You can wait by the entrance. As soon as a table opens up, I’ll seat you right away.”
Suzan’s lips curled into a sly, triumphant smile.
“Wait-Suzan’s pregnant?” Nita stared, wide-eyed, at Suzan’s protruding belly. “You sure that’s not just a belly full of junk food?”
Effie chuckled softly. “Nope, it’s not an act. She’s definitely pregnant.”
“Wow, she’s pretty far along!” A sudden realization crossed Nita’s face, and her expression shifted. “So that means… they must have been together way earlier than we thought.”
Nita glanced at Effie, but Effie’s face was calm, untouched by drama.
“Effie, are you really okay with this?”
“How could I be okay?” Effie admitted, her voice steady. “The day I found out she was pregnant, it was like a bolt from the blue. I was disgusted. He was with me and messing around with Suzan at the same time.”
She shrugged, a bittersweet smile tugging at her lips. “But then I realized, maybe it’s a blessing in disguise. At least I found out what kind of person he is before it was too late. I got out while I still had options. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing.”
Nita reached out and pulled Effie into a hug. “Come here. Think of it as getting bitten by a dog-you just patch yourself up and move on.”
She knew Effie was putting on a brave face, but there was no way she hadn’t been hurt.
“It’s fine,” Nita said reassuringly. “It’s all in the past now. Come on, let’s go eat somewhere else.”
“I thought you said you liked this place?”
Nita shrugged. “It’s not like I have to eat here. Honestly, I’m just in a bad mood today. I saw a post my brother made-he’s out with friends, eating expensive sushi, and he’s picking up the tab. It’s been a whole year since he graduated, and he still hasn’t bothered to find a job. He just spends our parents’ money.”
“He never thinks about saving or how hard Mom and Dad work. So I commented on his post, told him to think about our parents for once. And he blew up at me— said parents are supposed to take care of their kids, and if they couldn’t afford it, they shouldn’t have had him. He even said he never asked to be born and doesn’t exactly enjoy life anyway.”
“If he gets to live it up without a job, why can’t I?”
Effie knew Nita often squabbled with her brother, but for her to be this upset, something else must have happened-something Nita wasn’t ready to talk about yet.