Chapter 253 - Rain or Shine

That night after done shopping for the babies' clothes in the mall, the couple dined in a fancy restaurant to celebrate the good news.

After finishing devouring their meals, the couple left the restaurant, going home.

They arrived at their place and Caroline instructed the housemaid to wash the babies' clothing the next day.

She went to the bedroom and change into comfortable clothes, then sits down on the bed, in the process of calling her sister on the phone to share the good news.

"Hello...sis...I have good news for you!" Caroline said.

"Sis...what is it! Spill now!" Catherine was waiting.

"We just got the ultrasound result from my OB. I am carrying twin babies inside my tummy and it's a boy and a girl!" she narrated cheerfully.

"Wow! That's so cute and nice, twin babies! Just terrific! I'm happy for you sis!" Catherine genuinely said.

"Thanks, sis. I'm going to call mother and share her good news. I'll call you tomorrow," Caroline said. "By the way, Mother Susan will prepare another family gathering this weekend to celebrate the good news. See you this weekend," she added.

"Wow, I'm excited about the family gathering. Bye, sis. Take care of yourself and the baby," Catherine replied.

Caroline ended the conversation with her sister and places a call to her mother.

The phone rang ten times.

Caroline was wondering why her mother was not able to answer her call right away. She was about to hang up and call Lily instead when she heard her mother's voice on the other line.

"Hello...daughter...Sorry, I wasn't able to answer your call right away because I just come out from the toilet," Thelma said apologetically.

"Ah okay. I was a bit worried earlier. By the way, Mother, I have good news for you," Caroline said straight to the point.

"What is it, daughter?" asked Thelma.

"We have an ultrasound earlier in the afternoon at the doctor's clinic. I'm pregnant with a twin. A girl and a boy!" Caroline shared the good news in a vibrant voice.

"Oh, wow! That's wonderful, we have a new addition to our growing family tree. My grandchildren are growing in numbers! I can't wait to see the twins!" Thelma replied in a happy voice.

"That's all for now, Mother. Just tell Jacob and Lily about the good news. And one more thing, we will have another family gathering this weekend. Mother Susan will conduct a party for us to celebrate the twins coming into our lives!" Caroline shared another good news.

"That's great. Susan simply loves family gatherings!" Thelma was amused.

"Yeah, she is," Caroline agreed. "And I'm sure you love it too, Mother. Am I right?"

"Yes, of course, family bonding is always best surrounded by your loved ones and spending time in a nice swimming pool and pampered with mouthwatering dishes. Susan has always been the perfect host. I admired her greatly," Thelma only has good praises for the wealthy mother-in-law of her daughter.

She was happy that her daughters were married to responsible rich men. All mothers in the world would wish their daughters to marry a loving, responsible, and financially stable men.

"Alright, Mother. See you this weekend at the gathering. Bye-bye!" Caroline bid goodbye to her mother.

"Bye, daughter, and take care of yourself and the babies," Thelma said and ended the call at her end.

Done talking to her mother, Caroline placed the phone in the bedside table. She stood up and went to the bathroom to do some washing and get ready to rest for the night.

The clock turns 9:00 in the evening.

The couple was now resting on the bed, entangled on each other's arms.

Mike looked into her wife's pretty face. "Wifey, let's think of a name for our baby boy and baby girl," he begins.

"Okay, let's start with a girl's name. How about, Mary, Marie, Chloee, Karen, Angela, Cindy, Suzanne, Amanda, Emma, Tiffany, or Camille? Which name you like best?" asked Caroline.

Mike pondered for a moment. "Hmm...how about Suzanne? Do you like the name? I like it," he answered beaming.

Caroline smiled. "Alright, let's name the baby girl, Suzanne, in honor of Mother Susan," she said beaming.

"Fantastic!" Mike replied.

"So...let's proceed to the boy's name. How about...Dennis, Ivan, Bryan, Christopher, Ethan, William, Noah, Justin, Alfred, Lewis, Harvey, Anthony, Michael, David, and Harry? Choose now hubby," Caroline urged him.

"I think you need to choose the baby boy's name this time because I have already chosen our daughter's name. Go ahead, chose the name you like best for our son," Mike urged her.

Caroline's eyes sparkled. "Hmm...Let me chose the first five names that I like best. Ivan, Justin, Dennis, Noah, and Lewis."

She fell silent for a minute or two.

"Now let me chose the best three...Ivan, Justin and Dennis," she said.

Mike raised his brows. "And out of the tree which name you like best...?"

"Drum roll please," she joked. "I chose...Justin!" she finally concluded.

Mike declared. "Alright, our daughter's name would be Suzanne and the name of our son is Justin!"

"Wow, such gorgeous names!" Caroline clapped her hands in glee.

Mike gave her wife a thumb up sign. "Absolutely!" he agreed wholeheartedly. He was satisfied by the names they had chosen for their unborn children.

Caroline looked at her husband, there's something she needs to ask him. "Hubby, how about the construction of the resort we will be building in Davao City? How it's going?"

"The clearing of the land is now complete, sweetie. But I'm thinking...can we just postpone the building construction? I want you to give birth here in Manila surrounded by our immediate family since it would be a happy occasion. We will just resume the construction after you give birth to our children. That will give me enough time to find a suitable home for our family," he replied.

Caroline analyzes the issue in her mind. Her husband had a point though. "Alright, hubby. I agree with your suggestion," she relented.

"Good, that issue was now settled. What kind of house do you want me to find for us? Shall we rent a big house, a bungalow, duplex, or a two-story house?"

"Hmm... a bungalow house is enough. I don't like stairs this time. Just a flat house... just like the one we are living right now. I like all areas of the house to be accessible on the ground floor. Then I also want a small garden to grow flowers," Caroline explained.

"Alright, I will start finding such a house a few months before you give birth," Mike said. He began yawning. "Let's sleep now, sweetie," he said and stood up.

"Alright, let's go to sleep, I'm feeling sleepy too," Caroline replied.

Mike turns off the light, and then turn on the bedside lampshade. He went back to lay down beside her wife, he wrapped her arms around her lovingly. 'I love you, sweetie," he whispered.

"I love you too..." Caroline responded in a sleepy voice.

One hour later, the couple finally succ.u.mbs to a night of deep sleep.

~~~o0o~~~

The next day.

10:00 in the morning.

The first flight from Singapore Airlines landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

A few minutes later, after securing her luggage, the woman wearing black skinny jeans and black cardigan leopard lines over a pink blouse emerged from the exit holding her two bags in her hands, she was scanning for someone she knows at the multitude of people who are waiting for the arrival of their love ones in the airport.

"Althea, beshie! Over here!" a woman's voice called her name from the corner.

"Beshie!" Althea exclaimed in happiness after seeing her best friend, Janice wearing an eyeglass.

Althea walked to where her friend was standing. "I miss you, beshie! It's nice to see you again!"

"I miss you more!" Janice replied.

The two women were hugging, surrounded by people who are also doing the same gestures to their loved ones, just arriving from their trip abroad.

"Let me help you with your luggage," Janice volunteered and picked up one of her best friend's bags.

The two women exited the airport terminal and boarded Janice's vehicle parked nearby.

While her best friend was driving, Althea can't help but admired the interior of her friend's luxurious car. "Wow, beshie, you are getting richer every year! I'm so impressed and jealous of the same time," she declared.

Janice grinned. "I'm not getting richer. This vehicle is a second-hand car, that is why I was able to afford it. A friend of mind help her friend sold this car because the family was migrating to Germany, so they have to sell their properties quickly. I jumped at the chance and I got this shiny car. I'm just lucky, I'm not rich yet," she explained humbly.

Althea smiled. "No matter what you say, you are still doing better than me," she said sadly.

"By the way, how's your flight?" Janice asked to change the topic.

"My flight is good! But I'm hungry," she said.

Janice smiled. "Don't worry, I already prepared foods in my new place. By the way, why did you decided to come back to our country? I thought you love working in Singapore?"

"After my contract ended, I decided to come back because I miss living here. There's no place like home. Anyways, how many hours drive to your place?" asked Althea.

"Twenty minutes, if there is no heavy traffic on the road. We will arrive there soon," she said.

Althea fell silent for a few minutes. Her face shows a gloomy expression.

Janice glanced at her friend and saw her sad countenance. She returned her attention to her driving. "What's wrong, beshie?"

"I'm ashamed to gate crash in your place," Althea replied, the sadness never leaving her face.

Janice giggled. "Ah, no need to be shy. I will charge you 1 peso per month as your rent in my place, you can afford that right?" she laughed.

"Thank you for giving me an affordable place to rent, beshie! You're the best! I'm no longer sad, honest!" Althea raves.

Janice looked at her friend in amus.e.m.e.nt and smiled. "Rain or shine, you are free to stay in my place as long as you want, beshie. Even if you already found a new job, you can still live in my place because you are my highly esteemed guest. But if I will get married someday, I will kick you out for sure!" she joked.

Althea laughed.

"Thank you for your kindness and understanding, beshie! I feel better now. I will just focus on finding a good job after I settled at your place. I want to find work as soon as possible because I don't like going idle even for a day. I need to find my own money," she declared enthusiastically.

"Speaking about work, if you are not choosy. My friend had a cafe near my place, the pregnant cashier was on leave starting tomorrow. They were lacking staff since the worker there was on two shifts. If you want you can fill in that vacant position while looking for a much better opportunity later on," Janice informed her.

"Alright, can you please call your friend. I will apply for the job," Althea said.

"Sure, I'll call her after we arrive at my place," Janice replied.

~~~

Author's note:

Beshie is a Filipino term commonly used as a nickname to call your best friend.