Bound By Her Bump novel Chapter 26

It was a sunny Friday afternoon; just a little over one pm. Eric finished his meeting with his new investors, returned to his office to go over the notes his secretary made. He was distracted when his phone started ringing; he looked at the caller id and saw that it was his mom. A small smile crept to his lips. It has been a while since he heard from her.

"Hi, mom." He said to the other side.

"Eric Christian Ivan-James. I thought I raised you better than this."

"What is it mom?" he asked, getting worried.

"Annie is not feeling well and you are not even here to take care of her. Don't you dare say you had work to do. And even if you're busy with work you could have called me to come to take care of her. You know family comes first, right?"

"I had no idea she was not feeling well, mom. I still talked to her last night and she told me she was fine." Truthfully, he had wanted to call Annie this morning but his mind was pretty occupied with the meeting he had to attend.

"How do you know mom? Are you with her?"

"Yes,"

"Please give her the phone."

"Hey." A very weak and tired voice said.

"Sorry I didn't call to check up on you this morning." he apologized sincerely.

"It's fine."

"So how are you feeling now? Should I come take you to the hospital?"

"No need. I just want to lie on my bed and slee...." She said, then sneezed.

"Sorry about that. I think I have a cold too."

"I'm worried Annie. Have you taken anything for the cold?"

"No, I haven't. I'm not comfortable with taking medicines. I don't want anything to happen to the baby. But don't worry, your mom called Doctor Myers. He has given her instructions on what to do. I'll be fine." She assured.

"Okay. I'll quickly round up what I'm doing and come over."

"No." She groaned. "I don't want you to get sick. Besides, I look horrible. You can't see me like this."

"You don't expect me to stay here and do nothing Annie. I'll be coming over later." He said with finality.

"Okay." She replied reluctantly.

"Alright my love, take care of yourself." He ended the call.

"Your soup is ready." Evelyn walked out of Annie's kitchen with a bowl of chicken soup. She placed the soup before Annie who was seated on the dining table. She made the chicken soup less spicy for Annie to consume.

"Thank you, mom." She said with a small smile.

"You're welcome, dear. Now eat up or do you want me to feed you? I don't mind doing that." She said, taking a seat beside Annie.

"Thanks but I'll manage." Annie chuckled as she took her first spoon of soup.

Annie felt weak when she woke up this morning so the first thing she did was to call Angela Thompson, her manager, telling her she was sick and won't be able to show up at work today. Then she placed her phone on silent mode and went back to sleep.

About four hours later, a knock on the door woke her up. She answered it and it turned out to be Evelyn, Eric's Mother. she was surprised as to how she knew where she lived.

After Evelyn gave her a bone-crushing hug, she explained to her that she was in the neighbourhood and decided to stop by her beauty parlour for a spa treatment. When she got to the shop she asked for Annie but was told Annie was not around. Becca, Annie's manager, recognized Evelyn to be Eric's mom so she explained to her that Annie was sick and won't be coming to work. She insisted Becca gave her Annie's address and here she was.

"There you go." Evelyn covered Annie with the duvet and took a seat beside her. "I'm sure you'll be better by the time you wake up." She smiled.

"Thanks for taking care of me."

"You're welcome. Now close your eyes and get some rest."

"What about you? Who will keep you company?" She asked, feeling guilty.

"Don't worry about me. I will be fine. I will just look after you until Eric comes to take over." She replied and Annie nodded.

A few seconds later, Annie was sound asleep. Evelyn reduced the air conditioner in her room and walked out quietly.