The Apple of My Eye novel Chapter 455

The usual prenatal checkup is always something that an expecting mother always look forward to. And for Autumn it was twice the amount of joy. Listening to the heartbeat of the babies and trying to identify their features out of the hazy ultrasound pictures were something that could fill her heart with joy that can't be expressed in words. Walking through the corridor of the hospital, Autumn touched her belly gently and smiled. She said to her babies silently,"Are you ready to meet mom?" As she reached Anthony's office door, she could hear him speaking to the other patient. She tapped on his door. His voice came from inside,"Come in, please!"

Anthony walked out of the door with his patient who was here for her delivery. His eyes met Autumn's and he gestured her to get inside the room and wait for him. Autumn seated herself in his office looking around the room. She toyed with the paper weight kept on his table for a while to kill her time. Soon she heard Anthony's footsteps pacing fast towards the room and in a flash of a second he flung open the door and took his seat in front of her. "I hope I did not make you wait for too long. Actually the patient you just saw..." He tried to explain as Autumn gave a reassuring smile saying,"Its okay."

"Come, let's get the checkup done," Anthony said as he gestured Autumn to lie on the bed. Autumn made herself comfortably on the bed, as he started with the check-up. Anthony started with the procedures. He pressed on her abdomen to feel the growth of the babies and then used other testing devices to hear their heart beats loud and clear. The smile on Autumn's face spread to her eyes. She laid still focusing only on the sound of the heart beats. It was that one priceless moment that she looked forward to every time she came here.

Anthony asked her several questions regarding her health and the usual symptoms that showed up during the stage of pregnancy she was going through at the moment. After making sure that her babies were safe, Autumn turned her attention towards Anthony.

She had a faint idea about the budding relationship between Anthony and Lisa. And she was curious to know more. After dealing with the initial hesitation she asked,"How about you and Lisa?" She sounded inquisitive. She had a quirky smile on her face.

As Anthony looked up at her, he looked a little startled. "What do you mean?" Anthony asked, his eye brows stitched together into a frown. He had never expected this coming from Autumn. He looked at her and tried to be put up a casual demeanor. "Lisa and I are just good friends. Nothing else," he said.

"Oh! Come on!" Autumn had an impish smile on her face. "I'm not a fool, Anthony. I can see that she is completely into you." Autumn was not ready to rest the topic so easily.

Anthony kept scribbling on the prescription pad silently. He hoped the moment would pass if he showed his ignorance towards it. But Autumn was not ready to let it go. She again started after a pause,"Besides, you guys had a relationship earlier. She traveled a long way for you. You should give her a chance."

Anthony maintained the solemn look on his face and answered in a calm voice,"She has a thing for me, so I must like her. Is that what you mean?" Anthony looked up at Autumn for a moment and glanced straight into her eyes. Autumn could sense it was difficult to break through with him at the moment. Then again he went back to his writing pad.

The was a momentary silence between both of them. Then Autumn uttered stammering,"I don't mean that..." She was taken aback to see the indifference in Anthony's behavior. This made her rather uncomfortable. She felt Anthony was overreacting. Still unwilling to rest her case, she pushed it a little further,"Don't get me wrong. I just think that... Lisa is beautiful and she has a soft corner for you. And now that you don't have a girlfriend, why not try dating her?"

Then she stared at Anthony with a piercing eye and blurted out abruptly,"Do you have a crush on someone else?"

With every passing moment, it was becoming more and more difficult for Anthony. He froze in his chair. Autumn sensed the stiffness in his behavior but still refused to stop probing into the matter.She forged again with all excitement with another set of questions,"I got you this time, didn't I? Tell me now. What kind of girl she is? Is she someone I know?"

"Oh, yeah, you know her," Anthony answered, his eyes calmly resting on Autumn.

"Who?" she asked brimming with excitement.

"You." Anthony replied jokingly, putting up a camouflage that he had learnt to master ever since he fell in love with Autumn. He had never been able to express his feeling in front of her. And now that she was so inquisitive about getting him settled with some other girl, it was nothing but the ironical truth that came handy to make her silent. Autumn went silent for a while and then she started once more,"It's... it's not funny." Her face turned embarrassed this time.

"Enough now!" Anthony got up as he spoke with a completely no-nonsense look on his face. "Don't bother so much about my love life. Otherwise, I will use you to scare away girls who try to approach me," he said with a sly smile on his face to make it light between the two of them. "You can leave now. Other patients are waiting outside," he urged politely.

Autumn stood up silently and approached the door. He could not help looking at her face as she was preparing to leave. His heart wrenched inside his rib cage. The more he looked at her face, the more softened his eyes turned.

Autumn had her face pointed floor-wards. She carefully arranged all the reports in the file in one hand and her hand bag on her shoulder. She looked at Anthony who followed her to the door once again before he opened the door for her and smiled before walking out. The panic-stricken look at her face was a clear indication that he had no chance to get her. As he opened the door, both of them were welcomed with bustling laughter of Lisa and Craig who were approaching Anthony's office.

"Well, you must come to my house and cook for me to show your cooking skills," Craig said as he laughed heartily.

Lisa nodded her head. "Sure, I would love to do that. But..." she smiled as she spoke.

"Don't worry about Anthony. I will handle him," Craig said keeping the spirit high. "I will break his leg if he stops you from cooking for me."

"Thank you, Grandpa!" Lisa responded as both of them burst into laughter once again.

Anthony stood at the doorway watching them walking straight towards him lost in their conversation and laughter. This was the last thing he was expecting at this moment. He was completely startled. Lisa looked up at Anthony ignoring Autumn who was standing right beside him and said,"Anthony, surprise!"