Author's Note: Here it is, my friends, the last drabble -- and an even 10.  I won't forceclose the possibility that maybe one day I'll have an idea that begs to be written (one never really knows how the muse works, after all) but for now, as I indicated with my last drabble, I'm ready to move on and find my next obsession.  Thank you again to all who've supported me.  I have to say, when I first posted this here, I wasn't sure it'd find a large audience -- AFF is so K-entertainment skewed, and especially towards K-pop.  But I thought if I could help even just a handful of people who were, like me, struggling to get over ALSB, then it'd be worth it.  Instead, you've overwhelmed me with your responses and I'm glad to have found your company. 

This final story is for all of you who wanted me to write a "pregnancy story."  I think I declined every time saying that I'm not very good at writing those.  I still don't think I am, but this idea came to me nevertheless, so I wrote it anyway -- for all of you.  Thank you, and as always, I hope you enjoy! 

P.S. Some of you have asked what other Chinese dramas I'd recommend.  Would anyone be interested if I shared some of my favorites in a blog post (here at AFF)?  If so, leave me a comment. 

 

Pregnancy Love

Chen Xiao Xi eased herself gently onto the living room couch and cursed the gods who allowed women to be pregnant during the hot summer months. Seriously, she wondered to no one but herself, who had ever thought this was a good idea?

With only one month left in her pregnancy, she was round and large. She also had a hard time finding her feet. Sometimes, it felt like her body was not entirely her own and the sticky sweat that was even now trickling down her lower back did little to ease the discomfort that she felt. With the remote control in her left hand, she cranked up the settings on the air conditioner and with the take-out menu from the restaurant downstairs in her other hand, she fanned herself for relief.

Of course, Xiao Xi was excited for the birth of her first child. Already she loved this person she had yet to meet. She just wished it would happen sooner rather than later, and preferably not in the dead of summer.

She was certain that under different circumstances, she might have been able to enjoy these last few weeks of her pregnancy. But right now, it was hard not to feel like everything was annoying and a burden. Last weekend, she had watched her husband, Jiang Chen, put together the crib for the nursery. This weekend, it had been her plan to put the finishing touches on the room. But now that the weekend was finally here, Xiao Xi wanted nothing more than to sit on the couch and not move an inch farther.

This past week at work had been a long one, and the weather outside had turned brutally hot. On her way home from work yesterday, she’d listened to the radio weatherman cheerfully announce that the heat wave they were currently experiencing would extend into the next week, and that they were breaking records every day. If Xiao Xi could have reached into her cell phone, she would have murdered him.

Thinking back on that moment now, Xiao Xi had the thought that pregnant women really shouldn’t be allowed to ride on crowded buses in the summer months.

It was to this delightful mood that Jiang Chen returned home that Saturday afternoon, after pulling an overnight shift at the hospital the day before. His first act upon passing through the front door was to shiver and ask, “Why is it so cold in here?”

From her perch on the couch, Xiao Xi listlessly greeted her husband and answered, “Is it?”

He walked past her on his way to their bedroom, and looked down at where she lay. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing