"Heyyy," Gabby greeted as Terrence walked into her office.
"And how's my queen doing this morning?" He asked as he approached her. He turned Gabby's chair towards him and squatted before her.
"I'm fine." She placed a kiss on his lips.
"And the baby?" He whispered as he caressed her belly.
She smiled. "The baby is fine too."
"Good to hear. I hope the morning sickness did not weigh you down today?" He asked, looking concerned.
"My mom was there to help me through it today and she made sure I had breakfast and took my vitamins before I left the house," Gabby said.
Terrence grinned. "I love your mom already."
"I miss taking coffee and yet I can't stand the smell."
"I know you do. But I guess it's one of the sacrifices a mother has to make." Terrence reasoned.
Gabby nodded instantly.
"How's Sophie?" Gabby couldn't help but ask.
"She's good. I was thinking of telling her about the baby." Terrence said and Gabby got tensed at his statement.
"What if she doesn't like me or does not approve of the baby either?" She asked almost immediately.
"Trust me. Sophia adores you and you have no idea how desperate she wants a younger sibling."
"Why didn't you tell her then?"
"Sophie will surely go crazy if she learns that she's going to be a big sister in a couple of months. I want us to enjoy the moment first and perhaps we could tell her together on her birthday."
"Which is?" Gabby asked.
"In three weeks; She will be 5. I still can't believe it, she's growing up so fast." Terrence said with a small smile.
"Anyways, will you love to hang out with me tonight?" He asked her with a smirk on his face.
"Are you asking me out on a date?" Gabby teased.
"Something like that." He replied.
"Alright, I'm in." She told him.
"Great. See you at 7. Wear something comfortable and I don't want you in heels." He warned.
"Okay, my love," Gabby replied.
Terrence rose to his feet. He kissed her forehead.
"Don't stress yourself with work, If you get tired just let me know okay?" He said and Gabby nodded.
"Take care." He gave her a quick kiss on her lips before walking out of her office.
Gabriela was so engrossed with the work she was doing that she failed to notice time had gone. She suddenly felt hungry and wanted to go get something at the cafeteria. She stood up from her chair and began searching her bag for her purse and phone when she came across something like a plate which caused her to groan. No doubt her mom had secretly kept a plate of food in her bag when she wasn't watching.
Gabby brought out the plate and saw that it contained her mother's homemade sandwich. She smiled at that as she balanced on her chair and began eating. She finished lunch, drank a cup of water, and went back to work. Shortly after, her phone rang. She looked at the caller id and saw that it was Nikki. A smile instantly found its way to her face.
"Hello, girlfriend."
"Heyyy," Gabby replied.
"I'm so excited that you are keeping the baby and most importantly, that you and Terry are together," Nikki said, extremely happy. No doubt Ian told her everything already.
"Thank you, Nikki. Talking to you the other night helped me." Gabby said as she looked down at her belly and started caressing it. It kinda turned into a habit for her.
"You are welcome. So how did the ultrasound go?" Nikki asked.
"Words cannot describe how I felt, Nikki. It was marvelous and according to the doctor's report, the baby is healthy which I'm extremely grateful for. " Gabby replied.
"Yeah, I know that feeling," Nikki chuckled.
Gabby heard some blabbering. She smiled "Is that Amber?"
"Yeah. I just fed her not quite long and she seems to be energetic. She misses you, you know."
"Awww I miss her too."
"Perhaps we should hang out sometime. You, me, Terrence, Sophia, Amber, and Ian." Nikki suggested.
"Sure." Gabby agreed.
"Alright then. I will fix a date and get back to you." Nikki said.
"Alright dear, thanks for calling." Gabby said.
"Sure. Take care of yourself, hon." Nikki said as she ended the call.
............................
"Honestly, I never wanted to do it. It was Debbie who forced me." Terrence defended as he and Gabby burst into another round of laughter.
As promised, He had picked her up at 7 and had surprised her by taking her to the best Mexican restaurant in town where they had dinner. After that, Terrence took Gabby to a nearby park where they both walked around and bought some ice cream which Gabby happens to crave before they both settled on a bench, telling each other past stories.
"I guess you would have been wondering why I have never mentioned anything about Sophie's mom?" Terrence said in a serious tone.
Gabby nodded.
"I've been tempted to ask on so many occasions but I didn't. I felt you would tell me when you were ready." Gabby replied as she looked him in his eyes.
Terrence sighed. "You see Gabriela, Sophie is not biologically mine."
"H..Ho...How come?" Gabby found herself shuttering as she couldn't believe what he just said.
"Sophie was my best friend's daughter. We used to be three musketeers; Serena, Ian, and me. Though Serena was closer to me than she was to Ian. She was a product of a broken home. She stayed with her father who happens to be a beast. When Ian and I learned of how he usually maltreats her, we both gathered money for her to rent an apartment. Then, life wasn't easy for us. We were all in our final year at college taking part-time jobs in order to survive. But Debbie was always of great help financially. To cut the long story short, Immediately Serena moved out of her father's place, He stopped paying her tuition fee and stopped giving her allowance. Then one day, he broke into Serena's apartment and raped her after which he beat her mercilessly and left her there unconscious." Terrence said with tears in his eyes.
"OMG," Gabby exclaimed in shock as she tried to keep her tears at bay.
"We took her to the hospital and it took a long time for her to recover. Months later after the recovery, Serena found out that she was pregnant and she instantly fell into depression knowing that the baby she was carrying will not only be her child but also her younger sibling." Terrence said as he burst into another round of tears. Gabby could not help but cry also. She pulled him into a hug and tried to console him.
"We tried Gabby. We did all we could. Even after she insisted on keeping the pregnancy, we supported her but Serena wasn't the same anymore. And unfortunately, she died a few days after she gave birth to Sophie. It was so painful, Gabby. Serena was a girl with big dreams and she did not even live long to achieve any of them." Terrence said in tears.
"Then I decided to adopt Sophie. I see her as my own and I cannot imagine my life without her. I never knew anything about babies but for Sophie's sake I was willing to learn and that was what I did." He said.
"I'm so proud of you, Terrence. You raised an adorable little girl." Gabby said in tears.
"Sophie became my motivation towards success and I promised myself to keep her happy at all times. I remember when she turned 4, she had asked for her mother. I did not know what to say to her nor did I have the nerve to lie to her. So I just told her that her mom is no more. I showed her Serena's picture too. Sophie was heartbroken and she cried. But I found a way to calm her down as I assured her that her mom was in heaven looking after all of us and she wouldn't want to see her precious baby crying. Sophia is a strong girl; just like her mother. Though I did not tell her that I'm not her biological Father or neither is she aware that I was never married to her mother, besides she's still small and will never understand these things."
"You have done well Terrence and I'm sure Serena is so damn proud of you" Gabby assured.
"We have only you Gabby; Please don't leave us." Terrence cried in her chest.