Have I Told You Lately

"Yes, I am." Rachel kept eating and confessed straightforward, "That's why I crave sour food."

After making sure Rachel was not kidding, Osmond rubbed his eyebrow and said, "You only asked me to pretend to be your boyfriend and didn't tell me you were pregnant. Dose Kenneth know?"

"Yes, he does. I just met him in the swimming pool today! But I lied to him about how long had I been pregnant." Rachel paused and stared at Osmond with a bit embarrassment and regret, "Sorry. I fear that he may get suspicious... So, I said the baby was yours."

After all, she didn't get his consent and lied. Besides, they were just normal friends now, so she was kind of embarrassed.

However, unexpectedly, Osmond turned silent. After a while, he looked at Rachel seriously, "Rachel, if you don't mind. I think...we can have a try."

"What!"

Shocked by what he said, Rachel almost dropped her jaw into the soup.

"Osmond... That wasn't my intention. Please don't get me wrong." Rachel coughed and drew tissues to clean her mouth, saying in embarrassment, "I just want to keep the baby. It was an emergency, and I hadn't other choice but to lie and say it was yours. Please...Please don't misunderstand."

However, Osmond didn't look like he was joking at all. He looked at Lily seriously and calmly, "I am serious. It is a lot of responsibility to raise a child. We can do it together. Besides, I will respect your opinion and won't push you. You can give me a reply when you have a decision."

Monica seemed to understand what his father said, and rubbed her head on Rachel's clothes, with her eyes full of expectation. She hoped Rachel could just say yes right now.

Rachel pursed her lips and said nothing.

As a matter a fact, after the divorce, she was not planning to marry again, because it is too strenuous to make a marriage work. But Osmond was right that raising a child was a lot of responsibility. Besides, she had to support her parents, too. She wasn't about how much she could take in the future.

Stroking her belly softly, she could almost feel the heartbeat of the baby, which was synchronous with hers.

After a long while, Rachel made up her mind and nodded.

"OK...I will give it some thought."

Osmond smiled and looked at Rachel as if he was breathing a sigh of relief.

On next two days, Rachel didn't encounter Kenneth again on the cruise. Maybe it was because the cruise was too big, and she only brought Monica downstairs in the afternoon. So, it wasn't weird that they didn't meet.

On the third day, the cruise reached Osaka, marking the end of the sightseeing tour.

They three joined the queue and got off the cruise together. Rachel saw Kenneth at the front of the queue, who got in a car with several people right after they got off. Seconds later, the car was out of sight. The hotel sent a car to pick them up. Sitting in the car, Rachel looked out of the window, enjoying the backing streetscape. The buildings were not high, but the streets were clean and neat, making Rachel feel comfortable.

Having spent two days on the cruise, Rachel looked at everything with a fresh eye.

When the car reached downtown, Rachel asked the driver to stop the car.

"Osmond, you bring Monica back to hotel. I want to walk around randomly." Rachel took out her camera from luggage and smiled, "I have never been to Japan. It will be a shame if I didn't go home with some pictures."

"No, you are pregnant. If you want to wander around, we can accompany you." Osmond was concerned and insisted that he go with her.

However, Rachel rejected with a reluctant smile, "It's only a little over two months. I can still walk by myself. Don't worry, I will be careful. Besides, I have a phone, and if anything goes wrong, I will call you in the first minute."

"Okay then. Be careful, and call me if anything happens." Osmond gave in to her insistence.

"OK, bye-bye."

After waving goodbye to them, Rachel walked along the street and enjoy the landscape. When she laid eyes on nice signs or buildings, she would stop and took some pictures. The sunlight was rather warm than hot now, which made Rachel lighten up a bit.

Though she didn't speak Japanese, she always met some tourists that spoke English in busy neighborhoods. She asked them about where the delicious local snacks were and then headed to them happily. When she was full and came out of a ramen shop, it was already dark. Street lamps all lighted up and stalls were set up on the street not far from her. Many people were walking around and enjoying the nightlife, creating a vibrant scene.

"It's so late." Rachel raised her hand and checked the watch, frowning.

Afraid that Osmond might get worried, she took out her phone from handbag and was going to call him.

But her phone was already dead. She searched her purse and found only 5000 yen left.

Rachel stood by roadside and felt stranded.

Sighing, she looked around and saw a convenience store not far away.

Waiting until 7pm and seeing Rachel still not back, Osmond called her. But he couldn't get through to her, which made him very concerned.

After giving Monica some instructions, he grabbed his coat and went out.

When he reached the hall, he reminded the receptionist in English, "I have a five-year-old kid in 2207. But I have some emergency now and have to go out. Please take care of my kid for me." "OK, sir.""

Then he thought of something else and opened the album in his phone, saying, "I have a friend called Rachel. This is her. If she gets back, please make sure she calls me in the first minute...”

Right now, the hotel gate opened. A tall man walked in with a group of people. He was heading to the elevator before vaguely hearing the conversation between Osmond and the receptionist. He frowned and turned around, walking to the reception desk.

"What happened to her?"

Osmond paused, turned around to see him, and frowned. He didn't hide anything and confessed, "She said she wanted to have a walk, but she is still not back. And I can't get through to her, either." Though Kenneth was Rachel's ex-husband, it didn't hurt to have one more person looking for her.

The man's face darkened and said toughly, "This is Japan. She can't speak Japanese. Besides, she is pregnant. And you let her go out alone?"

Though during marriage, he seldom went back to the apartment. But sometimes he drove Rachel to shop for groceries. He found out then that she had no sense of direction at all and couldn't even tell the four standard directions. She couldn't do that in China, let alone in foreign places like Japan.

While thinking about this, he got more furious,

He passed his luggage to people behind and whispered to a man. The man nodded and walked to the elevator with the rest of people.

Kenneth took out his phone and looked at Osmond, asking in a cold voice, "Where did she get off? Give me the address."¶¶¶¶¶¶¶