Chapter Eleven

Maybe Xiaoyu's pregnancy was still a mystery to the rest of the world but her eating habits were not. Every night after Jin had returned from work, they would go for a walk around in the park and shopping area that was near their home. And every night Xiaoyu would smell some wonderful food coming from one of the restaurants and have to go inside to give it a try.

Jin didn't mind; it wasn't like his pocketbook was being affected by the constant nights out. Besides, he had always loved showing off his lovely wife in public. It was just that some of the combinations that she would eat and if the combinations weren't enough it was the quantity.

It wasn't uncommon at all for Xiaoyu to eat a salad, a soup, bread, and her meal. Then, they would nearly always find something else that sounded appetizing to her; like ice cream, cake, or candy.

On one particular night, deciding that she wished to take food back to their home for dinner, Xiaoyu couldn't decide on just one dish she wanted. They passed a Chinese restaurant and the smell of beef with fresh broccoli and sweet rolls drew her inside.

"I just love beef with broccoli!" she smiled up at Jin who was carrying a sack with her food and his own order of sweet and sour pork.

"Yes," Jin smiled and wrapped his arm around her. "I know you love beef with broccoli."

They both laughed and began to walk back to their house. They were halfway up the sidewalk when Xiaoyu caught a smell of something spicy. The Mexican restaurant across the street was calling her now. After she retrieved a burrito and a small box of nachos, they were on their way again.

"Don't nachos just sound wonderful?" she asked Jin, smiling.

"Well, yes, dear," Jin answered. He now had two bags in his hands and was beginning to struggle with balancing both of them.

Again, they began to walk down the street towards their house. But, once again they were stopped by another sweet aroma. This time, Xiaoyu smelled hamburgers and french fries.

"Mmm!" she exclaimed. "I can't wait to get home!"

Jin smiled down at her weakly, holding all three of the bags in his arms. He took a quick look up the street to see what else they would be passing. He nearly fainted when he saw all of the other restaurants in front of them.

'Indian, Italian, German, Polish, and French!' he thought. 'How much more can she possibly want to eat?'

Almost as though she had read his mind, Xiaoyu began to walk more quickly towards the other restaurants. She passed the French and Indian restaurants just fine. But she stopped and looked inside of the Italian restaurant.

"Spaghetti sounds wonderful, don't you think, Jin?" she asked.

"Yes, dear," he answered as they went inside and ordered spaghetti to go.

By this time Jin's hands were completely full. Xiaoyu looked at him and tried not to laugh; it was pretty mean of her to make him carry all of her food. She stopped on the sidewalk in front of the Polish restaurant and looked at Jin.

"What's wrong, baby?" he asked. "Do you want something from there?"

"No," she whispered. Xiaoyu was looking towards her feet and seemed to be sad about something. "I can help you carry those bags."

Jin didn't say anything but walked back towards her. He put the bags on the ground and pulled her into a strong hug. "Seriously, honey," he whispered. "What's wrong? Did you want something else?"

Xiaoyu didn't answer. Tears were forming in her eyes, though she didn't know why or how to stop them. People were passing by them, glaring at Jin as though it was his fault for making her cry.

"I don't want to be a bother to you," she cried.

"Oh, oh," Jin comforted her. "Xiaoyu, baby, I love you. You're never a bother to me. Never ever! I want to take care of you."

"But, I can't eat all of this food!" she started crying harder. "I've made you waste so much money on all of these things I can't possibly finish!"

Jin began to laugh a little, pulling her into another hug. "It's ok," he began. "We can save what you don't eat for later on, ok?"

Xiaoyu smiled and kissed him. She picked up two of the bags in one arm and smiled as Jin did the same. Taking his hand in hers, Xiaoyu began to lead him through the bustling crowd of people and towards their home.