The Experiment 2: The Journey

New Year!

"Hi Dei, Happy Holidays!" a loud voice greeted Dei as she walked out of her office.

"Hey, Marby, Happy Holidays! How was your Christmas celebration?" Dei asked, "I didn't see you in the last two days."

"I was on leave until yesterday, the 27th, but our celebration was great! Spent it with a couple of other Filipino families that our family knows. Made the celebration more fun," Marby answered. "How was yours?"

"It was amazing. We made the trip to North Bellmore on Thursday night and celebrated Christmas there with his family. The Faulkersons are always fun to be with," Dei answered.

"I can imagine that," Marby answered and there was a dreamy look in her eyes. "Hey, are you on your way to lunch? I have to show you something," she said.

"Yes, I am. But I'll probably just eat at the cafeteria," Dei said. "I prefer to stay here today, I'm not feeling too well."

"Why, what happened?" Marby inquired.

"Uhm, some abdominal cramps," Dei replied.

"Time of the month?"

"Uhm... yea," Dei lied. The truth was, she started spotting and having abdominal cramps two days after she stopped taking the pills. She read that it was an effect of stopping the pill midpack: It threw her cycle off and now her uterus was confused, but she also read that it should clear off within the next few days.

She tried not to show the pain to RJ so he won't worry. She also didn't want him to find out about what she did yet. She knew they had talked about being completely honest this time around, but she wanted to keep this a secret until she finally got pregnant... and then she would surprise him.

"You're smiling," Marby noticed as they got to a table.

"Huh?"

"You're smiling," she repeated.

"Oh, I just remembered a good memory from Christmas Day," Dei answered.

"You look really happy, Dei. Marriage suits you and RJ really well," Marby said with a huge smile. "This is why we are so amazed by your story. RJ was right, it's one of a kind. I know we only see a quarter of what you guys really have through your videos and pictures, maybe even less than a quarter, but we've always seen how much you guys care for each other. Your wedding, your vows... they brought happy tears to my eyes because they confirmed every single thing I have assumed about your relationship, and about how much you guys love each other. O Lord, here come the tears again," she said, blinking fast and flipping her hands over her eyes.

Dei laughed a little. "What happened to not acting like a crazy fan, Marby?" she joked.

"Ugh. I'm sorry, I couldn't help it," Marby answered, wiping her tears with a small tissue. "But speaking of fans, I wanna show you something."

Dei waited as Marby pulled out her phone.

"I had the chance to talk to some of your fans over the holidays. You know that website that posts DeiJay sightings?" she asked and Dei nodded. "Well I got to talk to the admins - PJ and Joyce. They are the ones who started the DeiJay Club. It's your biggest fan club to date and they're worldwide."

"DeiJay has a fan club? You mean a group?" Dei asked, baffled. She knew they had fans and followers but she didn't expect them to form groups and such. She still couldn't believe the whole thing actually.

"Yep! And I talked to PJ and Joyce. Their core members actually had a Christmas party last week. They wanted me to show you, and hopefully RJ too, this video greeting that they created for you," Marby said as she played a video and showed it to Dei.