Chapter 734: Chapter 734: Micah Manning’s Pregnancy

September brought autumn, and Evelyn Ford hadn’t been fishing in a long time. She had been feeling a bit lazy lately, spending her days at home with Ronan Kendrick, basking in the sun, gardening, and experimenting with new recipes.

In mid-September, Micah Manning told everyone she was pregnant. The base granted her a year of leave, and she went home to focus on her pregnancy. Her parents moved in to take care of her daily needs. Ethan Dawson also took a year off from the transportation department. After all, with him out on the road for work, Micah would surely worry, which wouldn’t be good for the pregnancy.

The small courtyard became lively again. Zoe was especially excited for the new little brother or sister. She wanted to be a big sister and had previously tried to both threaten and bribe Annie into calling her "big sister," but Annie had refused.

Micah’s mother was a very enthusiastic old lady. She came over to take care of Micah, so she interacted with Evelyn often. During this time, she began trying to convince Evelyn to have a baby soon, so their children could be betrothed to each other.

The old woman didn’t have any ill intentions; she was just so enthusiastic that it was overwhelming. Evelyn tactfully told her they were letting nature take its course, but the woman just said Evelyn was becoming an older mother and that it would be harder to have children later.

While nagging Evelyn, she also pestered Wyatt Vaughn and Joelle Finch. Wyatt was blunt and told her directly that he couldn’t have children. Only then did the old woman back off.

"You have to have children! The base promises to take care of childless people in their old age, but without children, what’s the point of getting married?"

"Life itself is meaningless," Evelyn said.

"You’re all still young now, so you think having kids is a burden. When you’re old and everyone else has children but you don’t, you’ll regret it. It’s miserable to be old with no children to take care of you."

Evelyn smiled. "If I don’t have children in this life, then that’s my fate. What’s there to regret? Will having a child make me immortal? Are children some kind of panacea? If I’m afraid of having no one to care for me when I’m old, then I’ll just die early. You have to die sooner or later anyway."

Annoyed by the constant nagging, Evelyn’s words became sharp. The old woman couldn’t win the argument, so she ran back to the next courtyard to complain to Micah, only to get an earful from her instead.

"That old woman is such a busybody. I’m honestly scared of her." Joelle Finch now didn’t even dare to leave the house, afraid she would run into Micah’s mom.

"I’m scared of her too. This is the first time I’ve ever been pressured so intensely to have a baby," Evelyn said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

That evening, Ethan Dawson came over specifically to apologize to everyone. She was his mother-in-law, after all, so there wasn’t much he could say. He explained that Micah was already planning to return to her parents’ house to continue her pregnancy there, taking her parents with her. Micah was worried that if this continued, her mom’s behavior would offend everyone and make it difficult for them all to get along in the future.

"There’s no need to move back. She just likes to chat, we all understand." Wyatt Vaughn quickly tried to smooth things over, and the others chimed in with a few words of agreement. Although the old woman’s behavior was annoying, it hadn’t caused any serious harm, so everyone could still tolerate her.

Ethan Dawson gave a helpless smile. "But she’s already caused a public outcry, and not just with you all. She’s been pestering many of our neighbors to get married and have kids, too. A few families who used to get along great have been fighting every day recently, and I don’t know what she said to them."

"People of their generation are all like that," Evelyn said. "A lot of their old ways of thinking are hard to change. Plus, they unintentionally create a lot of gossip. We don’t really mind, but if this keeps up, I’m afraid it will affect Micah’s mood, and a pregnant woman’s stress can affect the baby’s development."

When Evelyn mentioned Micah and the baby, Ethan Dawson’s expression instantly turned serious.

"I know what to do."

By noon the next day, Micah’s parents had left. No one knew what Ethan had used to convince the two elders to leave, but in any case, they were all smiles when they departed.

"Evelyn! You really know how to handle things. With just a few words, you sent that ’great Buddha’ packing," Joelle said. "When Ethan got married, I thought the old lady was so gentle. She seemed so reasonable and cultured. After spending time with her these past few weeks, I’ve really had my eyes opened."

Evelyn was in a good mood too. If the old woman hadn’t said she was getting old and would have trouble conceiving, she wouldn’t have prompted Ethan to send her away.

As for what Micah might think about it, Evelyn didn’t care.

As October approached, the temperature in Eldoria began to drop, and Evelyn had recently taken up knitting sweaters. The base meteorological department had issued a notice: this winter would be very cold, with blizzards expected in late October and potentially lasting until February. In preparation, the base organized residents to harvest crops. Fortunately, they had planted many cold-resistant crops over the past two years and had opened a cannery and a compressed biscuit factory. Residents no longer had to worry about food during the harsh winter.

Ronan Kendrick came in from outside, bringing a chill with him. He had been out helping at the base again. Evelyn didn’t ask about his work; seeing him return, she quickly helped him take off his coat and get into some clean, warm clothes.

The wind outside was strong, and the base’s school was already on break. Wendy was still working at the hospital, and Officer Graham rode his bike over every day to bring her lunch. After discussing it with Evelyn, Wendy decided to transfer back to the clinic in their courtyard. They were short on doctors, and once winter hit, children would be more prone to colds and fevers. Working at the clinic would be closer to home and safer for her.

Since Wendy was moving back, Evelyn and Officer Graham went to help her with her luggage. To their surprise, Jonas Lucas showed up too. The young man was shy and bashful, but Evelyn and Officer Graham knew exactly what he was up to.

In Officer Graham’s words, the way that kid looked at Wendy was asking for a punch. If the base didn’t have a rule against fighting, he really would have socked him one.

Evelyn felt she should talk to Wendy about this. If she didn’t like Jonas, she needed to keep her distance from him.

After returning to the courtyard, Evelyn spoke with Wendy again. Clearly, Wendy had no romantic interest in him. Her heart was set on becoming the best doctor she could be. She had even told Officer Graham when she was very young that she wasn’t interested in getting married or having children in her lifetime; she only wanted to achieve her dream.

"Evelyn, he knows I’m so much younger than him, yet he still tries to get close to me. I used to think he was just like Roy and Owen, but now that I know what he’s thinking, I feel like he’s dangerous."

"He’s an adult; he knows what his actions mean. But I only see him as a big brother, and he should know that too. Under these circumstances, for him to not keep his distance and instead try to get closer... I don’t think that’s right."

Evelyn gave Wendy a thumbs-up. "That’s a great way of thinking."

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