CHAPTER 11

February 2006

It was Valentine's Day, a little more than a month after Alena gave birth to Lily, who was named after a hymn, Lily of the valley. Alena hardly remembered how she went through this second pregnancy. Since the day she visited Dr. Nora, she and Emile accepted this baby as a surprise gift. Amazingly, the morning sickness, fatigue and change in appetite did not bother her as much as it did when she was expecting Candy. It was truly a blessing.

"Hey Julia. I'm going to pick up Candy from school now. I just put Lily down for her nap. Here is the baby monitor. Remember what to do if she stirs?" Alena asked the helper that Emile insisted hiring since the baby was born. She impatiently put on the snow jacket, ready to dash out of the doors.

"Yes, ma'am. Let her cry five minutes and see if she will go back to sleep on her own. If not, pick her up and try to rock her back to sleep." Julia replied with a smile.

"You've got it." Alena was already out the door when the last word had the chance to come out of her mouth. It was one of those days when it took longer than she planned to put Lily down for her nap. It was already three fifty in the afternoon. She was running late. Fortunately, she had Julia to man the house when she was gone.

Since Lily was born, they lived through every day with the little faith they had, otherwise, it would have been really hard for them to cope with everything else. Emile's company was not doing too well. Though the new products made some noise in the industry, but the sales cycle of the new products was longer than expected. Companies took longer to make their purchase decisions. As a result, Emile's company began to experience the pain of killing the cash cow a year ago. They had the second round of layoffs just several months before Lily was born. Emile had no choice but to run an even a leaner team, hoping sales would pick up in the next few months. As much as he wanted to get the company out of the woods, it was really up to the sales team to close the deals. Though he tried to stay in town as much as he could, he spent half of his time meeting with clients all over the continent.

On the other hand, though Mark had shown some improvements when he was first administered the new drug almost a year ago, the effect of the drug began to wear off. He was getting weaker and weaker every day. By now, everyone had accepted that he was indeed a terminal cancer patient. Every single breath he took was by the grace of the Lord. He was not as active as he was just couple of months ago. He spent most of the time resting. Occasionally he and Rhonda would come visit their grandchildren, spent an afternoon in the playroom with Candy while cuddling Lily in their arms. They cherished every minute they could spent together. These days would not last forever.

Alena rushed to school and Candy was the last kid waiting in the classroom. All the other kids were either picked by their parents, or were sent to after-school care, waiting for their parents to get off from work. Candy was sitting on the floor legged crossed with her back facing the door. She was chatting with her teacher who was busily cleaning up, ready to leave for the day.

"Thank you Mrs. Kingston. Sorry I'm late." Alena was still catching her breath by the door after running across the parking lot and hopped up a flight of stairs. Candy turned her head around at the sound of Alena. She clumsily climbed up from the floor and ran to her, hugging her tightly.

"Mama." This word came out in a sweet sigh of relief, as if she was worrying that Alena would not come. Alena squatted down and kissed the top of her head.

"Hi Mrs. Au, how are you?" Mrs. Kingston was in her mid forties and she was a very compassionate teacher.

"Thanks, I'm fine. Sorry, Mrs. Kingston. I always keep you here. I will try my best not to be late again." Alena stood up and apologized once again, feeling so embarrassed that being late seemed to becoming a habit of hers. She used to be the first mom waiting for class dismissal before Lily was born. But now, she was always the last one there. This fact did not sit well with her. She felt bad that the teachers had to wait for her till the very last minute. She also worried that people might think she was neglecting Candy. But worst of all, the sight of Candy being the last child in the classroom waiting to be picked up, hurt her most.

"It's alright, Mrs. Au. You are busy with an infant and it's snowing. The traffic must be bad."

"Thank you for understanding Mrs. Kingston. I just don't want to keep you any longer." Alena walked inside the classroom and began packing Candy's belongings while talking to Mrs. Kingston. She did not want to take one more minute of her time.

"Don't worry Mrs. Au. I was going to bring her to the after-school care if you were to come later. I understand how it is to take care of a newborn. They have their own schedule that we just have to work around."

"They sure do. And I cannot just leave her with my helper. You know how it is when we breastfeed the babies." Alena knelt on the floor and helped Candy to put on her snow pants, her snow jacket, mittens, hat and snow boots.

Mrs. Kingston smiled patiently while Alena grabbed everything from the floor, her handbag, car keys, Candy's lunch bag, Candy's painting and some other loose pieces of craft she made during the day. "Do you need any help Mrs. Au?" She asked after noticing how Alena was scrambling with everything while an Eskimo-liked Candy was standing next to her.

"It's okay. I can manage. Thanks." Alena felt her cheeks turned red because she realized how incompetent she would be without her helper Julia, who was taking care of Lily at home. Just imagined if Lily were with her at the moment, she would have said yes to Mrs. Kingston's offer, which meant she would have further troubled other people. Troubling others was so not Alena's way to work. She quickly grabbed Candy's little bundled-hand and nodded goodbye to Mrs. Kingston.

"Mama, Valentine's cards." Candy gently shook Alena's hand as they walked a few steps out of the classroom.

"Valentine's cards? Oh yes. We forgot." Alena quickly turned around and walked into the classroom again, hopefully for the last time today. "Umm, excuse me Mrs. Kingston. May I have Candy's Valentine's cards?" Alena felt her cheeks turned a shade deeper. Oh how she hated to trouble people.

"Certainly, Mrs. Au. Pardon me. Here you go. Have a wonderful Valentine's night." Mrs. Kingston handed her a bag of Valentine's cards, which the other children exchanged with Candy. It was quite an event for the kids in school today. They had a special menu for snack, strawberry yogurts, pink fruit punch and Valentine's cookies.

Alena grabbed the paper bag from Mrs. Kingston and determined to get out of the school in the very next second. No matter what she had forgotten to bring back home today, she would just leave it. If she kept going back to the classroom, Mrs. Kingston would never leave the school. She sighed as she buckled up Candy in the car seat.

"Mama, Daddy needs a Valentine's card." Candy reminded Alena as they pulled out from the school parking lot. She wanted to buy him one from the store, liked the ones she had exchanged with her classmates.

"It's alright sweetie. You can make him one when we get home." Alena really did not want to make any stop on the way home. She wanted to get home. She had something planned for the evening. If everything went according to her plan, she probably would have a two hour window for a romantic dinner with Emile. Most importantly, this was a surprise for Emile. She stepped deeper onto the gas pedal unconsciously, hoping to get home sooner.

*

"Julia. This is Mr. Au. Do you know if my wife has planned anything for tonight?" Emile called home just after Alena stepped out to pick up Candy. His timing was just perfect.

"Ah sir. Ma'am did not tell me anything." Julia replied.

"Did she ask you to make anything special or is it just a regular dinner you're making?" Emile was a bit annoyed that Julia could not tell him much about what Alena had prepared for the evening, or if she had planned anything at all.

"Ah sir. Ma'am only asked me to prepare meat sauce spaghetti and corn on cob."

"Okay. Thanks Julia. No need to cook so much then. I will bring something home for Mrs. Au and me. And don't tell her about it." Emile hung up the phone with a satisfactory smile. So Alena did not plan anything special. Good. Emile picked up from his desk a small package wrapped in silver plastic bag. It was delivered by the USPS this morning. A small smile escaped his lips. He walked out of his office and went to his secretary.

"Alex, can you please order the deluxe sushi and sashimi boat from Hanako? I will pick it up before five thirty tonight. I also need a dozen long stem roses from the florist at the mall? Peach pink please." Emile smiled smugly as he instructed Alex. Then he seemed to have forgotten something.

"Ah yes, can you order a white chocolate mousse cake from La Torta too?" Emile finally recalled what he planned for dessert.

Emile walked back to his office with a smile on his face. He felt so proud that he managed to pull this together behind Alena. It usually was her who surprised him. But tonight, it looked like he would surprise her for the second time in his life. The first time was when he proposed to her.

They both needed something special to release their stress. Caring the newborn and his father stressed them out physically. Though Alena might not be very aware of what was happening in the office, she definitely was not very happy with his frequent business trips. Worst of all, the meagre jobs that Alena managed to find prior Lily was born, had put a severe dent in Alena's pride. These jobs, which were supposed to rebuild her confidence and career, only cut her pride deep. So tonight, he would show her how much she was cherished.

He was not paying any attention to his surrounding as he walked. He kept his head down, thinking about the romantic evening he had planned. It was Marcus who pulled him back to reality.

"Emile." Marcus knocked on the door as Emile was about to take his seat on the office.

"Hi Marcus." Emile looked up and noticed that Marcus was not quite at ease. He immediately kicked himself into the alert gear, guarding himself that something of importance was about to be communicate to him.

"Do you have a minute? I'd like to speak to you." Marcus closed the door behind him.

"Sure. Is everything alright?" Emile decided to take on the inquisitive role and took it from there.

"Things can be better, l would say." Marcus pulled out the chair across from Emile and sat down. He leaned back and then pulled up one of his leg across the other thigh. He tried hard to look relaxed but his effort showed.

"Yes, things can be better, I supposed. But what in particular you are referring to?" Emile carefully worded his question.

"Well, what do you think?" Marcus countered.

"I thought you wanted to speak to me, Marcus. What brings you here?" Emile leaned back and mimicked Marcus's relax stance. It looked like they would be waltzing in circle for at least a few more moments.

"The well being of the company, of course. What else?" Marcus smiled a little. But the smile was too casual in Emile's eyes.

"We always talk about the well being of the company, Marcus. I don't imagine you coming in here, asking about my plans for Valentine's Day." Emile replied with a small smile, just liked Marcus's. He determined not to expose his thought until Marcus started off the topic. He came in with an agenda. He might as well lead him on. It would not be wise to move unless he knew where his opponent was moving to.

"Valentine's Day. I almost forgot. I should ask Alex to get my wife some roses. Perhaps I will take her out for dinner too. Any recommendations?" Marcus chuckled a little. He had a habit of rambling something unrelated when he was about to deliver some really bad news. Trying to lighten the mood was he tactics. He thought people might not notice, but having worked with him for years, Emile knew. Emile was now certain that Marcus was about to tell him something, which in his opinion, Emile would receive negatively.

"If you're asking for restaurant recommendations, I think you should ask Tom. He spent so much time dining with clients. He probably can name you a few." Emile chuckled a little, copying Marcus.

"And shall I get her some roses too? Are red roses too boring?" Marcus continued on with his rambling.

"Red roses are good. Women like them, don't they?" Emile kept his eye contacts, just being observant.

"Alright Emile. We need a change in plan." Marcus abruptly changed the topic. Since this circle dance was not giving him any openings into Emile thought, he might as well change his course.

"Change in plan? What kind of change, may I ask?" Emile asked in a calm tone and Marcus had no way to tell what he was thinking. He did not show if he was shocked or if he did see it coming. He gave away nothing.

"Well I'm sure you are fully aware of the situations in the company. What do you think our most logical course of actions should be now?" Marcus sat up straight and put down his leg. This change in posture signified that he was approaching the discussion from another angle.

"That depends on the objectives, or I should say goals of the decision makers, don't you think?" Emile also sat up straight and rested his arms on the desk, hands clasping together. He sure was keeping pace with the opponent.

"You are a decision maker Emile. So what should we do now that the sales guys are taking so long to close the deals?" Marcus gave it the last try to corner Emile, totally expecting him to cave in with such a direct question.

"But you and Ryan hold the stakes. He and you are the real decision makers. What do you have in mind? I thought that's what you came to me for." Emile dodged the question for the last time and skilfully ended this waltz they were having.

Marcus stiffened immediately. The waltz had ended, no doubt. But the duelling now began.

"We want to raise another round of funds." Marcus announced quietly.

"How big a round are you thinking?" Emile asked calmly which caused Marcus to raise his brows. Emile asked so nonchalantly made him think that Emile saw this coming. He relaxed a little, thinking he might have worried too much that Emile might fight this plan.

"Ten to twenty millions, it depends on the valuations and who the lead investor is. Ryan is talking to a couple of investors in the west coast. You probably will meet them in the next few weeks."

"Of course. Just let me know when and where. I suppose you want me to prepare the technology plan and projections for your investor deck?"

"Yes, please. We can go over it together when you are done. When will you have it?" Marcus stood up, totally relaxed now. He never imagined Emile would take the news so readily.

"Let me work on it this week. I will discuss it with you on Monday?" Emile stood up and followed Marcus to the door.

"Monday sounds good. So you'll have a Happy Valentine's then." Marcus gave him a pat on his arm as he opened the door, and walked away.

Emile turned around and walked back to his seat. His eyes were focused on the computer screen, but his hands were balled into fists. He imagined this would happen. When a company had great plans and market potential but lacked the resources to move forward, external funding made perfect sense. But he did not think Ryan and Marcus would make this decision without talking to him first. Now he knew how much they valued him. They could not go on without him, at least at the moment, but they certainly did not care of what he thought. He was just a pawn in the game.

He pulled up the file for the technology plan in his laptop. Looking at the technology gap in the market, his new products had great potential. But the plan was not without risks. If another disruptive technology was introduced in the space, the whole market landscape would change drastically. Therefore, these potential investors better be experts in the field. Outsiders could destroy the company in a blink of an eye. So who was Ryan talking to in the west coast? He had a very bad feeling that Ryan wanted out so badly that he might just sell a huge chunk of the company on a dirt cheap price. And what if they chose the wrong investors who might lead the company to the wrong directions?

He swivelled his chair towards the window. It was once again a bleak winter view he was looking at. Nothing had changed much since the last winter. It was as bleak as it was now.

"Emile?" Alex, his secretary, knocked on the door. "I have ordered everything already. Would you like me to pick up the flowers and the cake for you?"

"No thanks. I can pick them up." Emile turned around and reached for the mouse on his desk. "In fact, I am leaving now. You have a great evening Alex." Emile shut down his computer and decided to head home. He grabbed the USPS package from his desk and stuffed it into his suitcase. He knew where to find his comfort. He needed to see the dazzling smile on Alena's face when he showed her his surprises.

*

As soon as Alena came home with Candy, it was a little after four thirty in the afternoon. She was already half an hour late with her daily routine, which included a snack for Candy and some alone time with Candy in the playroom. Her adrenaline began to rise and she did not know how to get her schedule back on track again. Worst of all, Lily would be up from her nap at any time. Her nap schedule was still random given that she was only a little over a month old.

She took a deep breath as she walked into the kitchen, hoping to calm down. Well, at least Lily was still sleeping.

"Julia, is Candy's fruit ready?" Alena asked the helper while she washed her hands under the tap.

"Yes, ma'am. I cut up an apple for her." Julia grabbed the plate of apple chunks from the fridge. "I've warmed up the milk too."

"Great. Thanks a lot Julia." Alena was so relieved to see that Julia had everything ready, a step ahead of her. What a great helper she was.

"And Lily did not stir at all." Julia added.

"Thanks, Julia. I will take it from here. If you can get started with dinner, that will be great. Remember it's only for you and Candy. Mr. Au and I are going out for dinner." Alena took the plate of apple chunks and the cup of milk, eager to get to the playroom. She needed to get Candy to finish her snack quickly.

"Going out for dinner?" Julia was so surprised to hear that. She now worried if she had told Emile something incorrectly.

"Yes. Didn't I tell you this morning?" Alena turned around and looked at Julia.

"I...I...I'm...sorry, I don't remember." Julia was very worried now. But she could not tell Alena what she was worrying. Emile told her not to tell Alena that he called.

"It's okay if you've prepared too much food for just the two of you. You can put away the extra for tomorrow lunch. You and I can have it." Alena walked to the playroom, totally assumed that was the reason why Julia looked worried.

"Candy, the apple is ready." Alena put the apples a front of Candy on the craft table, while she was busily cutting and gluing something together.

"I make Daddy a Valentine's card." Candy said proudly.

"Please Candy, have the apple first. It's getting late." Alena prayed silently that Candy would be cooperative tonight. To get the schedule back on track, her cooperation was foremost important.

"Where is glue stick, Mama?" Candy completely ignored what Alena was saying. Her goal was to finish the Valentine's Card for Emile.

It took Alena a few more rounds of struggles until Candy finally put the craft aside. Just as Candy ate the first piece of apple, Lily woke from her nap and began to cry. Now Alena got two kids to care for. Oh how she wished everything would be magically on schedule again. Fortunately, Julia was there to help. So while she was cooking, she kept an eye on Candy so that Alena could go taking care of Lily. So Alena went to Lily, changed her diapers and brought her down to the playroom. As soon as she sat comfortably on the sofa and cuddled Lily on her chest, Lily nudged her head to her breast. So she fed her while watching Candy finished up her snack and Valentine's card.

Normally, she would enjoy such a moment, enjoying the company of her daughters. But tonight, she was on a tight schedule. She needed to get Candy ready for dinner by six o'clock, then in bed by seven fifteen. She would then quickly feed Lily again for fifteen minutes and put her down by seven thirty. Another fifteen minutes to tidy herself. Finally, she and Emile hopefully could get to her favourite French restaurant in the neighbourhood for the eight o'clock reservation. But they had to be back by nine thirty because Lily would need her feedings. This meant she had to leave the restaurant no later than nine fifteen. It really was an impossible schedule, but she wanted to have a romantic evening. She desperately needed it as if she needed some breathing space.

As soon as Candy finished her snack and Valentine's Card, Alena decided to swap her daily routine. She would bathe Candy and Lily before dinner, just to save some time in the bedtime routine.

"Mama, why shower now? We shower after dinner." Candy complained as Alena pulled her clothes over her head in the bathroom. Lily was happily sucking her hands in the baby swing, just by the bathroom door.

"Because, it's a special day today." Alena tried to answer patiently though she really wanted Candy to hop into the bathtub right at that second.

"Because it's Valentines's Day?" Candy asked innocently. "We shower before dinner on Valentine's Day?"

"Yes, we shower before dinner on Valentine's Day." Alena did not even know what she was saying. She finally got a naked Candy ready in the bathtub. She grabbed the shower hose and turned on the water.

"Too cold mama." Candy complained as she felt the cold water drifted towards her feet. "Too hot now, mama, too hot." She complained again as the water turned hot under her feet.

"Stay at the corner, Candy. The corner." Alena pushed Candy to the far corner of the tub as she continued to adjust the temperature of the water under the hose. She could not understand why they had this conversation every night. Her patience was wearing thin minute by minute.

"Hello. Time for a shower already?" Emile suddenly appeared by the bathroom door with a big smile.

"Ah! Daddy!" Candy screamed in happiness which startled Lily in the baby swing, and she started to cry.

"Oh Gosh! What have you done?" All the tight wires in her body finally snapped. Alena directed her frustration at Emile.

"What? What have I done?" Emile was taken aback. He was disappointed to receive such a welcome from Alena. He exhaled a deep breath and picked up Lily from the swing. He tried to soothe her by cuddling her on his flat chest, in which the baby did not find very comfortable. She continued to cry. The baby's disturbing wail reminded him what Alena hated most, the sense of failure in being imperfect.

"Alright Candy. Be a good girl. Turn around and let me wash your back." Alena was very upset. The tight schedule was driving her crazy. Emile not being able to soothe Lily was getting on her nerves. She never imagined this, a supposedly romantic Valentine's evening, could start off like this. Everything went wrong.

As soon as she was done with Candy, Alena took Lily from Emile. This baby could only find comfort in Alena. The moment she was in her arms, she stopped crying.

"Daddy." Candy looked up to Emile sweetly. He picked her up and kissed on her cheeks. She then snaked her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. Her affections warmed his heart.

"Feeling better now?" Emile took the advantage of this quiet moment. He gently stroked the baby's cheeks and gave Alena an apologetic look. He took the blame for disrupting her routine and not for being able to soothe Lily. He did not want to begin the evening with the wrong foot.

Alena nodded. Her frustration was still tight in her throat. She could not speak. She was afraid that if she spoke now, she would say something that she would regret right away.

She put Lily on the changing pad on the bathroom counter. She then filled the baby bathtub with warm water. It was Lily's turn for her bath.

"Do you need help?" Emile offered.

"It's okay. Why don't you play with Candy? Candy, don't you have something for Daddy?" Alena carefully undressed Lily and put her inside the water. She swallowed her frustrations in a big gulp.

"Daddy, come." Candy squirmed in Emile's arm, trying to get to the floor. Emile lowered her to the floor. She then held his hand and led him down the stairs into the playroom.

Being alone with Lily in the bathroom allowed Alena a moment of serenity. The baby was so quiet. Her eyes never looked away, but were locked with Alena's. She did not fuss as if she was enjoying Alena's touch when she lathered the soap on her body. If Candy was a prize from God, then Lily was truly a gift from the Lord.

While dressing Lily after the bath, she was thankful that Emile was home earlier than usual. She finally could relax for the first time in this afternoon. Now that he was with Candy, she could even leave Lily with him so that she could tidy up herself for the romantic evening she had planned. But then, a very bad feeling crept up her spine. Why was he home early anyway? He wouldn't remember that today was Valentine's Day, would he? He never remembered small things liked this. Heck, he even forgot her birthday, his birthday and their wedding anniversary. Oh well, perhaps he just finished early in the office, that was it. Yes, that was it. She convinced herself.

So Alena carefully held Lily in her arms and walked down the stairs. She heard the giggles of Emile and Candy from the playroom. She felt a very warm feeling wrapped around her heart. What a beautiful family she had. A smile slowly spread across her face but it froze as soon as she walked into the kitchen, adjacent to the playroom. A big platter of sushi and sashimi was sitting on the big breakfast table there.

"Ma'am." Julia nervously looked at Alena. She was so worried for this moment. Did she ruin Alena's plan? She dared not to imagine what would happen if Alena found out it was her who misled Emile.

"Happy Valentine's Day." Emile quietly walked into the kitchen behind Alena. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the top of her head. He wanted to kiss her passionately on her lips, but Julia was right there. It would be inappropriate, at least for him.

Alena dropped her gaze from the sushi platter and turned around facing Emile. "Thank you. Happy Valentine's Day to you too." It was so obvious that she was only half-hearted in what she said. She then walked away, leaving behind a very confused Emile in the kitchen.

"Sir." Julia nervously whispered to Emile from behind, "Ma'am was planning to go out with you tonight, but I forgot." She bet on Emile would forgive her.

Emile sighed, totally defeated. "It's alright. Thanks for telling me." Julia was so happy that she was off the hook. She hurried back to her duties and brought out the dishes for dinner.

Now knowing why Alena was not thrilled with his surprise, he just hoped that the other surprises he had yet to show her would cheer her up in the end. He wanted to see her smile. He needed to feel her lips on his. He needed to hold her in his arms. He needed her, period. Everything was already slipping away from him, his father, his company. She was all he had left.

He found her in the study. She was still holding Lily in her arms, and she was on the phone. He quietly waited behind her. He did not need to listen to the conversation and knew already that she cancelled her dinner reservation.

"I'm sorry." He apologized as soon as she hung up the phone.

"No need to say sorry. I know you only want to please me." She turned around and replied with a weak smile. Her disappointment was still evident between her brows. She tried to walk towards the door but Emile blocked her from getting out of the study.

He put his hands on her shoulders and stopped her from moving forward. "You are upset."

"No, I am not upset." Alena lied. She avoided his gaze as if she did not want him to see how disappointed she was.

It really wasn't about having Japanese food or French cuisine for Valentine's dinner. It was just that she wanted something more romantic, liked a candle-light dinner so that she could soak herself in that kind of an atmosphere. Having dinner at home with the kids and the helper, was not romantic at all.

"Please don't be upset." Emile lifted her chin up so that he could see her eyes. "For Valentine's sake, please forgive my stupidity in trying to surprise you. You know I suck at planning surprises." He teased and pleaded. "For all these years, how many times have I ever succeeded in surprising you?"

Now that managed to get a chuckle from Alena and she said, "Once."

"So, you should know by now what kind of a loser I am to even think of surprising you." He grinned as he saw the ice-cold face of her was melting. "Come and enjoy the food." He snaked his arm around her waist and guided her back to the kitchen.

Though there was still in tint of disappointment in the back of her mind, Alena tried to shake off that feeling. Didn't she feel that she had a beautiful family? She told herself. Looking at how everyone was eating in a relaxed pace in the kitchen, she concluded that this was actually better. The tight schedule she planned would never work. Even if she could manage to get to the restaurant on time, there was very little hope that she could finish dinner in so little time. Worst of all, she would not be able to eat peacefully. She would be watching her watch as the minutes passed, tracking the schedule, in a way.

She finally looked at Emile with a sweet smile. Oh how triumphant Emile felt while he was captivated by her smile. He wanted to crush his lips on hers right there, right now. He finally felt at home. This was how it should be.

Dinner went by peacefully, and so was the bedtime routine for the girls. By eight o'clock, both girls were sound asleep in their own rooms, though Lily would probably wake up and end up in their bed a couple of hours later. Emile was well aware of the precious time he was allowed alone with Alena.

In their bedroom, he showed her the box of long stem roses. They were the same kind of roses as Alena's wedding bouquet. The moment she opened the box, she was stunned. She never imagined Emile would buy her flowers, let alone he would remember the color of her wedding bouquet. She was touched.

"Don't thank me yet. I still have something for you." Emile took the silver plastic bag out. Alena looked curiously at the silver plastic bag. It was an ordinary USPS bag. She took it from Emile and noticed a big grin was spreading on his face.

"Oh no. What have you got me on the internet?" She tried to feel the content through the wrapping. It was all soft. It must be something made of fabric. A scarf? She opened the package and reached inside the bag.

She gasped as she pulled out a red silk kimono. She slipped it on and the silk was so soft. It was a short one too, just covering her bottom. Yes, it was a very sexy piece. She could not help but smile. She read all these surprises very clearly, roses just like wedding bouquet and a kimono in red, a Chinese wedding color. Emile was showing her that his love to her never changed, just liked when he vowed his love to her at the altar. Just his thought of planning of these things struck her heart strings.

She leaned forward and kissed him passionately.

"I still have something to surprise you." Emile pulled away after the long and heated kiss, "do you want to see it?"

"No, I have enough surprises for tonight." Alena kissed him again on his lips.

"But it's a white chocolate mousse cake. You're sure you don't want it?" Emile could barely ask her as she was still seeking his lips between the words.

"That's okay. We can save that for breakfast." Alena chuckled and pressed her lips on his once again.

With Alena in his arms and their hearts pounding against each other, Emile could easily file away the things that were drifting away from him. As long as he had her, he could deal with the losses, hopefully.