CHAPTER 3

Emile causally put down his computer bag on the kitchen floor with a dull thud, as if he was leaving behind the problems he faced in the office, before walking back to his warm nest. He slowly walked up to Alena, who was happily munching the chocolate bar and waiting for the dish to heat up. He gently stroked his fingers up and down her arm. She smiled and stroked his cheek lightly in response. This small gesture of hers sent him a jolt. It had been a while since she took the initiative to show her affections. Her skin felt warm and soft. He pulled her closer. Her smile told him that she enjoyed this little intimacy as much as he did. He missed this woman in the last year or two, while she was so caught up with her new role as a housewife. He loved his child dearly, but he sometimes just could not help but felt like the abandoned child in the house.

"So, you are interested to know what happened today in the office?" His eyes were tendered.

"Sure. You know I like gossips. Would you like dinner first, or you'd rather take a shower now?" Alena finished off the chocolate bar and circled her arms around his waist. His tendered eyes had furthered encouraged her to carry through what she had planned for tonight.

"I'll take a shower first." Emile brushed his lips lightly on hers before walking away from the kitchen. Home sweet home was what he felt now.

Alena watched him quietly walked up the stairs to the second floor of the house, where the bedroom suites were.

Beeb, beeb, beeb, beeb, beeb! The microwave stopped spinning and Alena took the hot dish out and put it on the table. It was Emile's favourite dish, pork chops with onion in ketchup. Looking at the dish she made specifically for that evening, she smiled. Yes, she was making amends. Last night, she had been rude and insensitive. She could have given many excuses for her behaviour, but she could not deny the fact that Emile was hurt. She was neither a loving wife, nor did she show any appreciations. She not only needed to amend the hurts she had inflicted on Emile last night, she needed to fix her marriage.

Alena opened the fridge and grabbed a couple of pears. She thoroughly rinsed them under the tap water. Candy was already in bed. The quietness in the kitchen calmed her moods. It allowed her to ponder on her thoughts. Alena replayed in her head what had happened during the day.

***Flashback

Alena really did not look forward to the field trip with Candy's pre-kindergarten class. It was out of routine and would definitely throw off her schedule. But as a loving and dedicated mother, she would not want her precious daughter to miss out her first ever trip to the pumpkin patch with her little friends.

When she walked out of the house in the morning, she was in a bad mood. She did not sleep well the night before, and scavenger hunt for Candy's milk cup stressed her out. She grumpily strapped Candy into the car seat, took her to the pumpkin patch and saw the other mothers were all excited with their kids. She forged a smile on her face and she was pretty sure that the other moms noticed how fake it was too.

However, Candy was so excited about the trip. The moment she got onto the wagon in the field, her giddy laughs melted Alena. The ride was rough and bumpy. She grabbed onto Alena so tightly but her excitement was beaming from her eyes. The sun was shining and the air was dry. The mugginess from the day before was gone.

"Mama, look! A big b-bumpkin" Candy was half running in the field. She had never been to a pumpkin patch. "A big b-bumpkin here", she smiled, showing her baby teeth.

"Mama, listen to my boots. They are noisy!" Candy giggled as she walked on the wet mud in her rain boots, making the sloshing sound. She even stomped a few steps like an elephant just to get the mud splashing onto her boots, "Mama, mud splashing!" Candy continued with her fun in the mud, grinning from ear to ear.

Alena tugged a small smile at the corner of her lips. She should have stopped Candy from making herself muddy, but for some reasons, she could not bring herself to do so today. She looked up to the bright and sunny sky above. It was such a contrast from the previous stormy night. Now that she thought about it, although she hated the stormy weather, without it, Candy would not be having the muddy fun right now. This was such a déjà vu!

As she contemplated on her role as a mother, she had to admit that she left like the rain clouds were hovering over her head most of the time. She wanted to tend Candy perfectly, without making any errors. Obviously that was such an impossible goal to reach. Without knowing, she put so much pressure on herself and created a very stressful environment for Emile as well. He had asked her to go out on an evening date time and time again, just to give them some adult time. He even suggested having his parents to watch over the baby. Alena, however, had refused over and over again, worrying that Candy would need her if she ever woke from her sleep. Candy had become her center of universe, everything were running in orbits around Candy. Though she did not admit a tiny bit, Alena was completely burnt out. The sense of failure was consuming her every day. She apparently did not prepare an umbrella to shield her from the storm of motherhood. She did not know how to fight off the rain clouds in motherhood.

Now with Candy playing in the mud under a beaming sun, she should have known the "sunny weather" would come after the "rainy days". The "rain" was just temporary as it nourished the dry land. Without the rain, the crops would not grow. Perhaps, God had finally granted her the wisdom she had prayed for, so she believed. He granted her the wisdom to see that although motherhood might be stormy, it was a growing opportunity for everyone.

The trip to the pumpkin patch allowed Alena to look at her life from a new perspective. She did not have to battle her role as a mother; she just needed to embrace the new family she and Emile had created together.

*** End of Flashback

Alena grabbed some paper towel and dried the pears. She carefully cut them up in wedges. Removed the cores and had them neatly arranged on the plate. She smiled at the pears. She remembered how she and Emile used to cuddle up on the coach and shared fruits from the same plate. "Love birds" was how some of their friends used to called them. But her maternal instincts had kicked in just a little too hard and made her a protective mother eagle instead. Though she neither had shame nor regret for being a devoted mother, her inadequacy in being a loving wife was costing her marriage. She now determined to fill that hole. She needed to embrace her role as a mother and as a wife.

Emile quietly sneaked up from behind and put his hands on her shoulder. He had changed into a clean set of clothes and smelled fresh from the shower.

"You've made pork chops, lovely, it's my favourite."

"I know it's your favourite. You can always finish three servings with this dish. I want to stuff you so that you will become fat!" Alena giggled. Fat would never have any association with Emile. He had always been a lean guy, not skinny, but neither was he muscular.

He grinned. "Fat? So when did you become fond of fat guys?" He pulled out the dining chair and was ready to get stuffed. If it was part of his responsibilities to face the problems at work such that he could raise the family, then enjoying Alena would have been his privilege.

"You knew I was never attracted to you by your looks," Alena smirked. She admired his intellect and loved his sweet geeky looks, and he knew.

"So, how was the meeting? You were saying there would be changes? What changes?" She casually asked, hoping to show him that she still cared and loved him dearly.

His mind flashed back to the conversation from the meeting in which Ryan dropped the bombshell. Ready to pull up stakes! The thought still echoed in his head. What would that mean to the company? How would it affect the staff? What would be his role in this rapid change in strategy? His thought began racing.

"Ryan wants his return as soon as possible. He is running out of his patience." Emile took a bite of the juicy pork chop and the onion tasted just great.

"Hmm... wants his return? Does he mean a quick sale of the company? Or does he mean an IPO in the smaller stock exchange?" Alena looked into Emile's eyes attentively.

"He meant sale. There were a few mergers in the industry and I think he wants us to be next. You know, once all the players are consolidated, if we are being left out as a smaller one, we could end up being ceased to exist." Emile's brows pulled together as he raced his thought to the recent activities in the market.

"What's his plan?" Alena's brows pulled together as well. She knew Emile had put in a lot of work and passion in the company for the last few years. His facial expression was telling her that he was skeptical about the new plan. She did not see any frowns, however.

"He talked about restructuring the development team and refocusing on a few accounts, hoping those accounts will turn into potential buyers, rather than merely customers". Emile looked at Alena, trying to figure out what she was thinking. He enjoyed this kind of conversations with her. When she put herself back into the corporate thinking, he once again saw the woman who fascinated him. Although he was chewing on the delicious pork chop that she had made for him, he enjoyed the career woman more than the housewife.

She lost her lustre when she played the role of a housewife, Emile quietly thought. He knew she could do a lot more than the current role she had convinced herself that she was destined to.

"So what's that mean to you? Does he want you to do things differently?" Alena sounded concerned.

"Not really. He wants me to plan out a few new products such that they will give us most bangs for the buck. We probably will streamline the consulting team too." Emile took another bite of the pork chop.

"Do Mason and Conrad know yet?" Alena asked.

She guessed that would have bothered Emile. Mason and Conrad were Emile's left and right hand men. The three of them worked so well together. Any change in the company strategy would definitely changed the dynamics among them, of which Emile would not like to see happen.

"Mason does not know yet, but Conrad was in the meeting", a tiny grin escaped from his lips while Emile answered with his mouth stuffed with pork chop.

She sure did think fast. Emile quietly thought. Without much elaboration on the situation, she already knew that he was concerned about the team.

"So what are you planning to tell Mason?" Alena continued to probe.

"I have not figured it out yet. Hmm, the pork chop is really good." Emile was enjoying the moment. Fascinating woman and delicious food, could he always have both?

Alena ignored the comment as she was trying hard to think through the situation.

"Will there be any layoffs, you think? Wait, do you think Ryan's plan makes sense in the first place?" Alena was thinking in one direction and then abruptly steered her train of thoughts to another as if something had struck her.

"What do you think? Do you think it make sense?" Emile now had turned around the interrogation and began to probe her thoughts.

"I think...I don't know. It seems to make sense that if market consolidation is happening, of course it is best to be sold, than to be folded." Alena answered sheepishly. Her eyes did not meet Emile's as she spoke. What she said was a generic reply, a safe answer. The statement could apply to Company A or Company B.

She knew he was probing her thoughts, hoping to get some fascinating ideas from her. But the truth was that she had no clue. She had been away from the company for almost three years by now. Whatever happened in the industry was like a blur to her. All she did in the last three years was feeding the baby, changing diapers, cooking meals, going to her classes and working on her assignments. She did not keep tracks of what happened in the company. It was too much for her to juggle already. She could not spare much thought to Emile's work. She knew he was good at it and would not really need her advices on any of the office issues anyway, so she was convinced.

"So you think we should make some new products, and streamline the consulting team?" Emile asked and he noticed that she looked away. He could not found the confident that used to show on her face whenever she had an opinion. She always fought hard in an argument and stuck to her guns.

"I did not say that. I don't think I know enough to tell if it makes sense." She turned her head to him, her eyes meeting his. She saw he was confused.

"I am too remote from the situation. I think you know much better to tell if his plan make sense or not", she tried to explain herself.

"Maybe. But I want to hear you thoughts too." Emile pressed.

"My thoughts are just filled with cartoon characters now, you know. If you want to know what I think about the Disney princesses, I can sure give you a ton of thoughts on that." Alena smiled and tried to keep the conversation light. The last thing she wanted tonight was to disappoint Emile again.

She did not notice until now that she was paying so much attention to the conversation that she was only inches away from Emile's face and was sitting on the edge of the dining chair. The way she was sitting was hurting her thighs. It was so uncomfortable. So she relaxed and leaned back to the dining chair.

Emile saw her sitting back and thought she had lost interest in the topic. She probably wanted to end the conversation and began talking about Candy. He pursed his lips. He did not want this conversation to end.

"Well, from what you knew about Mason, how should I approach him with the news?" Emile gave up where the conversation was heading, and decided to steer it to a zone where Alena would be more comfortable with. He loved seeing her talking about something non-Candy related. After all, she knew his left and right hand men as well as he did.

"I think..." Alena looked away, trying to gather her thoughts once again. She flashed back to the dealings she had had with the other two guys. One was mellow while the other was sharp.

"I think you should have one of those heart-to-heart chat with Mason. Since his team will probably have most of the casualties, he probably will feel so sorry for the guys. You know, he has such a big heart for everyone." Alena gently pat on Emile's hand, a gesture telling him that she knew how difficult that heart-to-heart chat would be.

Emile gently picked up her hand and laced his fingers through hers. He was actually thinking about the same thing, planning to take Mason for a coffee the next morning. He was glad that she had confirmed his thought.

"Your pork chop is very delicious. But I think you should go back to work. Being a staying home mom does not suit you well". Emile causally suggested.

Alena's brows pulled together immediately.

"What are you talking about? Candy is still only spending half-day in school. Who is going to take care of her in the afternoon? I am not going to dump her to the grandparents and let someone else be her caregiver." Alena all in a sudden tensed up. She was trying to be a loving wife tonight but Emile's suggestion completely shocked her.

Emile sensed that her defence was up. He had been thinking about that lately, especially since Candy started to attend a half-day program in a pre-kindergarten. In about a year, she could attend the full-day program and by then Alena would have finished her post-graduation studies as well. It would be the perfect time to resume her career.

"No, I don't mean now. I mean when Candy goes to kindergarten, she would be in school full time. You would be done with your studies by then. Don't you want do something else during those free hours?" Emile tightened his grip as if he was trying to squeeze some sense into her.

"I will not have much free time even when she goes to school full time. I still have to prepare dinner, do all the house chores. I want to take Candy to all those after school programs, like ballet classes and piano lessons. My hands will still be full", Alena was almost choking with her words. She was so convinced that she was destined to be a stay home mom, at least for the next several years. She could not imagine how she could live by a day with someone else there for Candy while she was still so young. No, she could not allow it. Candy was her precious prize from the Heavenly Father. She prayed hard for the pregnancy.

Emile knew she would become defensive when he voiced this idea. That was why he kept it to himself for so long. But tonight, seeing how fast her thinking was, he knew she could be more. With her post-grad studies, she would be even more equipped and be able to face the challenges in the business world. He could never imagine her spending hours mopping the floor at home, and ironing his shirts. That image did not suit Alena. He just did not know how to get her to see what he saw in her.

"Well, just think about it. You will soon finish your studies. More doors will be opened for you. You can do something else. You don't have to come back to the company. Just consider it." Emile released his hand and quietly cleaned up the dining table. Pressing on his idea at the moment probably might not be the best time.

"You want me to find a job?" Alena asked timidly. Now she sounded worried. Could Emile be worried about the company? Could he be preparing for the worst and hoping that she could share the financial responsibility in the household? Though they were not in any financial trouble, but with Alena's experience, her earning power would definitely alleviate some of the financial responsibilities from Emile's shoulder.

"You think we may need the extra income?" Alena hesitantly asked.

"No, it has nothing to do with the company", Emile chuckled as he turned around from the kitchen sink and saw the worried face of hers.

"I just don't want you to waste all your experience and education. I cannot imagine you mopping the floor and doing the house chores all day. I like seeing your sharp looks in the office. I sure miss those legs in your high heels." Emile teased a little, trying to lighten the mood.

Alena's guards were still up even though she had to agree that she did not like the house chores very much. But she felt very insecure with the suggestion. Could it mean that Emile did not think she could be a good mother? Could he mean that someone else could be a better caregiver for Candy?

"Well, we will cross the bridge when we need to. Would you like some pears? I have cut them up already." Alena wanted to drop the topic. She could tell that her moods began to swing. Not only was she now worried about Emile's company, her role in the family, but also could she pull it together tonight? She wanted a romantic night with Emile, to make amends. Would she ruin it now with her insecurities?

"Yes, that would be a great idea. I always want to have some fruits after dinner. Good for digestion." Emile smiled and reached out to her.

"But I want to dip the pears in a chocolate fondue." Emile pulled her closer and gently caressing her arms. He did not want to ruin the night either.

"Ha! More work for me then. You sure are demanding tonight." Alena tried to lighten up her moods and smiled back to him.

"Oh, I am more demanding than that. I want to have the pears and chocolate dip up in our bedroom tonight. Perhaps I can see those legs of yours?" Emile smirked. He reached down and gently ran his fingers up and down her thighs.

"Don't you dare to have chocolate in our bed! I just changed the sheets this morning." Alena was half laughing, fully understood what Emile's smirk was all about. His running fingers sure had lightened up her moods, let alone sending jolts of sparks up her spine. Perhaps she could pull it together tonight as a loving wife. She giggled at her thoughts.

"Well then, let's just skip fruits altogether." Emile started pulling Alena towards the stairs impatiently.

"Wait, the pears will turn brown. Let's have them first." Alena insisted. What a game she was playing, getting him excited, and just not giving in yet.

"Alright, be quick then", Emile quickly grabbed a few wedges and stuffed them into his mouth.

"I cannot eat quickly. I eat with manners." Alena sure was playing delay.

"The heck with manners, I don't want pears, I want to eat you." Emile played along the role of an impatient husband. He pulled Alena onto him and kissed her on her neck, not only a kiss, but also a tickle.

He grabbed her hand and dragged her towards the stair, and up to the bedroom.

Love birds again. The mother eagle disappeared tonight. Although they might not share the same views on many things, they sure shared the love of each other.

But would that be enough to weather the storms that they did not see coming, yet was about to take them by surprise? What if Emile lost his company? Could they weather the financial burden then? Could Alena really fit in the role she was so convinced herself?

Tonight, these questions were not to be answered. Tonight was the night they shared the love.