She's My Sleeping Pill

“Be careful with that.”

“Got it.” She said and kissed his cheek.

Stefan nodded in satisfaction at her response. The smug look on his face made Lucia smile faintly. As their helper, she could only pretend to be invisible at times like this.

Back in the living room, Cayenne opened the box and was greeted with lots of bubble wraps. Without even knowing what was really hidden in those wraps, she was oddly delighted with the plastic wrap. She wanted to pop them! [This can wait.] She told herself and continued to unwrap the items. “Oh! This is amazing!” Taking the tea cup and the saucer, she ran back to the kitchen and showed Stefan what she got. “Look at these! I didn’t expect they’d turn out this beautiful.”

“You designed it. Of course, they’d be great.”

“You are only saying that because I am your wife.”

.....

“Hey! You got me wrong. It’s really beautiful. I’ll book another class with them so we can practice making the vase.”

“Great! I’ll be looking forward to that.” She looked at the tea cup and saucer again, and she was jumping in joy after seeing the results of their hard work. “I’ll use this next time.” She said as she started looking for an empty spot in the kitchen cabinet to store the items. While doing so, she noticed something and a doubtful look appeared on her beautiful face. Her smile disappeared and she started to check each cabinet, looking for something which seems really important to her.

“What are you looking for?” Stefan asked when he noticed her distress. “Do you need something else?”

“No. Not really. Well, ... is it just me or didn’t I place the kitchen appliances that we received as gifts in here?”

Stefan knew she’d discover it sooner or later but he couldn’t afford to let her know about the plan yet. It’s not the right time to expose her to the truth. “I thought we’d need more space in the kitchen to store our food. So, I asked Martin to bring those items to the storage room. Do you want to use them?”

“Ah? No.” She commented with relief. “I thought I misplaced them. We received so many gifts and I didn’t know where to put them. It would be bad if I carelessly left them somewhere.”

“How can that be? You are always good at taking care of things.”

Appeased with his words, Cayenne finally relaxed and left the kitchen. While he cooked for them, she has to prepare for their trip as well. She went back to their room, took a shower, and changed her clothes. She also prepared a matching set for Stefan to use later.

Unknowingly, Stefan had called the bodyguard who was tasked to look after the child they saved two days ago. He wanted to make sure that nothing will hinder this trip he will have with his wife. To do that, he checked if the child was doing okay. Although she wasn’t showing any sign of waking up, her vitals have been stabilized and there’s a chance that she’ll wake up soon. This would be great news to Cayenne but he planned to tell her about this during the trip. If he tells her before that, she might delay or worse, cancel their trip. He didn’t want that to happen.

“Yen, are you going somewhere?” Luiz asked when Cayenne came out of her room and called someone to bring the suitcase downstairs. “Can I go on a trip with my high school classmates, too?”

“Where do you plan to go?”

“Marnie is celebrating his birthday today. We wanted to give him a little surprise.”

“Marnie? Isn’t that Dominic’s best friend? It was his family who helped Dom, right?”

“Yes. It’s him.”

Cayenne placed her bag on the couch and looked for her wallet. Taking out her money, she gave it to Luiz without any moment of hesitation. “Buy him a good gift and wish him a happy birthday for me.”

“Got it! Thanks, sis.”

Because they grew up together and Cayenne was like a second mother to them, whenever they needed something or when they have to ask for permission; they’ll turn to her for that. If she says no, they just have to agree and stay at home. Though most of the time, Cayenne agrees without asking too much.

Around ten in the morning, Cayenne and Stefan left the house and headed for Four Season Hot Spring. Stefan checked the calendar app on his phone and counted the days mentally. [Safe.]

Cayenne was suspicious of her husband’s grin. He appears to be thinking of something naughty again but for the sake of having children, she would welcome whatever he had in mind. Blushing at her own thoughts, she looked outside the window to calm herself.

After several hours of travel, they finally arrived at the island’s port. Many people were visiting this place and you could see a lot of souvenir shops lining up for people to choose from. They offer a variety of items and most of them were handmade. Cayenne likes handmade items. It feels close to her heart and home.

“For now, let’s go and check in. We can buy souvenirs on our way back to the city.”

“Okay.” The two of them stood on the side of the road and watched people come and go. A few minutes later, their carriage arrived. Yes, this island was different from what they were accustomed to.

The buildings were made of rocks and limestones and it was the same for normal houses as well. As they traveled continued to travel north, they noticed that the only form of transportation in this place was a horse carriage. The place looked historical as if they’ve gone back to the 18th century.

Cayenne was so amazed at the place that she forgot to speak. She turned her head from left to right, and right to left. If Stefan could animate her right now, he would draw stars in her eyes. She was really awestruck with how different the place was. She couldn’t even sit still.

“Oh, my god! This place is incredible!” Cayenne exclaimed the moment she stepped out of the carriage. “I can’t believe this kind of place exists! This is amazing! It feels like we have traveled back to the past!”

“It’s our pleasure that you appreciate our small place. I hope you will have a great time here.” The coachman even bowed his head with his right hand on his waist. He looked like a fine gentleman in an aristocratic family. He didn’t look like a coachman at all.

“Thank you for your service,” Stefan responded and Cayenne expressed her gratitude as well. “Let’s get inside.”

Pulling the suitcase behind him, Stefan and Cayenne walked down the narrow footpath which led them to a high bamboo gate. At the side of the gate, a middle-aged woman was wearing a yukata and bowed to them on their arrival. Stefan and Cayenne did the same thing to greet her.

“You must be Mr. and Mrs. Dumrique.”

“Yes. We booked a room here.”

“This way, please.”

When the bamboo gate was opened, Cayenne and Stefan stepped into another world. Cayenne thought she was just dreaming but when Stefan held her hand, she knew it wasn’t just a dream. She really traveled to a paradise.

“There’s a problem,” Cayenne said when she noticed the language that the woman used when she spoke to another staff. “I am not fluent in speaking their language. I don’t want to get things wrong. It’s disrespectful.”

“It’s fine. Leave it to me. Besides, some of the employees here can speak English like the woman we just met. Everything will be okay.”

With that, the two of them checked in and were guided to their room. Cayenne felt like she was in heaven. She hasn’t visited Japan yet but with this small place that represents the nation, she could already say that Japan is a beautiful country and she already noted in mind to visit the country next time.

“Ahhhh! I am so happy!” She screamed silently which caused Stefan to smile. Leaning close to her, he whispered something that brought Cayenne to a halt. [I’ll do it. For the baby. Yay! We’ll have a child soon! I can be a mother, too.]