She's My Sleeping Pill

Cayenne was sitting on the swinging rattan chair, gazing into the sparkling stars which were light years away from her while waiting for her husband. She was worried. However, she couldn’t leave the house because she will cause other people to worry as well. She could only pray under the night sky that nothing bad has happened to him. Even the beautiful tulip flowers couldn’t catch her attention at this moment.

“Yen, aren’t you going to get inside yet?” Kyle asked his sister and being the good brother – handed her a thick blanket from his room that she could use to shield herself from the cold evening breeze. “He should be fine. He won’t do anything reckless knowing that you are waiting for him here. He’s probably on his way home now.”

“I just can’t stop worrying. This is the first time that this has happened. I know that he was going somewhere but I don’t know for what reason. Elena didn’t have any idea either and we couldn’t get in touch with Tristan. I just really want to know that he’s doing okay.”

Kyle didn’t know what to say this time. The couple has been living their life with open communication since the last separation that happened between them. They were both afraid that one negative could break them apart if not heard from each other’s mouths first.

“Kyle, have you ever thought that all we have now is just a fleeting dream?”

“Sometimes.”

“Right.” Cayenne agreed at once while still keeping her eyes on the stars shining across the vast sky. It makes Kyle wonder if she wasn’t feeling sore from looking at them for so long. “I always fear that when I wake up the next day, everything’s gone; that I am not married, no child coming our way, no foundations – nothing.”

“I feel the same,” Kyle told his sister and slowly pushed her rattan chair to swing it. “Every night, I pray that I’m not being pranked with all the changes that happened in our lives. Then, the next morning, when I see the same people, the same place, and whatnot, I thank God for it.”

.....

The two of them took this chance to talk about their views in life, to share the things that have been bothering them and the goals that they still wanted to achieve. Since she has company to pass the time, Cayenne didn’t realize how long she has been sitting outside until she heard the sound of the car engine coming closer to their place, and slowly, the huge gate opened and Stefan’s car came into view.

“Stefan.” She muttered and got down off the chair immediately. The anxiety she felt a little over an hour ago, vanished the moment he stepped out of the car and walked toward her. His long strides brought him to her in no time and Cayenne wrapped her arms around him without a sound.

To see him with swollen eyes, for a man with pride, something serious must have happened to make him cry so hard to the point of getting red-rimmed eyes.

“It’s okay,” Cayenne whispered softly and gently patted his back. “Have you had dinner?” He shook his head. “Do you want to talk about it over food? I can ask Carla to make something for you really quick.” He shook his head again. “I can’t skip a meal and so do you.”

“Sandwich,” Stefan murmured and she nodded her head in understanding.

“Alright. I’ll make it for you instead.” She turned to Kyle and smiled faintly, enough for her brother to understand that she can handle everything. “Let’s get inside. You can tell me everything while I’m making something for you.”

Fifteen minutes later, Cayenne was sitting on a stool chair beside her husband with an indescribable expression. One thing was for sure, she felt happy with the news but she didn’t know how to name the other emotions swirling like tornadoes wreaking havoc deep inside her.

Even when Stefan was done eating the sandwiches she made, she was still unable to react. He gave her time to digest the information he just dropped like a bomb and went to the kitchen sink to wash the utensils he used. He could understand why Cayenne was also shocked by the news, after all, they have been together and had known so many things about them. She also believed that his mother really died only to find out that she was actually alive all these years. For 29 years!

Stefan washed his hands carefully and after wiping it dry, he hugged Cayenne’s waist and pressed his face on her stomach. “Baby, you have a grandma. She may not be able to take care of you but she is really excited to see you.”

“Then, are you going to tell your father?” Cayenne asked after a long moment of silence. She didn’t know how to react yet but this question was something crucial that she couldn’t let go of. Since she was alive, she thought that the woman might want her family to know the truth and not just her son.

Stefan straightened up his back and returned to his seat. “I am not sure,” he said with that gloomy expression once again. “She’s happy with Dr. Albert even though she didn’t say she loves the man but she didn’t say she still loves my father either. When I asked her if she wanted me to let her family, I mean our family knows, she didn’t answer and I don’t want to force her. All this time, she was presumed dead and her family has accepted that for the last 29 years. They never doubted the report of the police nor the body of the woman whom they buried and visited all these years. Their lives will be turned upside down if they find out that she’s alive. Moreover, she’s not in good condition. Dr. Albert said that she should receive so many emotional stimuli.” Stefan sighed and held Cayenne’s hand as if drawing strength from her. “Truth be told, I don’t know what to do.”

“Can I visit her, then? Maybe I could help since we are both mothers in a sense.”

“I’d rather ask someone to go and fetch them to come here. It would be a long journey going there.”

Cayenne could only smile at his quick response which shows how much he cared for her even though they were talking about his mother. “Don’t worry, I will help you come to conclusion in her case. Shall we let them stay here?”

“Dad will find out.”

“Right.” Cayenne wanted to flick her forehead but Stefan was very quick in grabbing her other hand to stop her. “I didn’t think of that. Well, let’s think of the next steps once we have the conclusion. For now, let’s just be happy that she’s alive and be thankful that Dr. Albert chose to keep her safe from Clara’s wrath. That stepmother of yours, even if she’s dead, I wish she won’t ever rest in peace.”

Stefan was quite surprised by the words that Cayenne uttered because she was never someone who badmouth others. It was really unexpected to hear her curse other people.

“Don’t think of negative things. It will affect our baby.”

That night, Cayenne and Stefan slept peacefully with new hope for tomorrow. They were both excited to see Latticia again but since she has to go to the university, she needed to wait until class was over to return home and meet her mother-in-law.

In class, Cayenne pretended to be listening during the discussion but in truth, she was just scribbling questions unrelated to her course. She wrote down as many questions as she could and all the possible answers that she could think of. Stefan told her that his mother could only respond by looking at certain things which could be used as choices so, she wanted to do the same thing to talk to her.

“I wish she would stay,” Cayenne muttered while writing down the last question she wanted to ask. “Stefan would be very happy if she would stay. Then, what about his dad?” Thinking up to this point, Cayenne couldn’t help but wonder if it was love that made Latticia cling to Magnus in the past or if was it love that made Magnus keep Latticia as his mistress. She couldn’t tell. She could only hope that whatever Latticia decides, it will keep everyone happy.