Chapter 32: Chapter 32

"How?" Helena asked with eyes that looked expectantly at Aaron. Currently, the two were sitting side by side, enjoying dinner at their minimalist kitchen table.

Aaron closed his eyes, trying to taste the food in his mouth after having previously been tempted by the smell that emanated from the food served before him. "Hmm," he mumbled as he chewed slowly the dark-colored piece of meat that was rich in taste. "Have you ever failed at cooking?" He asked after swallowing his food.

"I have, although rarely," answered Helena, still showing the same look when she looked at him. "It doesn't suit to your taste, does it?" she asked doubtfully and worriedly.

He turned to her and looked at his wife for a long time. Then a smile appeared on his face. "This is delicious. I've never eaten this dish. What's it called?" He spoke a series of words. He shoved another bite into his mouth again.

A soft sigh escaped her lips. She was relieved that her experimental cooking was successful. "Just a minute," she replied, then took the phone beside her and started looking for a cheat sheet of the recipe she had used earlier. "The name is Barbacoa."

"Hmm." Aaron nodded in understanding.

"Try the rice and soup, too." She offered another dish she made to him.

He obeyed her words. His hand turned to take a spoonful of rice, which at first glance did not look like ordinary white rice. "You used butter?" he asked, familiar with the taste that touched his tongue.

"Yeah. I added some lime too." She provided additional information about it.

He just nodded, hearing that. Honestly, this wasn't the first time he had tasted rice the way he was chewing now. Most indeed, when he ate in restaurants. There was rarely a home cook that cooked rice this way.

His hand then moved towards a small bowl of brownish-yellow soup. He guessed that there must be turmeric in it because usually, that was used to produce the yellow color in cooking. But apparently, he was wrong. He did not taste the typical turmeric taste there.

"I modified it to be a vegetarian version." Oh, Helena certainly didn't forget to add an explanation. It was necessary because the meat was always in the original recipe she read, which was an integral part of the dish. But, since Helena had made other dishes made from beef, Helena had to balance it out with something healthier. So she replaced the meat in her pozole with tofu, which was rich in plant-based protein.

"All of your dishes are delicious," said Aaron sincerely. This time, he no longer tasted her homemade food but enjoyed it voraciously. "When did you cook all this?"

Actually, he was quite curious when it was dinner time, but Helena didn't move at all to prepare it. He thought his wife was lazy or wanted to order food from outside. That was why Aaron took on the role of chef tonight and was surprised to find the slow cooker in their kitchen blazing with light smoke coming out of the hole in the lid. It turned out that it was the barbacoa he was currently eating.

"This afternoon." Yes, she prepared everything this afternoon. After experimenting with her vegetarian pozole, she thought about making a second menu right away. The reason was that the dish took a long time to cook, and she planned to use a slow cooker to make her job easier.

Her hand followed her husband's movements. She began to feed spoon after spoonful of food into her mouth. "How was the meeting with Mr. Stone?" she asked, changing the subject.

"It was smooth. The meeting was just to discuss what points we'll include in our cooperation contract. There's still another meeting to discuss the continuation," Aaron explained, rather long.

"When?"

"Probably two days later."

She muttered while enjoying her food.

His forehead wrinkled at hearing her muttering, which was ambiguous in his ears. It felt like she had something else to say. "What is it?"

"Hah?" Helena spontaneously reacted that way.

"What are you thinking about? Tell me," he asked. He was committed to always maintaining communication between himself and Helena to keep running well. One of the ways was to reveal each other's thoughts without the need to hide anything.

"Can we have lunch together tomorrow?" she asked one of several things that were on her mind. Recently, precisely since seeing Beatrice's recklessness, there had been a desire in her heart to spend more time with her husband. Besides guarding Aaron against Beatrice's temptations—who knew if the woman was more daring behind her—she was also waiting for her husband's secretary to give up. And she wanted to see it with her own eyes.

"Of course," he replied quickly. "I don't have an appointment for lunch tomorrow. It's gonna be nice to have you visit me." He continued with a smile on his face.

Her one concern was resolved. Aaron agreed with her idea. However, there were still other things that were also passing through her mind.

"There are more?" he asked again when he saw that her face didn't change and showed her typical thinking.

Helena mumbled, looking hesitant to say this one wish. "At the end of this year... How about we go on vacation together? Go to Switzerland and see Sophie. I want to spend Christmas and New Year's holidays with you there." Finally, she came up with the idea originally her friend's.

She glanced at her husband, who was sitting right next to her. He looked thoughtful. Apparently, he was seriously considering her request.

"I'll try."

His reply instantly made all her anxiety disappear. Well, although he hadn't promised a definite answer, his version of 'trying' was a promise he would truly keep and fulfill. She was sure her husband would find a way to make their vacation really happen.

She nodded enthusiastically. She imagined a pleasant winter vacation in one of the Scandinavian countries. Definitely exciting. After they had not seen each other for a long time, the meeting with Sophie was really something she was looking forward to. Suddenly, a longing welled up inside her chest.

"Do you really want it?" Aaron smiled in amusement at her somewhat extraordinary response. It was rare for his wife to look this happy.

"Of course. I miss Sophie very much. And I can't wait to see their baby too." She said excitedly.

"So, isn't my existence what makes you happy?" He pretended to be disappointed. "Then why invite me if the one you want to meet is Sophie?" he continued, trying to hold back his acting to tease her.

Her smile disappeared and was replaced by a frown that appeared on her forehead. What did Aaron mean? It was true that visiting Sophie was the main purpose of going to Switzerland. But if she had a chance to go on vacation with him, why not? Their holiday was not necessarily become their honeymoon, like Sophie's semi-serious jokes. But, suddenly, the idea excited her. She wanted to spend a lot of time with him. Wherever it was. "I want to go on vacation with you too," she assured her husband.

"Is that true?"

She nodded. She looked Aaron straight in the eyes and channeled her seriousness in her gaze.

"Then can you grant my request? In two weeks, I have to go to Bali to meet colleagues and discuss a new project there." He took a deep breath, then continued, "Will you accompany me?"