Bonus Chapter:
A Day That Could Have Been
“NNH…” I felt myself rise from the deep depths of slumber. My consciousness still not fully returned, I opened my eyes.
“Good morning, Rae.”
“Good morning, Miss Claire.”
What a joy it was to have one’s beloved be the first thing they saw each morning. Claire gazed at me with a gentle smile, her eyes overflowing with love.
“You could’ve woken me up if you wanted,” I said.
“And pass up an opportunity to gaze at your face? Perish the thought,” she replied with a light grin.
Soft sunbeams poured in from the window. The weather outside was fair. Claire looked divine with the morning sun shining on her, as though a genuine goddess had descended to visit me.
“Have you been watching me for a while?” I asked.
“I have. You look so much more childlike when you sleep.”
“You know people generally consider watching someone else sleep to be in bad taste, right?”
“Oh? But you watch me sleep all the time.”
She had me there. Then again, such behavior was the norm for me, not her.
“I’ll make breakfast,” I said.
“Wait, why don’t we stay like this a little longer? There’s nothing wrong with having a lazy morning every now and then.”
“But I have to make May’s and Aleah’s lunchboxes.”
“They don’t have school today, Rae.”
“Oh?” Huh? Was that right? “What day is it again, Miss Claire?”
“Heh heh, oh, you. Are you still half asleep? By the royal calendar, it’s 2017—”
Oh, right. It had already been two years since the revolution. But why did my memory feel so fuzzy? Perhaps I was still half asleep like Claire said.
“Raaaae?” Noticing I wasn’t listening, Claire moved in for a hug.
“Whoa.” I hugged her back, squeezing her soft body with my arms. The sweet scent of her straight hair, yet to be curled, wafted over to me. I ran my fingers through it and basked in her love. Ah, bliss.
“Let’s go on a picnic today, Rae. With some lunch for the whole family.”
“That sounds nice. That hill a little ways out should be nice in this weather.”
I felt like the four of us had gone on a picnic together before. I couldn’t quite recall the details at present, but it had to have been a good time.
“In that case, I really do have to make lunchboxes,” I said. “Shall we get up?”
“Nooo, I want to laze in bed with you more.” Claire was acting spoiled for once, and gosh was it adorable.
“Won’t the girls be up soon?”
“Not for a while longer. We still have time,” she said, looking at the wall clock. I followed her gaze and saw the hands were pointing at six o’clock. Indeed, we still had some time left.
“All right, what do you want for lunch today, then?” I asked.
“I’d like some sandwiches.”
“What kind?”
“That’s a good question… Ham and cheese is a given, as are egg sandwiches.”
“How about some fruit sandwiches as well?”
“That sounds delightful. I’d like some strawberry ones, in that case.”
“Then I’ll have to buy some at the morning market. Shall we get up?”
“Goodness, why are you so eager to get up? Do you not like spending time here like this with me?” Claire turned away with a pout.
Absolutely adorable. I smiled. “I’m sorry, Miss Claire. Cheer up for me, will you?”
“Nooo.”
“Please?”
“There’s only one thing that can cheer me up here… You know what that is, right?” She gave me an expectant look from the corner of her eyes.
Oho. “Yes, I know, Miss Claire.”
“Really? Then—”
“I’ll make some crème brûlée for dessert as well.”
“No! I mean, yes, please do, but that’s not what I meant!”
“I’m kidding.” I put a hand against her marshmallow-soft cheek, turned her head my way, and gave her a long kiss, taking my time to savor her cherry-pink lips. “Is that what you wanted?”
“It’ll do.” She gave a satisfied smile, looking so adorable that I kind of wanted to continue this under the bedsheets.
“Shall we get up?” I asked.
“I suppose,” she said, somewhat reluctantly. “I’ll go buy the strawberries, so go ahead and get breakfast ready.”
“Got it.”
We exchanged another kiss and got out of bed.
Time to begin a brand-new day.
“Picnic, picnic!”
“We’re going on a picnic!”
“May, Aleah, watch your step or you’ll fall!” Claire said.
“We’ll be fine!” the twins replied.
Claire and I exchanged a wry grin as we watched the girls run ahead. They were skipping grades this year, leaving their old school behind and continuing on to study at the Royal Academy’s elementary school. Seeing them like this, however, they looked less like little geniuses and more like normal children of their own age. They had a lot of difficult history behind them, so I was happy to see that they could smile like this—of course, I was happy as their parent as well.
“Mama Claire, what’s that flower?” May asked.
“That’s a cherry blossom, dear. A spring flower,” Claire answered.
“What’s this yellow one, Mother?” Aleah asked.
“That’s a dandelion. It’ll become white cotton one day and fly away,” Claire answered again.
Our surroundings, while somewhat mundane to Claire and me, seemed to fascinate the girls. Beauty really was in the eye of the beholder, I supposed. At least the two of them were kind enough to share some of the beauty they saw with us.
“Hey, Mama Rae? What’s for today’s lunch?” May asked.
“Sandwiches, your favorite.”
“Yay! What kinds do we have?”
“Ham and cheese, mayonnaise and egg, mixed pickles and chicken, and strawberry and fresh cream.”
“Wow!” May said.
“So extravagant!” Aleah said.
Was it just me, or were they more excited about food than they were about flowers?
“Good girls get crème brûlée for dessert as well,” I added.
“Yay!” May said.
“I’ll be a good girl today!” Aleah said.
“Heh heh, then let’s make sure we walk, all right?”
“Okaaay!” they energetically replied. The twins walked for some time but were running around again in a matter of minutes.
Goodness. Children, am I right?
“Oh? Isn’t that Rae Taylor and Claire François?” a familiar voice said from behind us.
“Hm? Oh, well would you look at that.”
“What a coincidence.”
“It seems we had the same idea.”
Claire and I turned around to see a small group walking with some baskets.
“Oh my. Good morning, Your Holiness, Lady Yu, Lady Riche, and Misha,” Claire greeted.
“Good morning,” I echoed.
We greeted the four members of the Spiritual Church, who were joined by the children of the orphanage.