“TESSA”

Tessa's heart was full of excitement when she set foot on the airport floor.

She came from America and stayed there for less than a year to take care of the properties left to her by her late father, a retired soldier.

"Joaquin," she whispered then looked up at the blue sky.

A few moments later, Tessa made her way out of the airport. She knew that her Aunt Sonia was waiting for her.

*****

"I don't think cooking is too tiring," Lara said as her husband pushed the shopping cart inside the supermarket where they chose to buy stocks for the week.

"Yeah, but I want to have more time for sightseeing and other things with you," he replied, winking at her meaningfully.

Lara immediately understood what Joaquin meant by what he said. That's why she couldn't stop her face from turning red because of that.

"Stop it!" he said instead then laughed softly.

Joaquin was staring at her face at that moment. That's why she wasn't surprised when she saw the look of amusement in his eyes.

"You know you are lucky we are not at home now," he said.

Lara's eyes widened when she heard that. Then she stopped what she was about to grab a bottle of cooking oil from the shelf.

"Stop! Someone might hear you!" she almost whispers to him.

The corner of Joaquin's lips just lifted because of what she said and then he opened his mouth again to speak.

"Who? It’s just you and me in this aisle," he said laughing then pinching her cheek.

Lara shook her head as she continued what she was doing until the two of them were done. They were already in the car and on their way home when Joaquin asked her to have lunch at the restaurant they passed by. But since it was early and there was still time to prepare lunch, she forced him to just cook.

"It's not good that you always eat outside," she said as she prepared the ingredients for the Chicken Tinola she was going to cook.

"I know, I just want you to save some of your energy," he said as he sat in the opposite chair and watched her.

"Really? I actually got worried that you just don't like my cooking, do you?" she teases him.

Joaquin immediately gave her a protesting look. "Of course not. I just really want to make the most of every moment I'm with you here," he said standing up and walking closer to her.

Lara didn't know where the intense nervousness that suddenly settled in her chest came from. She soon let go of the knife she was holding and then stepped back.

"I'm cooking," she told her husband.

"Yeah," Joaquin answered in a teasing tone. "It's still early," he added.

When Lara took a step backward, she did not realize the wall behind her. She turned around and then quickly looked up at her husband who she saw watching her with amusement.

"I won again," he said, quickly tightening his waist afterward.

Lara was immediately taken aback by what happened, but Joaquin's kiss quickly calmed her down.

"I-I'm cooking," she gasped as her husband released her lips and then tried to break free from his tight grip on her.

"This is the reason why I want us to dine outside," he said, lifting her.

"B-But, Joaquin's the rice. I need to check on the rice," she said quickly avoiding his face when he was about to kiss her again.

Lara heard the man's weak laugh. "You are using a rice cooker, sweetheart," he said to her. "And the Chicken Tinola doesn't need a lot of time to cook, does it? It was you who said earlier that it was too early," Joaquin insisted as he placed a kiss on her neck.

Lara immediately felt what seemed to be a teasing tickle of electricity flowing through every fiber of her body. She breathed one after the other and then she looked at Joaquin.

"Please?" she said despite wanting to give in to Joaquin’s method of romancing her.

She looked Joaquin straight in the eye. And that's when she heard the sigh he released.

"Alright," he said, although he was smiling.

That's when Lara tenderly hugged her husband. Then she pulled his neck and planted a simple kiss on her lips.

"It's better to eat when the rice is hot," he said after releasing himself from Joaquin.

She stayed on the veranda of the house after lunch.

When Joaquin told her to take care of the dishes, she didn't refuse. After all, she was really tired. She didn't want to admit that to her husband. Maybe it was because of the fact that she was also tired from their trip yesterday and everything that happened between the two of them last night and this morning. At the last thought, Lara quickly blushed.

"I hope I'm the reason for that blush."

Lara immediately flinched because of what she heard. She turned at Joaquin who was standing and leaning against the door jamb.

"Are you going to kill me?" she said still holding his chest.

That was when her husband approached her with a smile, then she sat in the empty part of the love seat where she was sitting.

"Sorry," he said kissing her on the forehead. "I only find you cute when blushing," he said, holding her chin and then gently pinching it.

Lara didn't speak anymore and instead just smiled at what Joaquin said. That was when she gently leaned her head on his shoulder and yawned once more.

"You sleepy?" Joaquin asked her softly.

"Yes, I didn’t get enough sleep that’s why," she admitted then laughed softly.

"Sorry," Joaquin said.

"It's okay. When I fall asleep, can you carry me inside?" Lara asked then yawned again.

"Alright," Joaquin answered then put his arm around her.

Lara smiled at what her husband did and short response. After that, she focused her eyes again on the scene of the pine trees in front of her.

"It's beautiful here, you know?" she said in a tone that she couldn't hide the drowsiness she felt.

"You like it here?" the satisfaction was evident in the tone of Joaquin's voice.

“I love it here, actually. Someday let's buy a house here. I want it like this too, with a veranda, so we can relax just like what we are doing right now," she said, yawning again.

*****

A sweet smile broke Joaquin’s lip. After that, he grabbed his wife's hand then raised and kissed it tenderly.

"If that's what you want, I promise that this house will be yours someday," that was true inside him.

He didn't hear Lara answer after saying that. He thought she might have fallen asleep, and he confirmed it when he bent over to check.

Joaquin’s smile widened even more while observing his wife’s beautiful face who is now sleeping.

As time went by, he is falling for her even more. And he loves not only the idea but most especially the feeling. Something he would do, every day.