The Alchemists

Finland and Caspar spent the next day relaxing at home. Caspar invited Finland and Aleksis for a tour in Palo Alto to show them the beauty of the city. As they passed a hospital, Finland took Caspar's hand and pointed at the hospital.

"Let's stop by at the hospital to have my pregnancy checked," she asked Caspar, "Let me see a real obstetrician."

Caspar wanted to protest, but he realized that he also wanted to know the condition of Finland's pregnancy and make proper preparations. So, they entered the hospital and met with the obstetrician. When they entered the hospital, Finland realized that two of Caspar's bodyguards were also there.

"Why are they here?" she asked, confused. She didn't remember seeing them earlier.

"You know that they always follow me wherever I go," Caspar said as if Finland should know that fact. "That is the purpose of having bodyguards."

"But don't they stay in downtown San Francisco? How can they follow you everywhere? When we slept in Palo Alto, where were they? Sleeping in the car?"

Caspar nodded.

"Oh dear... that's terrible. Then you'd better tell them to come in and stay at home," Finland said.

"That's their job. They can take care of themselves," Caspar said. But finally, he nodded, "Okay if that's what you want."

In the consultation room, the doctor greeted them kindly and examined the expecting mother. It turned out that the girl was only 5 weeks pregnant. Caspar was very happy because they were so quick to find out about her pregnancy and could immediately get ready.

"Everything looks healthy and fine. Congratulations... I am sure this child will be as beautiful as the sister," the doctor said, smiling broadly as he pointed his chin toward Aleksis.

"Thank you, Doctor."

The three then went out and decided to have lunch at one of the restaurants in the city center. The small family attracted a lot of admiring gazes because of their unusual appearance. Caspar was very handsome and attractive, while Aleksis looked like a little angel with her pair of blue-green eyes and beautiful face. Finland also had her own charms as she had a beautiful Asian face, long brown hair, and a fragile appearance.

Seeing all the people stare at them made Finland understand why Caspar liked privacy so much. It didn't feel comfortable to be stared at like that.

"Sorry, madam..." A man with glasses suddenly approached them as they sat in the restaurant. He handed a card to Finland, "I have been watching you for some time now... I happen to be a talent scout who is on vacation in Palo Alto. I really like your child. In my opinion, she should star in commercials. Are you guys interested?"

Caspar immediately frowned and wanted to expel the man, but Finland prevented him from being rude and hurriedly smiled as she shook her head at the talent scout. "Sorry, we are not interested. Thank you..."

"Wow... what a pity. This daughter of yours has the potential to be very famous..." The man looked disappointed, "Well, please just keep my card, who knows you may change your mind."

"Alright, thank you. Now we want to eat, please give us some space..." Finland said, still refusing gently.

"Thank you. Have a nice meal." The man raised his hat with a smile and left them alone.

"Aleksis attracts too much attention," Caspar said. "When she grows up I have to assign a lot of bodyguards to look after her. Can you imagine how many men will chase her when she grows up into a very beautiful lady? Lauriel usually wears glasses to hide the colors of his eyes... Maybe later when she grows up, Aleksis can use ugly glasses to hide her appearance so she doesn't look too attractive..."

Finland laughed at Caspar's concern. That man would indeed be a scary father if his children were all girls.

She now also hoped that their second child would be a boy.

***

When Finland went to work the next day, she felt that her office friends were treating her differently, and that made her confused.

"Why aren't you talking to me?" she asked in a disappointed tone when they had lunch together. "I thought you girls liked to gossip. You guys should be attacking me with questions right now. Who the man who picked me up yesterday, what our relationship is, and... blablabla..."

Anne and Lucia looked at each other with uneasy expressions.

"Uhm... Tony told us who Heinrich Schneider is... and we... we don't want to say anything rude..." whispered Anne. "Sorry, if we are often too curious... We don't mean bad with our questions..."

Finland laughed at that. Gosh, her friends became awkward toward her after learning that Finland was married to a man who owned one of the largest corporations in the world. She became a little uncomfortable with the situation. No matter what, the two girls had been very kind to her since she moved to San Francisco; unlike her office mates in Singapore.

"It's okay... Don't be awkward to me. I'm still the same old Finland, your friend." She held Anne and Lucia's hands warmly, "I will quit working for personal reasons, but I really want to invite you to my farewell party at our house next week. I will also invite Jean, so you can meet with him."

Instantly Anne and Lucia's faces lit up, "Re... really? Whaa... we will definitely come!!"

"I will also invite the other colleagues from our department, and also Boss Tony and his fianceé. I'll send you our home address in Palo Alto later. Is it okay, or is it too far...?"

"It's okay, no problem..." Lucia and Anne hugged Finland warmly. They were happy to learn that Finland was still the Finland they knew, and that she did not become arrogant after she was reunited with her rich and powerful husband.

They couldn't wait for next week to arrive, especially knowing that they were invited to Jean's new film promotion event and to Finland's farewell party.

Finland and Tony gave a short training to Donna, the new employee who was appointed to replace Finland. Throughout the day they were very busy transferring Finland's duties and responsibilities to her.

Finland did not forget to also invite Donna and Tony and their respective partners to the farewell party. They were very happy to be invited; especially Tony, who wanted to foster a better relationship with the owner of the Schneider Group.