The Alchemists

For a long time, Marion could only stare at Jean with her glaring eyes. She really could not assess whether or not Jean was being serious. Jean did look dead serious. His voice also sounded serious.

But then ...

Jean once told Marion that he was very afraid of marriage and having children due to trauma caused by the divorce of his parents.

He even broke up with Billie because he did not want to get married while Billie wanted to get married and build a family.

Ahh ... was it possible that Jean had changed?

After all, this might be because Jean had become comfortable with Marion's presence, plus she was very casual about marriage and children. Jean had Terry in his life, and with Marion and her five dogs, it was enough.

"I don't like to be kept on a string, you have to give me an answer right away," Jean insisted.

Gosh ... this guy was so annoying, Marion thought. Hadn't Jean kept his relationship with Billie on a string for over 15 years? Why was he forcing Marion to give an answer as soon as possible?

"Why are you in such a hurry for an answer?" grumbled Marion "Will you die if you can't get the answer now?"

She looked at Jean, challenging him, "I don't want to just say yes. You may change your mind tomorrow. Maybe you are now feeling euphoria because we just had sex, so your judgment is clouded."

Yes, even though Marion really liked Jean ...

No ...

Even though Marion was in love with Jean, she didn't want her common sense to be blurred by Jean's sudden proposal.

She knew very well that Jean was not interested in getting married ... it was too much of a surprise that he suddenly proposed to Marion after they slept together.

Jean let go of Marion's hands and sighed in disappointment.

"You don't believe me, do you?" he shook his head sadly. "I know I have a bad reputation because of my past relationship with Billie."

"That's not it ..." Marion felt guilty, "I just want you to feel really sure of what you want. I suggest you go and think things through. I don't mind us living together first before considering the next step. You know that I'm not in a hurry, I am an Alchemist and we are never in a hurry to do anything. I just don't want you to be ashamed for saying something you didn't mean."

Jean nodded. "I understand."

He let go of Marion and walked into the guest room to change clothes and get his bag. Marion could only stare at his departure.

What had just happened?

Jean just proposed to her a minute ago. Marion only wanted him to think carefully about his proposal and be sure with his feelings, but now it seemed that Jean was going to leave ...

Gosh ... so annoying.

This sucks!

Jean came out of the guest room carrying his bag and traveling clothes and his winter coats. He hugged Marion briefly and kissed her forehead.

"I'll go and think carefully about what I want. You're right, I shouldn't speak so carelessly," he said in an apologetic voice.

Marion bit her lip and watched Jean's departure.

***

FIVE YEARS LATER

.

Marion woke up in the morning with the usual headache. She was drinking wine all night with Alicia and now she had to bear the consequences. Geez ... she cursed herself for never learning from experience.

Her tolerance level for alcoholic drinks was only two glasses, but every time she went out to have fun with Alicia, she would go too far and drink a few more glasses.

Of course, she didn't go out drinking often, so she usually took advantage of such opportunities. She had to be very careful about her behavior at home, because ...

"Aaaahhhhhhhhhhh ... !!"

Marion hurriedly jumped out of bed and ran towards the screaming sound. She almost bumped into Jean, who was also running towards the backyard from the kitchen. The man was wearing an apron and from his body, Marion could smell the delicious hangover soup.

"What's wrong with our Little Monkey?" Marion asked her husband who looked very worried. Jean just shook his head, not providing an answer.

Marion's question was immediately answered when they arrived in the backyard and found a very adorable curly-haired little girl hanging on a tree branch in her overalls. The little girl looked flailing trying to climb back to the branch she had just fallen off.

"Gosh, Jean-Marie ... are you climbing the tree again?" Jean exclaimed in disbelief. He turned to Marion, frowning, "I told you to cut the tree."

"Aishhh ... you! Global warming is caused by people like you whose hobbies are cutting trees," Marion replied sharply. "You should be teaching Little Monkey not to climb trees without adult supervision."

"Get me a ladder," Jean said, trying to reach for his daughter who was reaching for his hand.

Half-grumbling, Marion took the triangle ladder from the shed and placed it next to Jean. The man deftly positioned the ladder and climbed up to grab Jean-Marie. He carefully lifted the little girl's body from the branch and brought her down.

"Thank you, Father ..." Jean-Marie, who was usually referred to as Little Monkey by her mother, kissed her father's cheeks gratefully. Of course Jean could not bear to scold this cute little monkey and so he only shook his head.

Jean carried Jean-Marie on his shoulders and walked back into the kitchen. He then reminded Marion that hangover soup was ready for her to eat.

"Drink the soup first so that your headache disappears," he said, kissing Marion's lips and disappearing with his child. Marion could only sigh.

A smile etched on her lips as she walked behind them into the kitchen.

It was true that life at home kept her busy, and the opportunity to drink outside with Alicia felt like a pleasant release. She sometimes entertained herself by drinking alcohol, but she would not want to trade what she had now with anything. She had a very happy life.

Jean always gave her the freedom to have fun and find the time to calm herself down. Sometimes, he would take Marion on a date, just the two of them, leaving the Little Monkey in the care of Alicia.

Whenever Marion came home from drinking too much, her husband would faithfully prepare a very good hangover soup for her every morning, and he would take care of Little Monkey all day until Marion's headache disappeared.

"Thank you," Marion whispered into Jean's ear after she finished her soup and her head felt light and happy again.

Jean just nodded and kissed her. "Of course, Honey."

He ruffled Marion's hair and left, taking Little Monkey to her room. "You're so dirty, now you have to take a bath again … for the third time ... Oh gosh."

Jean-Marie laughed cutely while trying to escape from her father's hands.

Marion only looked at the two with overflowing happiness. Five years ago, when she had asked Jean to leave and think about his proposal, Jean did leave and he didn't return for months.

Marion almost thought that Jean wasn't serious about what he had said. But Jean returned in the summer and again confessed his love, and again asked Marion to marry him. He had spent several months trying to understand what he really wanted, and he was now sure that he wanted Marion in his life, forever.

They married at the end of the summer and Jean-Marie was born a year later. Until now, Marion still avoided meeting other Alchemists. They were not married by Caspar, the clan leader, but rather had a conventional wedding at a local chapel.

Jean repeatedly tried to soften Marion's heart and meet with Lauriel, but the trauma of the incident five years ago left a deep impression in Marion's heart. Jean could only wait and hope that someday Marion would recover and want to meet with her friends again.

Right now, their life together with Jean-Marie was enough to make her happy.