How Many Women?

The dinner was very romantic. The food was exquisite and well presented, and the view… oh, the view was amazing. From the top of the Singapore Flyer, they could see the whole city glittering with lights. For a second Finland thought that she was eating in space.

"This is really amazing..." Finland whispered, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'm tired of eating in romantic places like this alone," Caspar answered with a smile. "I'm happy that now you can accompany me every time."

Finland could imagine that eating alone for so long must be very unpleasant. She ate alone many times before and she often wished that she had someone to talk to.

"You have never been with another woman? Besides Katia I mean..."

Caspar knew that this was a woman's tricky question. He had heard this question too many times before. In his experience, if this question was not answered properly, the woman would either become grumpy or leave. Therefore, he just smiled and refused to answer.

"Why just smile? Come on, answer my question."

"Do you want more champagne?" Caspar asked, holding the champagne bottle. With a little grunt, Finland nodded. She wouldn't let expensive champagne be wasted. Caspar poured the champagne and filled her and his glass half full. Then, in a teasing tone, he asked, "What was your question again?"

"In your long life, how many women have you been with?" Finland asked, this time more specifically.

Caspar smiled coyly and shook his head.

"In my long life, I have learned that answering such a question is just as tricky as answering a woman's question of 'Do I look fat?' There is no satisfying answer." Caspar gulped down the champagne in his glass, "So, I refuse to answer."

"Ben said you had many women before you met me..." Finland finally said. She couldn't hold it any longer, and the champagne just helped her be more honest. She had been thinking about Ben's words in the car a lot; that Caspar had many women before and countless women wanted to marry him.

Caspar dialed a number on his cellphone and spoke briefly, "Stanis, please cancel the bonus for Ben I asked yesterday. I changed my mind."

He placed his cellphone back on the table and poured some more champagne again. Then, he looked at Finland.

"Ben said that?"

Finland was still recovering from the shock she got when she heard Caspar call Stanis to cancel Ben's bonus. She was utterly out of words.

Ouch...

"He didn't mean it bad. I forced him to tell me things about you that evening when you professed your love at the penthouse; the day when I skipped work. I was annoyed because you knew so much about me and I didn't know anything about you. That's why on my way back to the penthouse I asked Ben a lot of questions. I asked him if you have a lover on every continent, and he answered that you had a lot of women before and many women wanted to marry you, but you are not someone like that. He said people like you and your family are very picky in regard to relationships and you guys don't fall in love easily." Finland hurriedly explained. She could not bear to see Ben lose a bonus because of her.

Caspar pressed the phone again, "Stanis, cancel my previous order. Add 50% on top of Ben's bonus."

Finland sighed in relief.

"Okay, so if I ask about how many women you have been with, I won't get a satisfying answer?" Finland concluded.

"Right. You'd better change the question to a more positive one. For example, have I ever fallen in love like this with a woman? I would answer 'never'. You can also ask if I will ever love other women the way I love you? I would also answer, 'I will not'." Caspar took Finland's hands and held both in his own hands. "Or you can ask if I want to get married and have children with you... I will answer, 'yes, with all my heart.'"

"You..." Finland was out of words.

"Now what if I asked," Caspar brought his face closer to Finland's face, "Are you sure of your feelings yet? Do you want to marry me and be the mother of my children? Do you want to share your life with me forever? What would you answer?"

All of them were heavy questions that Finland still wanted to avoid.

"You said you wanted to wait... why ask these questions now?" Finland asked hoarsely.

"I will answer a difficult question from you if you answer a difficult question from me. It's just fair." Caspar answered. "Why should I open my life's secret and answer how many women have been with me, if you eventually reject me."

Finland rolled her eyes, dissatisfied, but she knew that Caspar was right.

"Okay... I won't ask again."

"One thing you need to know... I am very good at cooking because I have perfected my cooking techniques for hundreds of years. I can also do surgery with my eyes closed because I have been a surgeon for decades. I'm good at painting because I have practiced for a long time. There are so many skills and abilities that I have practiced and perfected for centuries... This is because I have lived for a very long time and met so many people who are experts in their fields... " Caspar then smiled very mischievously. "You will be the one who gets the benefits later."

Finland didn't quite catch what he meant, and that made Caspar smiled even wider. He then laughed loudly. Finland shrugged; what was so funny?

Caspar then drained the wine in his glass and stood up. He pulled Finland's hand and invited her to see the view of the city from their window. She stood facing the window and Caspar hugged her from behind.

"I still don't understand," Finland said 5 minutes later. Apparently, she was still thinking about Caspar's words on his abilities that he had been training for centuries which would benefit Finland...

"You don't have to think about it," Caspar whispered in her ear. "Just enjoy this beautiful view."

"Uhm... okay."

They went home at almost midnight. Finland was very sleepy from drinking too much champagne so Caspar had to carry her to her pavilion because she could hardly walk.