Adam and Savannah enjoyed each other's company. They laughed, they ate, drank, then laughed again.
You’re a good listener Adam and easy to talk with.... I am sure you could be a great boyfriend or even a husband. Don’t forget to send me an email when you’re getting married. She will be so lucky to have you.
Thank you Savannah, appreciate that coming from you!
Remember Adam, communication is very important in any relationship. You can communicate well, coming from your heart. I can feel your sincerity. I will pray that you can meet someone that you deserve. You’re a good person.
Sav, your patronizing me huh!
No, Adam.... I am expressing my opinion and thoughts about you.
This is very memorable for me Sav... I will always cherish the moments of our 14-hour trip.
Same here Adam... I will not forget you! You made my trip so easy and comfortable. The real truth about why I don’t go home very often is because the 14 hour trip was so boring and unproductive, but this time, it's different. I met a special friend.
Adam was so happy to hear those words from Savannah....
Adam’s POV
I am so happy sitting beside you Sav. It is obvious that we speak the same language and we are on the same wavelength. I enjoyed every moment with you. I hope there are another 10 more hours for this trip, but we will deplane in the next two hours. I would like to kiss your lips and hug you tight.
Then, the captain announces that the big bird will land in an hour.
So this is it, Adam, we have to say goodbye. Maybe we can bump into each other someday.
No, I don’t want to say goodbye. Let’s say... see you again. Here’s my number in California and my local number here. This is my email. Please communicate with me, I beg you.
I will, Adam. Here’s mine. My cellphone and email address.
They hugged each other and said... see you soon! Take care and don’t forget to keep in touch.
Adam was so sad, he is having separation anxiety now.
I have to see you very very soon Savannah. I will not let you go.
The trip to Tarlac was smooth but his mind is somewhere else.
Welcome home, my dear brother!
Thanks, Susan. I am ready to open the next chapter of my life, dear sister! I found her.
Wow..that was fast! But I am happy for you.
How do I get to CN province, Susan?
CN province? If I remember it right, Uncle A*i is the commanding officer of that province.
You’re kidding me!
No, I’m not!
He is still working?
Yes, he is. He chose to work. He was so attached to his career as the tiger of Asia. He loves his work so much that he forgets his private life. He hasn’t gotten married since Aunt Lillian died. You know the story of their lives.
I looked upon him when I was a child and until now, how he carried his military career and, at the same time, took care of his family in spite of the complications of their union. He told me in the past that he killed his heart.
After Aunt Lillian died, I prayed so hard for him to find the love of his life. He deserved to be happy. I admired him on how he handled his family, Susan said. Let me call him tomorrow and see if I can make an arrangement for you.
Forget about calling him, I think I am going to surprise him instead. How’s that?
I think that’s a good idea, Susan said. But before your trip to CN province, let me organize a welcome party for you. I will invite our relatives.
Relatives and friends of the de la Lucca's are overjoyed to see Adam. It's been a while, almost 10 years since he visited the plantation. His childhood friend Rahul has three children and is married to his childhood sweetheart. Adam's classmate and was his girlfriend when he was in their teen was there to welcome him. Shirley is a special education teacher. She is happily married and has 2 children. It seems that his childhood friends are happy with their lives in the city. He felt that he was the only one who had painfully experienced marriage.
You have to find your true love, Adam, Rahul said.
I think I have already found her already buddy!
Whoa! I am glad Adam. You deserve to be happy. I am offering a toast to you and to your newfound love! Rahul exclaimed.
Savannah’s trip to CN province is another hour on the plane. Excitement and mixed emotions are setting in. Will they be able to recognize me or will I may be able to recognize them? It was sunny but a little bit windy in CN province when Savannah arrived. She was met by her friends, had the prelim lunch, said hello to one another. It was a sumptuous lunch, happy moments, and picture taking. They agreed to meet again at dinner time. Meantime, Savannah checked in at Bella’s bed and breakfast for 20 days. Her plan is to walk on the beach every morning, do some writing, take pictures and will visit the famous butterfly farm in the area. CN province was an old community even before the discovery of the Philippines by Magellan in 1521. The early settlers were believed to be direct descendants of the group of datus who escaped from the court of Brunei (Borneo) to evade the enmity of a ruling rajah. In 1571, Juan de Salcedo a
Early morning before the sunrise, Savannah was walking on the beachfront, enjoying the breeze and the walk. It was refreshing. Unbeknownst to her, a tall guy wearing a ray ban was watching her. After an hour, she received a text message that her friend Allan was running late. Then, she was approached by an unknown guy. Good Morning Mam, We would like to invite you for a cup of coffee in our tent. Thank you but no thanks! I am waiting for my friend to pick me up to have breakfast. Maybe, while waiting, my boss can share coffee with you. He is the commander in chief of this province and a 5-star general. Savannah was irritated..... Tell your boss, even if he is a 10-star general, I will not have coffee with him. We are being hospitable to you Mam. Please don't shut us up! The tall guy wearing a Ray Ban was approaching them. What is going on here? I am inviting her for a coffee, Sir! I overheard
While Ari and Savannah were in the middle of the ballroom, a tall guy from the entrance of the ballroom was watching them dance. He felt a dagger was thrown into his heart. It was hard to watch them dance the way Ari held Savannah in an intimate position. He had difficulty breathing. He went out for a while and breathed, then after 20 minutes he went back and whispered something to the person guarding the entrance of the hall. The guard went to Ari and whispered something. That time, Ari and Savannah were now seated at the table.Let him in and join us here at our table. Ben, please add another chair beside me. My nephew is here.A tall guy is walking to the table with a wide smile and hugs Ari.Hi Uncle Ari, It's been a while.Yes, it's been a while...good to see you, Adam.Hey, Adam, it's you! Why are you here?Yes Sav, it's me! How are you?I am fine Adam... Thank you!Did you know each other? Ari was surprised.
Meanwhile, a military officer was watching from a distance and recognized Savannah. He waited until the General and Savannah were back, seated on the table, then he approached Sav.Hi Ms. Sav, I hoped you would remember me. We are neighbors. You’re my sister Ann’s friend.Ohh Yes, I remember you Cris, my neighbor? And we are friends on Facebook, right! Savannah said.Who can forget a childhood neighbor who stole my brother’s heart? Cris jokingly said.You’re funny! Edna here?No, unfortunately, she missed seeing you. Her mother is in the hospital. She needs to attend to her.Sorry to hear that. What happened?She slipped into the bathroom, her hips were dislocated.Is she okay now? Savannah askedShe will be. Let’s have a chat later to catch up. Cris said.Why not now Cris? Sav responded.May I be excused for a while. I need to talk to Cris alone.Ari said, Sure.... Cris,
You told me, Allan, she’s a childhood friend. Tell me something about her, Ari asked.Sav belongs to a big family. Her father has 10 siblings and 8 of them migrated to the US. When we were in high school, she was one of the beauties we had. She's always wearing stateside tops and shoes. Tall, beautiful, and smart. She was one of the most active students in extracurricular activities in our class. Though she was shy at that time, she gained a lot of friends. Her family was very protective of her. She can't attend parties, no weekend movies except she goes with her family. I don’t know if it's tough for her, but it seems that she’s good at coping with her father’s strict guidelines. She turned out to be okay. She is a good person, decent, and focuses on what she does. She doesn’t play around.While Allan and Ari are whispering, Savannah is brought back by Cris.General... As promised, I am returning Sav to you, without any scrat
Yes Cris! I have been waiting for her to come home. Now she's back! This is my only chance to marry my true love.Cris was so stunned but he did not show it to General Ari. He was so worried now about Sav.Let’s go back. Dinner will be served in a minute. This is confidential, Cris.Sure, General, you can count on me.As soon as they get back to their individual table, dinner is served.When the plates were served, Ari was so attentive to Savannah’s plate, he cut the steak into little pieces then turned to her, now eat, it's ready. You have to drink coffee, not wine, since you have a low tolerance to alcohol.Thank you, Ari. I can do that you know. And I can handle at least 2 shots of red or white wine, so I can take care of my heart, Savannah said.No, avoid alcohol, please. There’s more options to take care of your heart. Just accept me and I will take care of you, not only your heart!Everyone was stu
We have time tomorrow, right Sav, how about lunch?I can’t Adam, I have to be in L county to see my relatives. I should be back late afternoon or early evening.I will go with you, Ari interrupted.Ari, I have not told my relatives that I have guests, they might be surprised and intimidated that I am bringing in a General. I will rent a car. I will be okay Ari.I will go with you, no but this time.Adam can go with us, Allan and Mary too. So, while you’re with your relatives, I have them with me. How’s that? I am making it easy for you Sav.Allan and Mary were looking at Sav, giving her a hint to say Yes….Okay, you win.We will contact Stanley to accommodate us at their restaurant while waiting for you Sav, Allan said.Who is Stanley? Ari asksSavannah's cousin and a restaurant owner. A good friend of ours and a classmate in school.Hey Allan, please order my favorite d
I saw her when she was only 15 years old. She belongs to their school’s model platoon that competes in D county. I was a young Lieutenant at that time just got married. You know the story, Adam, about my marriage.If I was single then, I will pursue her. I cannot forget that face.After 10 years, I saw her again, working in the government office in the city. I was then 1-star general. I can't take off my eyes on her. I would like to hug her so bad. She was then married and with 2 kids. Both of us are married. A friend from Tarlac who was their regional director noticed my staring...he whispered to me, she's married.Adam is listening attentively to Ari while drinking Vodka.Does she know you?No, she doesn’t know me.When I was promoted to 3-star general, I was assigned to D county. Her house is only 5 miles away from my office. Every afternoon, I will drove and pass by her house. Sometimes, she was tending her orchids collection
One Saturday early morning, around 5 am, 8 vans with 10 sitters each were already parked at the gate. It seems that they are waiting for the gate to open. It's too early. Why are they here? As Arnel was monitoring the security screen, he was alarmed. He instructed Ben, Edwin, and other guards to check the park vans while Arnel allerted Adam and Sam. Sam decided to buzz Ari. They were all surprised when Ben, Edwin, and the other guards went back with smiles from ear to ear. Adam radio Ben... who are those people? Nothing to worry about! It was a surprise visit from Ms Sav's family, including the doctors and other medical staff. We have 75 people waiting for the gate to open. The children were quite upset because they wanted to see their grandmother and they were hungry too. It was too late for the surprise because Ari was in the monitoring room already. Ari instructed Jessica to prepare breakfast right away. Then, he went to greet Sav's family and others, and instructed Sam t
Sir Alfred, you're back from your vacation! Naomi greeted him. I have to end our European tour to come back and see you guys and, of course, the farm. Where's everybody? Sir Ari is at camp and Mam Savannah is at work. Who's incharge? Our operations manager, Sam. Let me call him and I will introduce you to everyone Sir Alfred. Naomi texted Sam to please come to the gate. In 15 minutes, Sam was walking fast. He thought someone was harassing Naomi. Ben and Arnel followed. Then, they saw Alfred... Hi Sir Alfred... you're back! Ben said. Hi Ben...I had to rush over when Ari sent me an email about the opening day. I was still in London at that time. I felt so bad that I missed it. Well... I can show you around. Guys, this is Sir Alfred. He is the one responsible for the acquisition of this farm. Meet Sam, our operations manager, Arnel, our engineer, and Adam. He is Sir Ari's nephew, our creative and social media director. Guys, thank you for everything you've done
Everyone is excited about the opening day. The staff completed the signs early in the morning. At 6am, Ari, Sam, Arnel, and Ben inspected the whole farm. Security is Ben and Edwin's priority. Savannah went to check Jessica who was so busy the whole night baking and braising in the kitchen with the help of her staff, Mariel and Lani. She check the shop headed by Jeanne and her staff, they are still busy arranging the souvenirs, stuffing the displays and other items in their department. Chito was busy the day before, checking the shop, the kitchen, bed and breakfast facility, dining room, and the power lines.At 8 am, the entrance gate opened as people were waiting in line already. Lani and Mariel are checking their tickets. By 10 am, a lot of visitors were roaming around, taking pictures, enjoying the Ja
As soon as Arnel, Sam, and Adam arrived to help with the farm, Ari was called to report to Camp Robert's Army base in Monterey. He will work for three days a week as a consultant.He appoints Arnel as the officer in charge of the construction, since he is an engineer. He has 2 assistants. Adam was appointed as creative design consultant. Ari gave him a graphic design assistant and 2 buyers. Sam was the operations manager with three assistants. Jessica was in charge of the food preparations and manager of the bed and breakfast canteen. She was given two assistants, a baker and a kitchen worker. Jeanne was in charge of the butterfly farm souvenir shop. Ari assigned a bookkeeper and customer service personnel to Jeanne. Chito, Jeanne's husband, was in charge of the over all maintenance of the whole farm. He was given four maintenance workers. With all these employees on payroll, Savannah was too busy doing the budgeting.Thank God, we are still on the budget as I see it f
Ari and I enjoy working together on a project. He always tells me that he treasured our time together, whether for fun or working on a project that we both loved. The grant money changed the landscape of our plan. Ari and I decided to add more facilities for children, like a small playground between the Japanese garden and the lanai. He ordered freshwater colorful fishes like the peacock cichlid, jack dempsey, electric blue acara, and paradise fishes to be added to the manmade lake that is flowing under the lanai. We are creating a paradise for children and adults. I admired Ari's planning and creativity. He always teases me about filing for an early retirement so I can work on the farm. I miss you honey when you're at work... Please reconsider filing for an early retirement. Ari said. I did not respond. How can I tell him that he is suffocating me? Going to work everyday is getting away from his claws, his over protectiveness and public displays of affection. I need time to adjust
Ari and I fell, we rose, we made mistakes, we learned. We are both human, and neither of us is perfect. When we got married, I was constantly hurt, both mentally and physically, but I survived. We saw being alive as a precious privilege, and despite the challenges we faced, we learned to breathe, enjoy it, and pursue our dreams. Sometimes there is sadness, but there are also a lot of happy times. We always put our foot in front of the other. We focus on our goal. We are both grateful for our struggle because it has made us stronger as one.Someday, everything will be perfect. So, for now, we laugh while we are finalizing the plan for our farm, our project. As I continue to work full time, he will start to work part time while working on our farm. It may take six months or three months to begin construction, but I am confident that we are on the right track.This project will end up being the biggest step in our lives. "You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to
As Ben was parking the van in the garage, Ari's eyes squinted and her face darkened. He saw Savannah's car parked beside the van. Naomi, I instructed you to burn that car. Havent I? Ari said. Yes, Sir, but Sir Alfred will explain everything to you. Naomi responded. Upon entering the townhouse, Alfred greeted the couple, including Ben and Edwin. Welcome back! Alfred said. Thank you, Alfred... nice to see you! Savannah said. Ari greeted Alfred... Naomi said you decided to fix Savannah's car? Yes, Ari... hear me out first before you get upset. Alfred retorted. First of all, the car is in good shape. It has very low mileage, only 165. The engine is great. Imperfection is in the body only. Ben and Edwin could use it for errands. Alfred said. Ari then turned to face Savannah, saying, "Promise me, honey, you will not drive that car and you will not drive anymore. " Whoa... what? I will not be driving anymore? Why? Savannah ask
Captain Enriquez made the following announcement: Hello and welcome to flight 101 to San Francisco, California. This is your captain speaking... If you're going to San Francisco, you're in the right place. If you don't, you're in for a very long evening.The weather looks good, and with the tailwind on our side, we should arrive in San Francisco about thirty minutes ahead of schedule.The weather in San Francisco is clear and sunny. We should get a great view of the city as we descend. Please turn off all personal electronic devices, including laptops and cellphones. Smoking is prohibited for the duration of the flight. Meanwhile, sit back and relax. Enjoy our hospitality as the crew will serve dinner and beverages in thirty minutes. Or you can sit up and be tense. It's your choice... Everyone laughs! We are going to dim the lights and take off. Enjoy your flight! As the big bird is cruising the Pacific ocean, passengers are relaxing, some are reading, some are drinking spirit
Everyone helped pack the luggages for Ari and Savannah. Some nieces and nephews are in the house to bid them goodbye and wish them a happy and safe journey! Edwin and Ben are traveling with them as Ari's security details. Arnel and Sam came to wish them the best! They will help to design, construct and create the butterfly farm in Gilroy. They are both retired, so they have all the time to help them. So are Adam and Jessica. They will be there to help out too. Since Susan is busy on the plantation, she will visit us soon. Ari and Savannah are in awe of the support of their friends and relatives for their project in Gilroy. Sav and I are honored to have family and friends who believe in us. We thank you all from our hearts. It is a sad day because we have to leave, but at the same time, it is a joyous day for all of us. We all found one another again after many, many years of absence. I was busy with my career and I apologized for not connecting with all of you. I was focused on my g