I heard their names in the past from my father, but I haven't met them. I remember my brother meeting them once at a family gathering. I was then away pursuing my college education in the city. How do they know me, Ari?
I will ask them today, Sav. I didn't know that your name had been exposed already. Few people knew about our marriage unless one or two of our guests spread it out. I made an announcement then that your name should not be attached to mine for your protection. We discussed that, remember? I am so looking forward to leaving this country so we can go out freely. I don't mean to hide you, but this is the only way to protect you. You understand me, don't you?
Yes, I do. Savannah said.
It's been nice to meet my extended military family. This was my first time attending such an occasion. I met my aunts, my uncle's sisters, and Uncle Tim and Uncle Rex's wives and children. They welcomed me with open arms. Aunt Eden is Uncle Tim's wife and a good cook. She told me to learn how to cook and be a gracious host. She never worked her entire life because she dedicated her life to being the wife of a military general. They hosted many parties in the past when Uncle Tim was still in the force. When he retires, they travel all over the globe but still host parties once or twice a year.Aunt Mimi is Uncle Rex's wife. She worked for a while, but she quit two years after marrying Uncle Rex. The demands of being a military wife overwhelmed her. She was able to adapt after a while. She also hosted parties, picnics, and office events. However, due to pressure, she developed an anxiety disorder. When Uncle Rex retired from the force, they started to farm grapes and other frui
After the early dinner, we had to keep going. Tomorrow will be another challenging day. The Medical Volunteer Initiative will have a meeting to discuss the logistics. Ari told me to attend. Edwin will pick me up at 2 pm. He had a lunch meeting with the bankers' association. I spent the whole morning draftingthe schedule for discussion at the meeting.Then, I received a call from Uncle Rex. He apologizes for Uncle Tim's behavior. Among us siblings, your Uncle Tim was the one in contact and had a complicated relationship with your father. Though there were difficulties in their professional lives, they still connected, talked, and yelled at each other. It's a case of love and hate. He always quarrels with your father and does want to give in, even if your father was right. He felt obligated to protect you because he failed to do that for your father. Both of them were stubborn and their pride was always getting in their way. He thought that by protecting you, he was conne
Edwin picked me up at 1:30 pm to attend the Medical Volunteer Initiative. The attendees were in the conference room when I arrived with Ari. The meeting starts at exactly 2 pm. Allan began by presenting the reception plan for the medical professionals from California, including their lodging and food. Gen Cruz, discussed the local volunteers, doctors, nurses, medical staffers, assistants, transportation, and security officers. Services to be offered to the recipients will be medical check ups, vaccinations, eye checks, basic patient care, taking vitals, dressing wounds, lectures on anxiety and depression, and dental services. The finance and accounting presented the sponsors' donations and detailed lists of expenses. The Bankers Association presented their donations in cash and services. The Medical Practioneer's Association gave a list of local volunteer medical doctors, nurses, and medical staff. Then, it was time for me to present t
Ari has to leave the house at 7 am to brainstorm with his team and goes home at 12 midnight. He had scheduled lunch with the core group, then dinner with the entrepreneur team. He left, I was still sleeping and went home, I was already asleep.For almost five days, we have not seen each other. It is very frustrating and disappointing. Is this the life that I choose to lead now? I am very unhappy. He acted like I didn't exist in his life. We have seldom talked for the last five days. Am I misreading him or is he just busy? At the same time, I have to protect myself from his enemies. I felt like I was imprisoned. I can't breathe anymore. My anxiety kicks in almost every day. At the end of five days of ignoring each other, I called Dr. Zola to request anxiety and depression pills.Sav, Dr. Zola said, "I'd like to see you in my clinic before I prescribe these medications." I can't leave the house. Dr. Zola, I am not allowed to leave the house after the Butterfly Fa
Savannah's in-home consultation with Dr. Cely was in progress when Edwin showed up and handed her the phone.Who is it, Edwin? It's Sir Ari, Mam Sav!Please tell him I am in the middle of something. I can't talk right now. Savannah said.Sir, she can't come to the phone right now. She has a visitor. Edwin responded to Ari.Tell her to call me later!Yes, Sir, I will tell her.After the consultation, Dra Cely prescribed Sertraline 50mg and Lorazepam 25mg. Handed the prescription to Sav and prepared to leave.Thank you, Doc. I appreciate you seeing me on very short notice.You're welcome. Take care of yourself! You can help yourself crawl back to the surface, Sav. Dra Cely said.Savannah just nods and smiles. After the doctor left, Sav handed the prescription to Edwin, gave him some money, and instructed him to buy the meds at the nearest pharmacy. Then she went to their bedroom and laid down on the bed. She felt so exhaus
Hon, please talk to me. I will see a marriage counselor. I promise you that I will be a better husband. Please bear with me, give me sometime to work on this. Then he wrapped his long arm around Sav's body and kissed her on the lips.Then, he whispers, Please don't leave me. I am begging you.The next day, Ben, this is Dr. Zola. I have referred Ari to the number one marriage counselor in the county. Check your email and set up an appointment before it is too late for Ari to fix this.Alright, got your message from Dr. Zola, I am on it.Ben passed on the message to Ari right away. Ari had busy days, but he found time to see the marriage counselor. They talked for two hours straight. Thank you for listening to me Edith. I hope you can draft a resolution to my case. I love my wife.Yes, Gen Ari, I should be done in three days. I will see you then. I would also like to see your wife. Then in two weeks, I would like to see you both in my clinic. Do you think yo
Savannah and Ari see Edith, the marriage counselor. It was a stress-free, casual conversation betweenthem. Two hours of building the structure of their marriage. Edith emphasizes the importance of maintaining interests outside of the relationship and paying attention to one's own self-identity. She explains healthy boundaries to maintain the couples' independence. That may help keep their relationship strong in the long run. Edith continues on with her lectures and both Ari and Savannah are listening.... Helping a partner cope with stress in positive ways, forgiveness, sacrifice, generosity, and gratitude are also features of happy, long-term couples. Talking about your relationship, using humor, and doing fun things together were also noted as important qualities. This session was so informative. I learned a lot about how to deal with my stress and frustration, "Savannah quips. Me too, Ari said. I would like to learn and be a good husband. Now
The door to Ari's office opened and three people entered. Where have you three been? Sav asks Oh my God, Mom...I was stopped by an elderly couple and they asked me if I am your daughter. I said Yes, then the next thing happened, I was grabbed and had a photo shoot with the group. Hahaha. Well, that's good! Both John and Don were dragging the suitcases inside Ari's office. Luke, Jovy... These three wackos are my children too. Meet Don, Karen's husband, John, Sheila's husband, and Mel, Syl's wife. Nice to meet all your children, Sav.We are honored to meet all of you! Jovy said. It was a pleasure to meet Mom's friends, Uncle and Aunty. Mel nods. Don and John nod too. The three wackos hug Sav and Ari. Mom, have you seen the food spread outside? Can we eat it?I am so hungry! John said. Ben will direct you guys to the food station, Ari said! Joining us Mom? Syl said. You go ah
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