Noli was visibly disturbed as he sat on the dinner table. Lara was attentively serving him his favorite pork adobo over steaming hot rice. She was a young woman of elegant simplicity and for Noli, her enticing beauty was always a sight to behold. Lara was the best reason to come home to at the end of a stressful day.

“Hey, hon, what seems to be bothering you? You are unusually quiet. You hardly even touched your food.” Lara was already seated this time beside Noli. She beamed with a radiant smile and said “ Hon, I made your favorite dessert – Oreo cheesecake!”
“I’ll have some, but maybe later Lara,” speaking in an almost inaudible voice.
Reluctantly, Noli uttered “By the way, my boss is … uhm…. he’s sending me to New York for training.” Noli wasn’t thrilled with the idea of leaving Lara and his daughter behind. He dreaded the thought, to say the least, because this was going to be the first time he will be away from his family. Add to that the fact that his training was going to fall right in the middle of a dead cold winter in the U.S.

“Wow, that’s great! I knew it was just a matter of time before your boss recommended you for training!” Lara jumped out of her seat and hugged Noli tightly while parting a tender kiss. “I love you honey. I’m so proud of you!”

“I do not want to accept the training offer because I will have to be out for almost two months.”
“What? Don’t worry about it. Two months is just a short time.” Lara smilingly pretended that Noli’s leaving was going to be no big deal. She knew she would have her hands full between home and school chores, but she felt terribly anxious at the thought of not having her man around. She was the type of wife who forever leaned on her husband. Noli wanted that kind of co-dependence. At the back of her mind she really thought “This will be the longest two months of my life!” But then again, she knew that Noli wanted to take up the offer.

“Tell me, honestly, isn’t this what you have long been looking forward to?”
“Yeah, but I can’t afford to leave you and Ella. I’m sure I will be terribly homesick. Maybe I should just pass up on this one and wait for another chance when I can bring you and Ella with me.”
“Don’t think of next time because this is what is being given to you now. Go for it. Ella and I can manage,” she said with a beaming smile. Lara didn’t want to give Noli the chance to argue any further. She quickly dismissed the issue and blurted out “Let me get you that slice of my yummy cheesecake!!”