Everybody enjoyed the occasion. There were lots of people who wished them well in their new life as husband and wife. They all enjoyed a sumptuous lunch. And then it was now time for the bride and groom to cut the five-tiered wedding cake which will be served to each and every table. Afterwards, they had picture taking with the guests at every table. They had the throwing of the bridal bouquet and some games after lunch. When the reception is done, it was for all the guests to go home. The bride and groom stayed at a room in the hotel. They will be leaving to Europe for their honeymoon the next day.
They have wedding gifts for each other. Violet gave him a motorcycle that he would whenever he has to go out for emergency errands, she also gave him a bed and clothes for his beloved dog, Furball. Jacob gave her some jewelry, dresses, shoes, books about pregnancy and babies and he also gave some clothes for her pet cats, Ovaltine and Ginger. He told her that he has one more gift for her but he can't tell her what it is and that it would be ready in about two years from now. They are so generous to each other.
For their honeymoon, they went to France and the city that they visited was Paris, the fashion capital of the world. They went strolling down the Champs-Elysees and they also went to the South of France. They also went to Italy particularly to Venice, Milan and Rome. They went boating along the Venetian canal and in Rome, they went to visit old Roman churches and museums where they were so impressed by the artistic paintings that were well preserved. They did a lot of shopping in Milan. They also went to Great Britain to see London. They were so amazed at the wonderful scenery and picturesque views that they have seen. They can truly say that the world is full of wonderful and beautiful places waiting to be visited and explored. Going to Europe's most beautiful cities for them was like a dream. The views were so spectacular and they made sure that they were able to take lots of pictures during the trip. They also did a lot of shopping. They bought a lot of souvenirs to bring to their family and friends who are waiting for them back home. It was surely a memorable trip for both of them. It is their first time to go to Europe and the next time they would travel it would be to the United States of America to see New York and other beautiful cities there.
They went home feeling very happy about the entire trip. Furball was waiting excitedly for Jacob. Jacob left him a whole lot of food and water before he left for Europe. He missed Furball so much. He bought dog food for him from the different European cities that they went to. He called his parents as soon as they arrived.
"Hello Mom, we are back from our honeymoon. We bought a lot of things and food items for you, Dad, Ben and Hailey. We also bought the same for Violet's parents. We'll give them to you tonight. We'll be dropping by your house at about seven o'clock in the evening to give them to you", said Jacob.
"We are so glad that both of you are back safe and sound son. We missed you a lot while you were away. Thank you so much for the presents that you bought for all of us here at the house", said his Mom.
They spent the whole afternoon unpacking their things. Right now, they are temporarily staying at Jacob's house while the construction of their house is still on-going. It will be done including the swimming pool and the plantation maybe by the time Vincent is turning two years old.
They went out to personally deliver the presents that they bought during their trip to Europe to each of their respective families. They were all so thankful and grateful for the presents.
Chapter 14
Jacob has been a very loving and supportive husband for her. He makes sure that their refrigerator is full of the food that she craves during her pregnancy. When he is not filming for his upcoming movie, he accompanies her for her regular monthly checkups with her doctor. He also accompanies her whenever she needs to take a walk for her regular daily exercise to make sure that she is healthy for the baby.
Time came when it is time for her to give birth to their first child. Luckily, Jacob and both of their families are there for her to give her moral support. On the fifteenth of June, two thousand and fifteen, a bouncing baby boy named Vincent Rafael was born to a very happy family. Everyone was so ecstatic to hold and carry the new born baby. They were all taking turns in taking care of the baby so that Violet could sleep and rest, but that is the last thing that she like to do. She wants to spend the whole day looking at and hugging Baby Vincent. She thanked God that he is born very healthy. He has the loudest cry whenever he gets hungry for his milk. She is breast feeding him because the doctor said that breast milk is still the best for babies. After a few more days at the hospital, they happily took Baby Vincent home with them. Furball, Ovaltine and Ginger were all happily and excitedly waiting for the arrival of Baby Vincent. As Violet is able to look at her baby by the passing days, he is looking more and more like his Dad. There is a difference how she felt about herself before and after she had a baby. She felt whole and complete now, as if everything has been given to her. She is finally a mother now. She couldn't ask for more except maybe three or four more kids. She and Jacob wanted to have a big family. All she could ever wish was for her family to remain solid and strong against any trials that may come their way, for this marriage to last forever, and for all of them to have long and blessed lives.
As days went by, it became increasingly hard for her to manage her responsibilities with the baby, her responsibilities at home and her job, so she hired somebody who would be working both as a nanny and a housekeeper for their family. She feels wonderful to finally be a mother to a cute and handsome baby boy, but, at the same time, it's also quite tiring and she can't sleep straight because every few hours Baby Vincent would ask for his milk. She understands that Jacob could not help take care of the baby because he is busy filming his upcoming movie which will be released later this year. She strived to lose weight and to be on a diet because she gained a few pounds during her pregnancy with Baby Vincent. Her whole life now revolves around Baby Vincent, her husband Jacob, her job and her restaurant which is still getting a lot of customers. Good thing that the employees of her restaurant already know their job and responsibilities very well. All she has to do is to check from time to time and make sure everything is running smoothly. She started adding another menu for the kids who will be eating at her restaurant. They will be offering the usual favorite food of kids like Spaghetti with Meatballs, Meatloaf with rice, Sausage with rice, Fried Chicken with rice, Cheeseburger, Burger and French Fries. For dessert, she added Leche Flan, Custard Cake, Moist Brownies and Crepes.
A few months after Baby Vincent was born, they had him Christened. They celebrated with a lunch of Roast Beef and Potatoes, Roasted Pig and Chicken Cordon Bleu at Cuisine afterwards.
Time went by and by the time Baby Vincent is half a year old, she decided to enroll him for a swimming class for small kids. She wanted that by the time Baby Vincent will become a toddler, he already knows how to swim. Whenever she goes for a walk in the park for her daily exercise, she takes Baby Vincent and the nanny with her. She also takes them both with her whenever she goes out and does her grocery shopping. Baby Vincent would point his finger to the food that he likes and she would instantly put it in her cart and buy it for him. She is also slowly teaching him to say words like Mom and Dad. After that, whenever Baby Vincent sees a woman, he would point to her and say Mom and whenever he sees a man, he would point to him and say Dad. She was really happy and amused with Baby Vincent.
Time came when it was time for them to celebrate Baby Vincent's first birthday. They invited their immediate family, they also invited lots of kids who were accompanied by their parents. They also invited kids who are poor and less fortunate. The birthday party was held at a fast food restaurant named Jollibee. The food was, of course, Spaghetti and Fried Chicken with soft drinks. There were games, they also hired a clown and a magician for the party. There were lots of loot bags which will serve as give-aways for all the kids who were invited during Baby Vincent's first birthday bash. Of course, Jacob was there to attend the party, he excused himself from work to be able
to join them during the celebration. Baby Vincent received a lot of gifts from family and friends. He was such a happy baby. Aside from his milk, he is now eating a lot of solid food like mashed potatoes, carrots, squash and banana. He has a big appetite and he's not so choosy with food, but potatoes turned out to be his favorite food.
A few months passed by and finally Jacob was done with the film shooting of his new movie. Violet and Baby Vincent supported and accompanied him for the premier of True Love. It is his first movie, but it was an instant box office hit. After the movie was done, the whole Rafael family went to Palawan to celebrate the success of his new movie and to take a short vacation. The whole island was like paradise. It's very different from Boracay in terms of the number of people who visit the island. Boracay is quite over populated compared to Palawan. The beauty of Palawan looks more untouched and natural compared to Boracay. Baby Vincent is also enjoying his vacation. He is now learning how to walk. He has got wobbly and chubby legs, but more or less he already knows how to balance his weight.
By the time they got back to Manila after their short vacation in Palawan, Jacob's restaurant is already finished. They had the restaurant blessed and they named it Vincent's Bar and Grill. Lots of people were there during the opening of his new restaurant. Friends, relatives and co-workers were there to try out their menu. The food was so delicious and the ambience was very pleasant. They were so glad that the opening went well.
After a few months, their house was finished building. Everything is ready including the swimming pool and the plantation. Jacob asked Violet and Vincent if he could take them out for a ride. Little did they know that he would take them to see their new house, swimming pool and plantation. Violet is so surprised to see the beautiful house that is painted white. It has lots of flowers in the front yard. The pool is at the backyard. The plantation has Coconut, Banana, Papaya, Mango, Avocado, and Guava trees. It also has calamansi and strawberries, lettuce, tomatoes, red and green bell peppers, potatoes, carrots, squash, mint, basil and rosemary herbs and also rice, corn, wheat and herbs like mint, basil, saffron and rosemary. It has lots of other fruit, vegetables and herbs that can sustain them and other people who will be eating at their restaurant.
"This is my gift to you Violet", said he as they all went down from the car.
"Well, what can I say? I'm just totally out of words. Wow Jacob, you made me the happiest woman ever. Thank you so much!", said she hugging and kissing him.
"New house", said Baby Vincent as her mother kissed him.
As soon as they came back home, they packed all their things up ready to be transferred to the new house. Once they are finally settled at their new home, they had it blessed. They invited all their family and friends. Their pets Furball, Ovaltine and Ginger were also very happy now that they are living in their new house. They happily ran around the backyard at the back of their house. They will never run out of money as long as they have the plantation even when Violet and Jacob grow old.
A couple of months later, Vincent turned two years old and they celebrated with a pool party at their backyard. They served Spaghetti, Fried Chicken, Hotdogs and Custard Cake to all who attended including family, friends and co-workers. Everybody was so happy.
The Rafaels were indeed more than blessed. They have a beautiful house, two cars, a motorcycle, a swimming pool and a plantation. Jacob asked the poor and the less fortunate people to be the one to plant and take care of the fruit trees, vegetables, crops and herbs that they own in their huge plantation. They are more than happy and willing to do so. Their harvest is more than what they could consume. So, they built a building for a market where they could take some of their harvest of organic fruit, vegetable, crops and herbs. They had people who would make strawberry, mango and guava jelly and jams for spreading the bread. They started buying farm animals like chickens for their eggs, cows and goats for their milk. After some time when they had saved more money, they also started to have their own bakery and desserts cafe.
Violet gave birth to their second child who is a girl and named her Lilac. She named her desserts cafe Lilac's Cafe. She gave birth the third time to twins and named them Ebony and Ivory and she named her bakery Ebony and Ivory's Baked Goods. She has businesses for all of her four kids, so they won't have to worry looking for work when they grow up. Great thanks to the plantation that supplies to the needs of all their businesses. Their prices are not so expensive, because all their products were supplied by the Rafael Farms where all fruit, vegetables, crops and herbs are organic and they don't use harmful chemicals for their fertilizers and pesticides. They made sure that all their food products are well made and that each has a beautiful and attractive packaging.
Every year during harvest time, they celebrate a thanks giving dinner at their house inviting their immediate family and some of their friends. They enjoy eating their very own harvest spread abundantly in the long table. They give their guests some of their harvest to take home with them. They never lacked for anything to eat because of the plantation.
Life was good but not easy for them. They toiled hard in order to achieve all their dreams and in order to have all that they owned. Jacob personally goes to the farm to manage the workers and make sure that all the fruit trees, vegetables, crops and herbs are healthy and well taken care of. Violet also personally goes to all their business outlets to make sure that everything is running smoothly as it should. Good thing is that they have four kids who will grow up and soon help them manage their growing number of businesses. They started training their children even while they are still small kids regarding how to manage their businesses so that when they grow up, their businesses would still continue operating.
The kids learnt early the value of hard work. They are so thankful to their parents for all that they did for them. They disciplined their kids so that they won't grow up to be spoiled brats and squander their riches that they worked hard in order to have.
Violet indeed had more than she could ask and wish for. All she wishes now is for their business to continue until her grandchildren are born. She would want them to enjoy the same life that she enjoyed now. Jacob is more than happy that he chose Violet to be his wife and not anybody else. She is just as hardworking and thrifty as he is. They both have the same goals in mind when it comes to living their lives. They are so happy and they also share their blessings to the poor and the less fortunate. They were so happy that they are able to provide them with a sustainable livelihood.
About the Author
Roxanne Jade Regalado is a graduate of B.S. Psychology from Silliman University, Dumaguete City, Philippines. She lives in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental with her mother, sister, niece, nephew and pets. She likes to write books while listening to music which serves as her inspiration for her work. She has published two books entitled 100 Ways to Have Fun and Be Happy, and 40 Ways to a Regret Free Life.
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