Together but Separate

Chapter 2: His Set Up

Nicko Ferragni

I stepped inside of one of the popular restaurants here in Italy. The hostess greeted me and assisted me to the table, where my parents were waiting.

It had been our tradition to dine here every time we would visit Italy. We loved the food they served here. Their breakfast and dinner meal choices were like heaven.

The hostess led me to the back area where the private rooms were. It was a fancy restaurant that's why we could have our own room for ourselves if we requested to.

I greeted my parents when I arrived at where they were. I gave my mom a kiss on her cheek before I sat down and ordered my dinner.

"We started eating already. Ang tagal mo kasing dumating, anak."

I nodded at my mom. "That's fine, mom. Thank you for waiting for me."

I had been in Italy for four days now to take care of our family's business here. My parents just arrived yesterday to attend a business event, to visit our house here and to meet some friends. When they arrived yesterday, they asked me to join them for dinner in our favorite restaurant. That's why I went straight here from work.

"We do not mind waiting for you, anak. We love spending time with our only son. Besides, you have been very busy with work. We missed seeing you often."

"I missed spending time with the both of you, too. It has been very busy lately, so I am sorry if I don't get to spend time with you and dad."

"It's alright, son. We understand. I had been there. I knew what it was like," my dad said, smiling at me. I returned his smile.

My food came, and I started digging in. I was taking a bite when my mom spoke, "How is she?"

I glanced at her with brows furrowed. "Who?" I asked curiously.

My mom rolled her eyes. "Who else? Your wife."

Oh.

To be honest, I sometimes forgot that I had a wife. Especially when I was too busy, I would not even remember that I got married. It felt like I was still single because I kept my busy schedule like the usual before I even got married. And I did not get to see her again after the wedding day, so it felt like nothing had changed in my life.

After our wedding, we went to my parents' house to eat then went home to our new house that we bought. But we slept in separate rooms. The next day, I went out of town for a meeting. After that, I flew out to Italy. So basically, the last time I saw her was on our wedding day.

I did not know what to answer my mom, and I guessed she understood my silence, so she raised her eyebrow at me.

"When did you last see her?"

"On our wedding day?" I answered unsure.

My mom's brow raised even more. "Did you get to speak to her after that?"

I shook my head as a response.

"How about her? Did she even try to reach you?" My mom's forehead creased.

"No," I simply replied.

Mom shook her head and said, "That's why I am so against with your marriage. You both got married for a wrong reason that's why you don't treat each other as husband and wife. It seems like you are both living separate lives. This is not what I want for you, anak. I want a real marriage for you, not a loveless marriage. I want you to be happy and marry the person you love."