The Travel Buddy

Epilogue

Finally!  Thank you for reading! At the age of almost forty and married for fifteen years, I can't recall how teenagers get giddy 😂. Thank you for bearing with me.

Third person POV

          With Italy as the last league of their vacation, and getting together with almost all of Enzo's relatives, Bea expected something significant will happen.  But there was none.

          Bea did not attend any conferences at all. The purpose of picking up Mr. Delano, their British Marketing Director, in Dubai was for him to stand in for her in all her engagements with Freya as his assistant. And the reason why all her luggages were unloaded in Lisbon was to transfer them to Enzo's private jet, which took off minutes after her entourage left Manila and flew directly to Portugal.

          They toured all the sights and landmarks in Lisbon like the Alfama and the Praca de Comercio; and visited Jeronimos Monastery, Castelo de S. Jorge, and Torre de Belem; and enjoyed a night at Barrio Alto where Bea got herself drunk.

          In Barcelona, they visited the churches particularly the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia. They got to experience the interactive cooking and did the cava and wine-tasting at the Catalan countryside.

          Bea did a lot of shopping in Paris at the insistence of Enzo. They took lovely photos of themselves in front of the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and other famous architectural structures around the city.

          When they arrived in Italy, Bea got to meet the most of his relatives after they have toured Rome. They visited the Campania region near Naples where his family originated. She met his grandparents and most of his aunts and uncles and the rest of his cousins who were not able to visit the Philippines or attend his twenty-first birthday. This time she was not just the girl who lived next door to the De Luca's, but she was introduced as Enzo's coure mio, his joy. He had addressed her on some of his conversations as tesoro, meaning his treasure.

          They have traveled to almost all the romantic places she knew in Europe, but never did Enzo do anything that would imply about their future that Bea even wondered if he really had any plans at all. She knew he was cooking up something with that engagement ring that he had just bought and it was just natural for her to expect believing that he had arranged for this month-long holiday for them. Rather, he was rather acting a bit strange epecially when they were surrounded by his family. He'd often speak in Italian which she doesn't understand a thing.

          During one dinner with his family, everyone was getting rambunctious that she asked him to translate what they were talking about.  Everybody turned silent and looked at her, while he just smiled and said, "Sono innamorato di questa ragazza. Voglio invecchiare con lei e la sposerò." which earned a loud applause from the people on the table as he kissed her on her forehead. They began raising their glasses at Enzo and her, then she heard someone exclaimed "I migliori auguri a tutti e due!" And some of his aunts and cousins came to shower her with hugs and kisses. She knew they were greeting her because their congratulazioni is clear enough to understand.

           Bea felt flustered by his gesture that she whispered to Enzo, "Whatever that is that you've said, thank you for bringing me here and making me feel like I'm part of your family. Well... not like a sister..." she blushed. "I don't know what you've just said, but as much as I want you in my life, I want them to be part of mine too. I love your family, Enzo. This is what I want. A big but closely-knitted family."

          "Mommy!" An ear-piercing voice disrupted her reverie. The exuberant young girl dashed from the door onto her lap.

"Alessia, slow down! Be careful with your Mom's tummy." Yaya Doris came rushing from behind. She began putting the girl's bag on the couch and headed to the pantry to prepare some snacks.