Vicky’s voice had the lilt of someone enjoying what she’s doing to the hilt. "I just did some shopping for toiletries my husband will need (he’ll be away for a year)," Vicky chirped. "I have also finished packing his things."
The host of I-Witness (11 p.m. on GMA-7) and Saksi (which she co-anchors with Mike Enriquez and is now on a new 10:30 p.m. timeslot on GMA) admits she is now on a crossroad. Marriage, so far, has been a bed of roses and Vicky feels blessed her husband of a little over a year supports her career a hundred percent.
But she is wondering, especially now that she should get used to keeping in touch with him through text and hopefully, a new invention – a cellphone with photo messages – just how far will she go in her career while keeping her marriage?
Which will come first, her marriage – and eventually – a baby, or her career?
The choice is tough. Vicky’s career is going great guns. Eleven years after she became a broadcast journalist, Vicky’s name needs no introduction, especially to lovers of news and public affairs.
Last June, she went to Kansas to cover the burial of American missionary Martin Burnham. Vicky’s one-month stay there brought her closer to Martin’s widow, Gracia and their children.
"I learned a lot from that coverage," recalls Vicky, who had to pack her bags pronto after she got her orders at the last minute. "I learned how much Americans respect the dead. No journalist was allowed to go near Martin’s body. I was carried away bodily when I tried to get near Martin’s corpse."
Her documentary for I-Witness, Sabah, ang Bagong Amerika?, was a finalist at the New York Television Festivals Awards in 2001.
In 1992, when no one dared air anything except religious shows in the morning, Vicky made televiewers wake up to hers and co-host Dong Puno’s cheery faces in Business Today.
As of now, Vicky can bear having no one to hug at the end of her busy day for a year. "I feel like an OFW, except that my loved one is away for just a year. If others can bear not seeing their loved ones for years, I can, too," she says bravely.
Still, she knows everything can be temporary. What if a baby comes along and demands so much of her time?
"Then I’ll have to lighten my load on the eighth month of pregnancy," Vicky answers without skipping a beat. She’d like to keep her job, too. But given a choice between the two, "I’d choose the baby."
Much as the prospect of learning more about her exciting job thrills Vicky no end, she knows there is still no substitute for a happy family. Thus, she admits entertaining "what if" questions this early in her marriage (she and King have been married for a little more than a year).
What if her husband chooses to practise his profession in the US? Should she follow him there and say goodbye to it all here?
"Career will always be there," Vicky says. But family and motherhood? Vicky knows she might have to answer that question sometime soon.
Meanwhile, the pressure of having a baby stares her and King in the eye. In fact, King’s parents even offered a cash reward the minute their grandchild is born. There’s a catch though: the amount dwindles each month the baby fails to come along, reveals Vicky.
This much she is sure of though: her supportive husband (never mind if he was initially against the transfer of Saksi into a late-night timeslot) is a blessing she appreciates many times over.
"He loves the news, too," she gushes like a honeymooning bride.
No wonder she doesn’t mind anticipating his needs. She has taught him survival tips like washing dishes and cleaning the bathroom (a job she loves to do, even as a single girl). This way, he’ll get by on his first long trip away from home.
The dutiful wife – never mind if she is to the manor born – sees this as no big deal. After all, it’s a role she will never tire of playing, for life.