Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

T he smell of cheese, garlic, and tomato sauce made our mouths water upon entering the pizza place. I folded my arms over my tummy to stop it from making embarrassingly loud sounds as I surveyed the menu.

“Which flavor?”

“Weh? Really? Libre mo?” I replied and he gave me a withering side glare. Not wanting to get back on his bad side too soon, I decided to humor him. “I want the shrimp and garlic one. The mojos here are awesome, too.”

Afterwards, I skipped away toward a vacant booth in the corner. I got a text from Liana, asking me where I was and telling me to take care, albeit a little cold without her usual emojis. I looked at it for one second longer than necessary before swiping the notification away.

Cholo came back with a receipt and two cokes a little later. “Usog,” he said, putting one of the cans in front of me. I obliged and scooted over. “Why are you looking at your phone like it would bite you?”

“Liana texted me. I don’t know what to say yet.”

“Well, don’t send your long-overdue apology via text. Wait till you get home. But do text her where you are.”

“Uh. Okay,” I said, texting her I was just outside the village and not to worry. “Anyway, where were you the whole day? And why were you wearing a dress shirt?”

We usually had to turn up in corporate apparel when we had case presentations but it could not have been that as he was not even in school all day.

“I had an interview,” he replied, tucking the receipt neatly inside his wallet. I kept staring and noticed how the bills were sorted by denomination. The attention to detail made my head ache. “That’s why I wasn’t in class all day.”

“Where was that?”

“BGC.”

“Buong araw ‘yun?” I asked, taking a sip, and he gave me an annoyed look as he knew I was pulling his leg.

“I had a hangover, if you must know. And I wasn’t about to drive my kuya’s car from Alabang if I couldn’t even see straight. Plus, my sister-in-law wouldn’t let me out of the house until I finished that hangover soup. So I ended up leaving in the afternoon.”

“Ayan. Inom pa more,” I said, just to be annoying. Gah, I missed this slightly pikon face he was wearing now. “Wait, which Kuya lived in Ortigas again?”

“Daming tanong, o,” he complained. “You know, if you want to ask questions, you’ve got to answer some, too.”

“Like I didn’t tell you my inner conflicts just now?”

“Fine. It’s my eldest kuya, Chip, who lives in Alabang. My second Kuya—that’s Chan—is the one living in Ortigas that I stay with during weekdays. He owns that car, too, but he lets me use it all the time.”

“Interesting names. Chip, Chan, Cholo,” I recited.

“Do I get to ask something now?”

“Uh. Why not.”

“Back then, before all this happened. Why did you hate Juliana so much? You knew she was just a kid, too.”

The question made me a little queasy. I did not like the topic so much as it was giving me guilt. “Um, pass.”

“Bastos,” he groaned, punching me on the shoulder.

“What the heck! Nakakainis kasi ‘yung tone mo,” I snarled. “And all I said was that you could ask questions. I didn’t promise anything about answering them. Tsaka teka, why are you punching me? Close ba tayo?”

“Aren’t we, huh?” he teased, doing it again, and we ended up just a little bit short of beating each other up when the staff arrived with the food.

“Whoa, solid!” said Cholo, staring open-mouthed at the food in front of us.

“Chicken Barbecue! That smells so good,” I exclaimed. The smell of it made my mouth water. “I’d ask for a bite but I’m allergic to chicken.”

As though on cue, the waiter put a shrimp and garlic pizza in front of me. My jaw dropped.

“Sir, can you put the mojos right here in the middle, please?” Cholo said, looking at the mojos still on the tray.

I stared at him disbelievingly. “You ordered two?” I said, and Cholo nodded. “Plus the mojos?”

“Yup. You said you could eat a whole one, right? Ayoko maubusan. Ow!” he complained as I did a tiny, evil pinch on his tummy at that remark. “And I’m allergic to shrimp, you’re allergic to chicken… It’s better this way.”

“What a sad life you have.”

“Says a person who will never be able to eat ChickenJoy,” he taunted. “Teka, you had chicken nuggets last time, right?”

“Yes. I don’t get allergic reactions from those but real chicken gives me hives.”

“Okay. So bakit ka nga galit kay Juliana?”

Our mouths were full the next minute so neither of us were able to speak for a while. I saw barbecue sauce on his cheek so I took a tissue and wiped it off.

“Ang dugyot, o!” I teased, evading the question again. “How much do I owe you pala?”

“None. I’m buying pizza because I lost the bet. Also I got in. Thought I’d celebrate.”

“Got in where?” I asked, distracted.

He smiled and the way his eyes crinkled at the sides made my heart race.

That and the close distance. God help me.

“How about answering my question first?” he said.

I put the tissue back on the table and finished the slice I was holding, suddenly conscious that I was talking with my mouth full.

“She has a different mom and her mom used to be my mother’s best friend. Do the math,” I told him, feeling uncomfortable. My family’s setup was not common. “Her mom and my dad got married just about a year after my mom died. As a grieving child, I didn’t understand how my dad could move on so fast.”

“Oh,” he replied and I became aware of how quickly I was inhaling my food. I decided to go slower. “Okay. So what if you were actually blood-related. Like you shared the same dad. Would you feel the same way?”

“I don’t know,” I told him honestly. “I probably would have hated her more if she turned out to be my dad’s kid out of wedlock.”

I sighed and did not think much of it until I noticed he went quiet.

“You’re scary,” he commented, smiling the way he did whenever someone in the room made an inappropriate joke.

“Why?” I asked, starting on a potato mojo. “Wouldn’t you hate her if it was you?”

“No. My brothers treat me well so I see no reason not to follow their lead once the tables were turned. But maybe that’s just me,” he replied, trying to smile as he took a sip off his drink.

I stared at him with my mouth wide open. “I’m…sorry?” I said slowly, unsure of what he meant, but I was sure I had just crossed a lot of lines.

“Anak ako sa labas,” he said calmly and the statement hit me like a grenade. “My dad had an affair and I was the by-product. That’s why I live alone and stuff.”

I sat there gaping. It made so much sense. It explained everything—why he was so independent and why he was hell-bent on proving himself.

“I’m so sorry, Cholo. I spoke out of line,” I said, taking clumps of my own hair in my hands in panic.

“Vinnie, don’t be ridiculous,” he said, laughing as he tried to put my hair back in place. “And why are you even saying sorry? You hate me now, too?”

“No!” I said, panicking and angry at myself. “I’m sorry. We were talking about Liana and I went off like that. I mean, we already established that it’s not the kid’s fault and then I still went on that tangent. I don’t even have an excuse.”

“There’s no reason to apologize,” he answered. “I don’t blame you for that. I asked because I was curious if maybe she did something to make you mad. Honestly, I brought it upon myself, interrogating you like that.”

“She didn’t do anything,” I said, face burning in shame. “Except take care of me like an older sister would. She would make baon for me every day and, grabe, I was so evil in high school, I would take it home untouched on purpose. High school me was such an insufferable pain in the butt.”

He picked up a mojo and nibbled on it. I shook my head as everything I did to Liana came crashing on me again.

“You know what? You were right back then. I was indeed an evil witch, on-stage and off-stage,” I stated. “But every time I see Liana, I just get reminded of how quickly my dad got over losing my mom. I mean, I shouldn’t expect him to mope forever but I was maybe, what, five or six?

And then Tita Cris from next door was suddenly coming over for dinner. I mean, of course, Mom and Dad, then Tita Cris and Liana’s dad had this whole history of being a tight bunch in college before I was even conceived but I didn’t know that until later. Didn’t help that our former yaya told me chismis from the neighbors that Tita Cris and my dad were a thing and sneaking around. Good lord, it was messy.”

“That’s such a twisted thing to tell a child!”

I took another gulp off my can of Coke. “I know, right! Tapos, ayun. Next thing I know Dad and Tita Cris were telling everyone that they were married and I had to share my toys.”

“I imagine you especially hated the sharing part,” he said, putting his arm on the back of my seat with a laugh. “The doll in your room the other night, tell me about that.”

“We bought them together. I remember my mom was still around and she and Cris brought us along. Liana and I saw them and we got a matching set. I had Melba. She named hers Tindeng.”

“What is wrong with you two?” he asked, snorting.

“I don’t know,” I said, laughing even more, leaning closer towards him. Boy, did he smell good. “We were close. Next-door neighbors, friends.”

“And you defended her from me and the other nasties.”

“Yeah. Maybe that was why I didn’t have friends growing up. I kept thinking their parents might move in, too. Boom! Trust issues.”

“We’re laughing now but I can imagine how hard that was for you.”

“Yeah. But enough about unpacking my baggage. Tell me about you.”

“My baggage? It’s an entire conveyor belt, are you sure you’re asking?” he teased and I threatened to pinch him again. “Well, like I said, my family treated me well. So I’m not sure what to tell you exactly.”

“Do you know where your biological mom is?”

“And whoop, there it is. Look at you immediately landing the important questions,” Cholo said with a funny face, making me double up in laughter. “I did ask Dad after I found out. His answer was ‘nawala sa SM.’ Ayun. I learned not to ask any questions after that.”

“Seryoso ka?” I said, unsure whether to laugh or not. “So when did you find out?”

He looked down and sighed.

“Remember that Sustagen Quiz Bee? The one you won?” he asked, avoiding my eyes and easing away. He even took his arm off the back of my seat again, making me realize he had been keeping the spot warm.

“Yes. My mom was still around back then. You found out that day?”

“Yup! My, um, other mom—she and Dad had a huge fight that morning. He had something important come up at work and made her skip half a day off instead so I would have someone to cheer on me. When we got home, she was angry. They argued again just before dinner and she brought up how he made her skip work for someone who wasn’t even her own kid and couldn’t even win a minor quiz bee.”

“WHAT?”

“I know. It wasn’t pretty. She was angry at my dad, though, not me. She apologized for that profusely. Made it up to me and nobody in the family ever mentioned it again. But yeah, it wasn’t the same after. I couldn’t look at her in the face until now. I still feel like an outsider. My brothers and our parents did everything to make sure I didn’t feel out of place, but finding something like that out is not something you could easily brush off.”

“Gosh. I’m sorry.”

“You should be! It’s all your fault. If you just let me win, none of that would have happened,” Cholo said, his pilyo smile making an appearance again.

“Gagi, is that why you started… Oh my god,” I said, falling right into the teasing again. “That’s why you couldn’t forgive me? You know what. I’m taking my indignation on your behalf back.”

He let it go after that but I still wanted to hit myself over the head with a hammer. If Cholo, whose family did nothing to antagonize him, felt this way, what could Liana have been feeling after everything I did?

“Hey, enough of the heavy stuff. We’re supposed to be celebrating,” he said now. “Anyway, to answer your question, I got the internship I wanted in BGC.”

“Oh my god, you mentioned that. Is it the consumer goods one?” I asked, and he shyly nodded. “BIG TIME!”

“They’ll probably just make me photocopy stuff and brew coffee but I’m happy about it.”

“Then you’ll have more time to play those games on your phone. That’s fine. Nothing you can’t do,” I teased but deep down, I was genuinely happy for him, too.

He drove me home after that. I removed my seat belt as he brought the car to a stop. I was about to thank him when he got out of the vehicle and walked over to my side.

“You really shouldn’t let me get used to this,” I said as he opened the door for me.

“Don’t worry. Not doing it again,” he joked.

I shook my head. “Thank you, Cholo. For driving, dinner, and talking to me again,” I said, awkwardly tapping his shoulder. “And thank you for telling me about these things. You can be assured I will take it to the grave.”

He stared at me right in the eye and smiled—one of the most heartfelt I had seen from him.

“Thank you for trusting me too, Vinnie. It means a lot.”

I had this overwhelming urge to hug him but he got there first. His arms were strong and warm, and I felt safe as he held me close to him.

He lingered for I did not know how long. I just closed my eyes and hugged him back, enjoying every second. He was so warm that I would not have minded staying like that forever.

“You need to go home now, it’s late.”

“Yeah. Potato’s probably at the gate waiting for me now.”

“Potato?” I asked, letting him go.

“The cat. Her feeder’s probably run out.”

“Oh,” I said, laughing. “Right. That traffic was ridiculous. You should get some sleep now.”

“Thanks. See you next week?”

“Next week,” I said, smiling again as Cholo went back to his car.

I waved goodbye as I opened the gate and waited until he vanished around the corner before I entered the house.