Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2012 14:58:47 -0700 (PDT) From: John Michaels Subject: FILIPINO LOVE - Chapter 12 FILIPINO LOVE By JM Disclaimers and other info: see chapter one Email: mmanlookin@yahoo.com CHAPTER TWELVE In all my previous travels, I had always gotten around either on foot, rented bike, taxi or public bus. This was the first time I had ever ridden in such a conveyance, and the experience was...interesting. The noise generated by the engine indicated that any kind a muffler that came with the cycle originally was a distant memory, and we were being trailed by a billowing, black cloud of smoke emitting from the questionable exhaust system. There also didn't appear to be any kind of shock absorbers or suspension, as I could feel every little bump in the road, some quite bone jarring, sending shocks from my spine to my head. All this didn't seem to faze Ronni, though, as he excitedly pointed out different points of interest as we banged along. The torture finally ended about 15 minutes later as we pulled up to the agent's office. We disembarked, and after paying the driver 20 pesos (about 50 cents, U.S.), we walked into the office, where we were greeted by the agent. She offered us bottled water, which we gratefully accepted to wash the dust and exhaust of our ride out of our throats, sat down and got into the reason for the meeting. I hadn't mentioned anything to her about why I wanted the meeting, and I'm sure she thought that maybe I was there to complain about the cottage. A mix of relief and surprise flooded her face as I told her the reason I wanted this meeting. "Ms Fudalan (her name)," I started. "One of the reasons I wanted to see you is to ask if the cottage where I'm staying might possibly be for sale." Quickly recovering her equilibrium, Ms Fudulan replied, "I'm not really sure. Let me go get the file so I can check." She stood up, went over to a file cabinet in the corner, and began her search. In the meantime, Ronni was looking at me with a cocked eyebrow. "Why you want to know if house for sale?" he asked. I rested my hand on his shoulder, and said, "Just be patient for a little bit. You'll see." I followed this up with a reassuring smile. He started to relax a bit, and said simply, "Ok." But I could tell that he was still bubbling with curiosity. In the meantime, Ms Fudalan had found the file and returned to her desk and sat down. She opened the file and started to slowly go through each page it contained, stopping when she came to the one she had been looking for. She spent a moment scanning the contents, then looked at me. "Yes," she said. "It is for sale. The owners live and work in the U.S even though they are Filipino. They thought that they might keep the house to use for when they return to visit, but they have found another place in Bulacan that is closer to the wife's family. They want to sell this house so they have the money to buy the place in Bulacan, which they now rent, until they get the money." I nodded my head thoughtfully. "Ok," I said. "Now for the big question. How much are they asking?" She glanced again at the sheet in her hand then looked rather sheepishly at me. "Um, ah," she stammered. Then she took a deep breath, looked me straight in the eye, and said, "They are asking 750,000 pesos." At this, Ronni's eyes almost popped out of his head, and his mouth dropped open. "How much?" he squeaked. This was obviously an amount of money greater than he could even imagine. "750,000," Ms Fudalan repeated. I did a quick calculation in my head. Given the current rate of exchange, 750,000 would translate into roughly $20,000, U.S. Shit!!! I couldn't even build a decent garden shed back home for that amount! And here was a well-built house with property, on the beach for that price. But there was a hurdle I was aware of that needed to be overcome. As a foreigner, I could own any kind of business, building, condo or any other freestanding structure, but by law, I was not allowed to own the land on which it sat. Only a true Filipino could do that, and I had already known that fact before I came to her office. I had a plan in mind, but I needed to know if it would work. Ms. Fudalan seemed surprised at my lack of reaction to what she obviously considered a great deal of money. After all, the average, working middle class Filipino was considered to be doing well if he made $10,000 a year, so in her mind – and Ronni's, too – this was a great deal of money. "Ms Fudalan," I began. "Being that I'm from the U.S., I think that the price is more than reasonable." (More surprised looks from both of them.) "While I suppose the natural thing to do would be to try and bargain the price down, that would take more time than I'm willing to wait. I'd like to be able to have everything settled and paid for before I have to return to the U.S. the end of next week, so I'm willing to accept the price as is. The only problem I see is that, while I can buy the house, I can't buy the land. Could you tell me, please, if there is any legal age limit as to who can own land?" "I do not know for sure," she said. "But I can do some research this afternoon and have an answer for you in the morning." "That will be fine," I replied. "If you find that there is no age limit, then you and I will have a deal. I will buy the house." As I said this, I couldn't help but look at Ronni to see his reaction. I had to hold back a laugh when I saw the look on his face. "This will also help me with my other request. One of the reasons I'm here is to look for some beach property on which to build a hotel." At this, she looked as if she was about to burst from excitement. I'm sure that it was motivated by the thoughts of the commissions dancing through her mind. "I am very excited about that," she enthused. "Although Lapu-Lapu is a large city, there never seems to be enough rooms for all the visitors, especially since we are so close to the airport. We have beautiful beaches here with very few hotels near them. The cost for accommodating the environmental restrictions has kept the number that has been built with immediate beach access low. Also, being so close to the airport and having a nice place to stay and vacation will really help the economy. Anyone willing to build something like that here will get a lot of support and help from the government." Throughout this exchange, Ronni had been unusually quiet. He now spoke up. "Phil? What is happening?" I put my arm around him in a small, reassuring hug, and said, "Remember at your parent's house you had something to tell me but wanted to wait until we got home?" Damn! A look of sadness and...fear?...clouded his beautiful eyes. "Oo," he said, with a slight quiver in his voice. With an even firmer hug, I lifted him out of his seat and onto my lap facing me, where his arms immediately went around my neck, and his head on my shoulder. "Well," I said, "when we get home, I'll tell you everything. If all goes as I hope, you will be having a very big part in everything." When I had pulled Ronni onto my lap, Ms Fudalan got a shocked look on her face, which gradually morphed into a soft expression as she witnessed how much Ronni and I cared about each other. Breaking (thankfully) the somewhat somber, but loving, mood, she said, "I will have the information you want by tomorrow morning, and will also bring along a list of available properties. If it is best for you, I will bring it to the house in the morning." "That would be great," I replied. "But could you make it 10:00 or a little later? After all, I AM supposed to be on vacation and might sleep late." "That will be good," she said. "Why don't I give you a call before I come?" "Excellent! That will give me time to make sure I'm presentable." Actually, make sure BOTH Ronni and I are presentable in case things get sexy in the morning. She chuckled at my remark, and said, "Good. Then that's what we'll do. Is there anything else I can help you with today?" "That's all for now, at least. I think we'll head home now and get some lunch. We're meeting with Ronni's lola later this afternoon. By the way," I added. "I'd like to say that your English is excellent. I'm very impressed." "Thank you," she said with a smile. "I actually have a master's degree from The University of California, Berkley. I was planning on becoming an English teacher when I returned here, but the teaching conditions and salary were so bad, I went into real estate instead. Better hours, working conditions and money. I'm supporting my parents, so that was important." "That's a very good thing you're doing for your parents. Parents were always there when we needed them, and it's only right we return the same care when the time comes. I wish there were more people like you. Well, I guess we'd better go. I'm pleased with what we may have accomplished today, and look forward to what you have for us tomorrow. Thank you," I said, as I stood with Ronni still in my arms. "And I thank you too. I think we'll have everything you need to move forward with your plans by the time I see you tomorrow. By the way, can I offer you a ride?" she asked. " I don't have anything planned until after lunch, and it's a long walk back to the house, and it's quite hot today." "That would be much appreciated, if you don't mind. I'd been thinking I'd have to take another pedicab ride, and after the experience in one getting here, I wasn't exactly looking forward to it." This brought forth a peal of laughter. Even Ronni laughed. "I know what you mean," she stated. "I don't like them much myself, and I've grown up around them." With that, Ronni and I waited while she tidied up, and then went out to her car with her, as she locked the office door behind her. What a difference in the ride!! No bone jarring bumps, no exhaust fumes, no noise! And it was air-conditioned...a blessed respite from the heat. As we pulled up to the cottage, I invited Ms Fudalan to stay for lunch, but she politely declined, saying she was having lunch with a friend, so with a toot and a wave she was off. As I turned to put my arm around Ronni's shoulder and head into the house, I noticed that he had a sad look on his face, and something else...embarrassment? Something was obviously troubling him, and I needed to find out what and why. I wanted my vibrant and happy Ronni back. Caressing the side of his face, I asked, "What's wrong, Sweetheart? You look so sad." He turned his soulful eyes up to meet mine, and said, "I scared, Phil. I not know what going on! So much today I not understand. It makes me afraid. So much, too much I not know. And I feel shame." That said, he dropped his head, and it looked as though he was on the verge of tears. Oh God!! What have I done?!? When I first started putting my plans together about the house, I thought he would at least be excited and happy that I would own a house close to where he lived, even though I hadn't planned to tell him that this was going to become OUR home until everything had fallen into place. While I knew that all the planning I was putting in place would include him, I hadn't said anything to him, wanting the news to be a happy surprise once everything was in place. But he had been with me at the agent's office as I blithely discussed buying properties that would obviously require a great deal of money, and I now realized that he didn't know everything about my plans or the fact that I had the ability and resources to make things happen. I had to diffuse this situation immediately. My heart was aching, seeing him in such a state. I made up mind right then to tell him everything I had planned for the future...OUR future. And I had to come clean about my money. No more waiting! "Ronni," I said gently, as I lifted his head up so that I could see his eyes. They were very moist, and it was clear that he was on the verge of a meltdown. "Ronni," I said again, once he was looking at me. " I'm so very, very sorry that you're feeling like this. It's all my fault. I should have told you everything before now, but I wanted it to be a nice surprise for you, but to be honest, some of it happened as things were discussed at Ms Fudulan's office. I was kind of coming up with ideas based on what was being said in the office, and it wasn't fair to you. It confused you and scared you, because, in spite of how we now feel about each other, you still don't know all about me and my life before I met you, and you were confused and didn't know what was going on." I grabbed him in a tight hug. "I'm so very sorry, my love. The very last thing I EVER want to do is to cause you pain. I love you with everything I am or will ever be. Please, Love! Forgive me!" Up until now, I had been the one actually doing the hugging. Ronni had loosely put his arms around me, but I think it was more of an automatic response. As I finished my little speech, though, he began to tighten his hold on me until he was hugging me fiercely. "Let's go inside," I said. "I'll tell you everything and answer any questions you might have. Ok?" With that, he gave me an extra squeeze as we broke our embrace. I took his small, delicate and perfect hand in mine, and went into the house. He still wasn't looking like my normal happy Ronni, but I was about to remedy that...I hope. I have to remember to keep my head screwed on straight. After all, I'm not exactly dealing with a worldly-wise adult. He's a 14-year old boy who has none of the life experiences that I take for granted, and not only that, he lives in a country far removed from the U.S and with a totally different culture. While I had already accepted the fact that I was now in a permanent (God, I hope and pray!) relationship with a young teen, I had to remember to always keep in mind that he is exactly JUST that...a young teen, still growing and evolving, and I now had the great and humbling honor of most likely being the most influential person in his life. With God's help...and a hell of a lot of luck!!...I hope to be able to help guide him into a happy and well-adjusted adulthood. How am I doing, folks? If you like it so far, please send me an email to the address at the top. I heard from one reader who really enjoyed the story but thought it was becoming too saccharine due to lack of conflict. You have to remember that they're in the "honeymoon" phase, so things should be all lovey-dovey, but I've tried to add just a bit of an upset here to balance things. There will be major conflict soon, but it will come from outside the relationship. Ok? Please help keep Nifty alive and well. http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html Thanks!