Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2012 00:58:23 -0700 (PDT) From: John Michaels Subject: FILIPINO LOVE - Chapter 27 FILIPINO LOVE BY JM Email: mmanlookin@yahoo.com Disclaimers and other info: see chapter one This chapter, and all subsequent chapters, is dedicated to my own Filipino Love. He knows who he is. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN (Phil's POV) We all piled into Josie's car, Ronni and I taking the back seat. Josie started it right away to get the a/c going, since it was another hot, steamy day, and after making sure everyone's seatbelt was fastened, she headed for town. She asked if I knew what type of restaurant I had in mind, and before I could open my mouth to respond, Ronni piped up with his request. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what he wanted: McD's! I'm sure to a kid like Ronni, this was haute cuisine, but I had my doubts about how the other two adults would like something like that. I was about to voice my objections when Josie spoke up and said that while the McD's here had pretty much the same offerings as in the US, that here, they offered other menu items with more local flavor and appeal. With a bit of misgiving, I acceded, getting a kiss on the cheek from my boy, and we were off to the House of Ronald. Actually, kind of appropriate, I chuckled to myself. Ronni was ecstatic and was practically bouncing with excitement within the confines of his seatbelt. I have to admit that I was surprised when we pulled up to the establishment. Instead of the stand-alone uniform structure I was used to seeing in the states, this one was a two-story building set in among others in what was clearly a business district. Josie found a parking spot not far from the entrance, and we headed inside. Once inside, it was quite obvious that it was not what I was used to stateside. While there were the obvious company-inspired bits of décor, overall, it looked surprisingly just like any other restaurant with a large clientele. The overhead menu boards touted all things familiar with McD's with quite a large selection of more local fare. Since we were a little early, we were able to go right up and order. I let the others order first, since I wasn't quite sure what to have, not expecting to be eating here. Josie let Ronni and Marcus go first, probably trying to make up her own mind. Ronni ordered the spaghetti, which I thought was an odd choice for someone who had talked us into coming to this particular establishment. Marcus ordered a burger and sides, then Josie ordered a chicken salad. That sounded very good to me, so when it was my turn, I ordered it also. We got our order and drinks, and found a big enough table where we'd be comfortable. My curiosity got the better of me. "Ronni," I said. "How come you didn't order one of the hamburgs? When you mentioned this place, that's the first thing that always comes to mind." "I eat their hamburg when I come here with my friends sometimes, but they make the best spaghetti. It's my favorite!" he said, taking a large mouthful. I have to admit. It didn't look like the kind of spaghetti I was used to. The sauce was more pink than red, and I could see pieces of hot dog and shredded cheese. My curiosity got the better of me. "That looks interesting. May I have a taste?" I asked. He nodded with a grin, and I took a small forkful. `Interesting' and `different' were the two words that came to mind. The flavor of the sauce was much sweeter than the Italian version, and the hot dogs and processed cheese added their own unique taste. I could probably get used to it, but I admit it wasn't one of my favorites at the moment. It was most likely that my tastes were prejudiced by the kind I was accustomed to. I noticed too that when Marcus unwrapped his burger, instead of the usual bun, it was placed between two compressed rice patties. Definitely NOT something I'd find on the menu in the US. But everyone seemed pleased with their selections, and we all tucked in, as they say. Conversation was light and centered around some of the things we'd discussed at the house. Ronni didn't really contribute to the conversation, but I could tell he was listening carefully and would most likely have a ton of questions when we were alone. When we were finished, we got back into Josie's car and headed north out of the city. During lunch, Josie had phoned her office to check in and was told that her afternoon appointment had to be rescheduled. This freed her up, so she offered to take us to see the properties this afternoon instead of waiting until tomorrow, citing my time constraints as reason to move as quickly as possible. I had decided I wanted to see the two adjoining parcels first before looking at the one near the airport, but first, we had to stop at the bank to make the transfer of funds for the house. Fortunately, the bank was just a few blocks from the restaurant, so we decided to walk there instead of fighting the overwhelming traffic. When we arrived at the bank, Josie went to the first available teller and explained the reason we were there. Since this transaction involved a great deal of money, we were ushered into the office of one of the bank officers who walked me through the process. For someone who's only dealt with the American banking system, I was completely lost in all the many forms and other paperwork that was required, and I was so grateful to have Josie there to help me out. I did, however, pay very close attention to all the details, knowing that I'd be going through this process several more times at least. I also noticed Ronni paying very close attention as well, and I'm sure we'll be having some discussions about this before too long. But we finally got everything finished, including making sure that Ronni's name was not only on the land title but the house as well. When all the "I's" and "T's" had been dotted and crossed, the fax machine did it's thing, and a half hour later, with Ronni's hand holding mine, we walked out of the bank, proud owners of our home on the beach. We walked back to the car, got buckled in and began one of the most harrowing journeys I've ever had! The traffic through town was horrendous by any standards! Private vehicles, trucks, vans, pedicabs, and motorcycles all vied for dominance in a madhouse that reminded me of those dodge `em cars you see at county fairs back home. Chaos doesn't even BEGIN to describe the scene! It got even worse whenever we came to an intersection. Without a traffic light or stop sign in sight, vehicles were turning in front of others with barely enough room between fenders and bumpers to slip a piece of paper between vehicles. And the horns!!! Every vehicle was tooting and honking constantly. From what I could tell, depending on how you honked the horn, you not only let others know what your intentions were, but could also be saying "Get the hell out of my way", "Hello" or even "Fuck you!" And Josie was just as aggressive a driver as any of them, her horn punctuated with hand gestures. Everyone else in the car was taking this all in stride, but I'd be damn glad when we got to our destination. Thankfully, traffic thinned considerably as we moved out of town until the traffic took on more of a "rush hour" effect I was used to back home, and my sphincter finally relaxed. The farther we went, the buildings became more spaced, gradually giving way to more open land. Another 20 minutes and Josie pulled over beside a large open space with a view of the ocean in the distance. She grabbed her briefcase, and we all got out of the car. Ronni immediately took my hand in his and leaned against me, his eyes sweeping over everything in front of us. I was also looking around, my mind picturing the budding building plans I envisioned and placing them around the property. I was very pleased with what I saw, but I had one serious concern. Turning to Josie, I said, "I really like this. I can very easily picture what it will look like in the future. My only concern is accessibility. I can't see future guests getting here by having to run through that traffic we just encountered in town. It makes this place just too unappealing to think of someone's vacation starting out that way." Josie set her briefcase on the hood of the car, opened it and pulled out the folders from our meeting at the cottage. "That's something that I don't think will be a problem," she replied. " I should have mentioned it before, but I was only focused on telling you about the properties and should have been more thorough. There is actually a by-pass around the city from the airport, and I can assure you, the traffic is nothing like what we just experienced. I only came that way since it would have actually taken us MORE time to get to the by-pass than the way we came. Here. Look at this map, and you'll see what I'm talking about." I looked at the map and there was indeed a road around the city that would eliminate that traffic mess in town. I didn't, however, see any exit that was immediately accessible to this property. But Josie had an idea for that problem, obviously trying to make this parcel more appealing. Pointing to the map, she said, "While it's actually about a kilometer beyond this property, there is an exit here that will bring you to the road we're on now. I know it seems silly to go farther, but this by-pass is a good, four-lane road, and it would be about a twenty-minute ride from the airport to this exit here, and maybe another 5 minutes or less to this property. I think that it's a reasonable amount of time from the airport, and should hopefully take care of your concerns." She was right, of course. On all of my vacations before this, the airport was at least a half hour away from my hotel, sometimes even an hour or more. Anyone coming to the kind of resort I hoped to build would find that little bit of extra travel time negligible, especially if they were met by one of the hotel vans I planned to buy so they didn't have to deal with the local drivers and their crazy driving habits. I gave her a smile and a nod to show my agreement, then, taking the surveyor's plans, we proceeded to walk around the property. She pointed out the boundary markers, and I have to admit. This was a HUGE piece of real estate, especially when adding the adjoining parcel. This was going to fit my plans perfectly! We walked to the beach area where she pointed out the approximate amount of frontage, and I was impressed. Well, mostly. Here, as in so many places around town, litter was everywhere. I just couldn't fathom how anyone living in such a beautiful place could be so careless and thoughtless. There was also quite a bit of stuff that had washed up on shore or had been blown from the trees, mostly coconut palm branches. But that wouldn't be a problem since I had already planned to have a daily "beach patrol" to keep the beach clean. We walked the boundary lines of both properties, before heading back to the car. I really like what I saw and had pretty much made up my mind that this was it. But in fairness to Josie, I agreed to look at the other property she had told me about in her office that day. She seemed happy that I wanted to see it and said that it would give me a chance to travel the by-pass and see how convenient it would be. And she was right. We were able to go at a good clip, and traffic was no worse than a moderately busy interstate back home. We actually came upon the airport in under twenty minutes and took an exit about three minutes after that. One of the things I'm going to have to get used to here is that they have u-turns from the left lane since that's what she did. Once we merged heading the other way, she deftly moved over to the far right lane and took the first exit and turned right onto the secondary road, pulling over to the left shoulder after about 300 yards. What I saw was a very nice piece of property, level, with a fringe of palms and some flowering bushes, but I knew immediately that what I was now planning wouldn't fit on this. It would look too crowded, and it's the feeling of open space that I was looking for. But I let her do her agent "thing", and we walked the boundary to what would be a lovely beach but for all the litter and deadfall. We walked the far boundary back to the car, got in, and buckled up for the ride home. Ronni had barely let go of my hand the whole time, only letting go to get in the car and fasten his seatbelt, grabbing my hand again when he was done. I could sense that this whole outing had him confused, but I planned to take care of that once we were alone. "Well, Phil," Josie started, breaking the silence, "what do you think?" "First, I want to thank you for finding such great possibilities," I replied. "Frankly, I think Ronni and I need to go home and talk about it for a bit." This got me a hand squeeze from my lover letting me know that he appreciated my including him in the decision-making. "I was really impressed by everything we saw today and can really see possibilities in both. I think, though, that we'll have an answer for you in the morning and then we can go from there." Josie nodded her head, and said, "That sounds reasonable. I know you have a short time left before you have to go back to the US, and we should start moving on whatever you decide as soon as possible." The rest of the ride home (HOME! God, that sounds good!) we talked about the merits and drawbacks of both sets of properties and were home in no time. Even Marcus, who had been pretty quiet during the entire outing, gave his opinions. I invited Josie to stay for dinner, but she said she had to get home to take care of her parents, since the daytime caregiver left at 5:00. After she had dropped us off at the cottage, Josie took off with her customary toot and wave. Ronni immediately jumped up and wrapped himself around me. Marcus chuckled at the sight, and we headed inside. Once there, Ronni got down and ran to the cr while I got a beer for Marcus and myself. He and I went into the salla (I finally remembered the word for living room) and sat down, Ronni once again planting himself firmly on my lap when he returned. Once everyone was settled, I spoke up and first, thanked Marcus for coming along, and that I would welcome any comments he might have about what we'd seen today. "Since you say that money will not be a problem," he began, "I would have to say that after listening this morning to what you plan, the first property, or is it two, would be best. It would definitely allow you to have the buildings, play and sports areas as well as your plans for growing food." "I have to admit," I said, "that it was the first property that got my attention also, for the same reasons you just mentioned. I had pretty much already made up my mind, but in fairness to Josie, decided to see the other property near the airport. If I were to build just one hotel, that would have been ideal, but since I've expanded my plans, that first one we saw would be perfect." Ronni was squirming a bit, and I just knew he wanted to say something, so I asked him, "What do you think, Love?" He turned his head and looked at me with those beautiful, soulful eyes, and with a shy smile, said, "I do not know much about what you want to do, but you say you want two hotels for different people, and all the other things too. I think," he ducked his head, blushing, "I think the big place is best." With that he buried his head on my shoulder and tightened his hug. Marcus was looking at us with a small smile gracing his lips, obviously very proud of his son for speaking out. "I'm glad you feel that way," I said softly, as I caressed his back. "This is going to be for you, too, and it's important for you to say what's on your mind." I kissed him on the side of his head and kept softly rubbing his back. I knew this must be overwhelming the daylights out of him, and I was so happy and proud of him for giving his opinion. It looks like we've come a long way already in our relationship from the uncertain and confused teen to someone who was at least trying to become a true partner in every sense. God, I love him so!!!!! Marcus and I continued to talk of plans that would need to be dealt with before I left next week as well as things to be done while I was away. He assured me that he and Venus would take very seriously my employment offer and would give it very serious consideration. I asked him if he would like to call Venus and see if she and the twins would like to have dinner with us. When he started to protest, saying that we (Ronni and I) needed time to talk things over, I assured him that any discussions we had should include him and Venus, especially since they would be trustees of the land trust in Ronni's name. He finally agreed, and called his wife to ask if she and the kids would join us for dinner. I guess she said yes, since he gave me a wink and thumbs up. With a pat on his butt, I told Ronni he and I had to get up and get dinner started. Looks like I found a good time for that lamb roast. Thanks again to all who have taken the time to tell me their thoughts on the story. I really appreciate it and respond to all. And, if you haven't done so yet, please consider a donation to this great website that brings you so much entertainment. It takes money to keep things going, and your help would be greatly appreciated. http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html Thanks!!