Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2012 20:14:59 -0700 (PDT) From: John Michaels Subject: FILIPINO LOVE - Chapter 25 FILIPINO LOVE BY JM Email: mannlookin@yahoo.com Disclaimers and other info: see chapter one CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE "Please excuse my manners," I said once every one was settled. "Would anyone like coffee or something else to drink?" "A coffee would really hit the spot right about now," answered Josie. Marcus held up his cup, and with a glint in his eye said, "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I'd love another coffee." I noticed Ronni's eyebrows shoot to his hairline, but he didn't say anything, just continued to eat his cereal, chewing slowly and thoughtfully, keeping a wary eye on his father. Taking his cup, I rose and went to the kitchen, grabbing a clean cup from the cupboard for Josie. Thank goodness this hi-tech little wonder of a coffee machine was quick. While the first cup was brewing, I went to the ref and grabbed a bottle of water for myself. While there, I turned and asked Josie if she would like anything in her coffee. She said `just black', so I took my water back to the coffee maker, which had just finished the first cup. Starting the one for Marcus, I took Josie's to her along with my bottle of water and placed them in front of the appropriate places, returning to the machine just as Marcus' coffee was ready. Going back to the table, I placed it front of him and sat down. At this point, Marcus spoke up. "If you'll excuse the interruption, I need to say something." Getting a nod from both Josie and me with a puzzled look from Ronni, he continued. "The first thing I would like to say is `I'm sorry' to my son. I have not been completely honest with you, and I am truly, deeply sorry. As you all can see, I speak English fairly well. It's a big part of what I need to be able to do with my job at the call center. I am a proud Filipino and felt that it was just part of my job and had nothing to do with my personal life. Ronni, I don't think even your mother knows how well I can speak. Any time I am out of my job, I leave it all behind, including English. But with the things that are happening now, I realize it us time for me to come out of the closet (this with a wink at me)." "But papa," Ronii said, with more than a hint of confusion in his voice, "you know I speak English. I learn it at school. Why did you not help me so I could speak better?" "That was my biggest, no, my SECOND, biggest mistake," he said with a big sigh. "The first was ever listening to that vile woman who called herself my sister! The second was not telling you about my English. As I said, I am proud to be Filipino and felt that I was honor-bound to be so in all areas of my personal life, including speaking our native language when not at work. It was not fair to you, your mother or the twins. Because of your relationship with Phil and all he has planned for you, it is now time for me to put my pride away and be the proper father to you and friend to Phil." Ronni got up and went around the table, to his father, putting his arms around him. `It is ok, Papa," he said softly. "I understand. I am not upset. You are my papa, and you will have ways of life I do not understand, but I will always try to understand." "Thank you, my son," Marcus said with emotion. "You have always been a good boy, a good son. I am so proud of you and love you so very much." "I love you, too, Papa." With a final firm hug, they separated, and Ronni came back around the table, this time electing to sit on my lap, pulling my arms around him. This got a soft smile and slight shake of the head from Marcus. "I'm sorry for interrupting the purpose of this meeting," he said to Josie. "I just needed to let everyone know my little secret.' He chuckled. "That's perfectly ok," said Josie. "I'm glad you did, because it will make things go a lot easier and faster today." Earlier, while I had been performing my host's duties, and before Marcus statement, Josie had spread out several folders from her briefcase and had put them in some sort of order. Now, she took a sip of her coffee, and began. "Phil," she began, then after a barely perceptible pause, "and Ronni." That got an immediate response from Ronni who snapped his eyes away from his father and onto Josie. "I think I've come up with a list of properties that you'll really like. But first, let's get the fairly easy stuff out of the way. I went to the courts first thing this morning and had the document of trusteeship approved and entered into record. I then took the approved document to register it with the land office. Everything is now legally ready for you to proceed with your purchases. I have here a faxed agreement from the owners of this house, accepting your offer and signed and officially marked by the judiciary in Bulacan where they're currently staying. All that remains is for the money to be wired to them, a receipt will be faxed, and you'll have full ownership of the house immediately, listing Ronni as landowner under the trusteeship of his parents. Do you know when you'll be able to wire the money?" It's gonna happen!! It's gonna happen!! I think I'm more excited about now owning our own home than I was about the hotel! OUR home, Ronni and me! I got such an emotional rush, I couldn't find my voice! It was like we were thinking the very same thing at the very same time, as I looked at my lover just as he turned his head and looked at me with an enormous grin on his face. With a nod, I turned my attention back to Josie, my own facial expression mirroring Ronni's. As he passed through my vision, I couldn't help but notice that Marcus was also smiling, looking lovingly at his son. Were his eyes just a bit moist? Clearing my emotion-clogged throat, I said hoarsely, "I can have the money wired as soon as I can get to the bank." I named a local branch of a national banking institution. "Excellent," she enthused. "That shouldn't take much time at all. If you'd like, I can give you a ride there when we finish our business here." "I'm glad you said that, since it brings up another issue I think we have to deal with," I said. "I'm sure that Ronni and I are going to be doing quit a bit of traveling around looking at properties and such, and I can't keep relying on you to drop everything and be our chauffer. I think I need to rent a car and go through the process at the LTO for the proper papers and drive us myself. I can tell you, though, I'm sure not looking forward to it. I've seen how they drive around here, and frankly, it scares me." " I know what you mean about traffic here," she replied. "Even though I've lived here most of my life, it took me quite a while to get over being nervous about driving. But, I may have, at least, a partial solution to your having to drive. I have a 20-year old cousin who's in between semesters at his college. He's been looking for some kind of work to earn some money and keep busy. He might be willing to be your driver, at least for the short while remaining in your current stay. And, if you like, I can make arrangements before your next return to have someone on a more permanent basis. How does that sound to you?" "Like an answer to my prayers," I chuckled, hearing similar sounds of amusement from around the table. Ronni had, by now, finished eating, and decided to take his dishes to the kitchen, quickly washing, drying and putting them away before returning to the table with a bottle of water he'd grabbed from the ref on his way past. Sliding smoothly back onto my lap, he squirmed a bit until his butt crack lay over my crotch. My arm, on autopilot, wrapped around him, pulling him closer. "One thing you may want to think seriously about, Phil," she said. "Owning your own resort will definitely give you an elevated status here, whether it's something you're comfortable with or not. It's just something that comes with the territory, as they say. Since you'll obviously be hiring people to work in and around your resort, why not add a personal driver to the list. He, or she, could have other duties but be on call for when you need them, as it would be their primary responsibility. The company you form for the hotel could buy or lease vehicles for transporting guests as well as a vehicle for your own exclusive use. It doesn't mean that you won't ever drive, but it will expand your options, at least until you're more comfortable with driving here." "I like that idea," I responded enthusiastically. "I know there will be times I'll need to drive myself, but this way I'd have the time to get used to it. This will definitely go onto my "Things To Be Done" list." "Oh, and by the way," Josie said, " before I forget, I have official copies of the trusteeship for you and Mr. Martinez. I don't think I need to tell you to keep them in a safe place. I would suggest for you, Phil, that you keep it in the file for any land transactions you do. And Mr. Martinez, I'm not sure if you have a safe deposit box at your bank, but if you don't, you should think about it. It's a good, safe place to keep any important documents and valuables." "I don't," he replied, "but maybe it's something I should seriously consider." "It wouldn't be a bad idea," I said to him. "There will be future business plans that may well include you and your family. It's something we'll discuss when I have a better picture of what my plans will be." With that, I looked at my copy of the trusteeship and noticed for the first time that Ronni's name actually had no "e" on the end. In my mind, I'd always thought his name was spelled the conventional way. Somehow, this spelling seemed to suit him better. "Ok, now for the big items," Josie said. "I was able to locate two other parcels of land that you might be interested in. Neither of them is as close to the airport as the first one I told you about, but they do both have good land for building and more than adequate beach frontage to make them contenders." With that, she took the first folder and handed it to me. The first folder Josie handed contained information on a piece of property that was just north of the city and looked as if it would be easily accessible from the main road around the island. The property was smaller than the one we had talked about in her office the other day and was priced accordingly...actually considerably less, since it was farther from the airport. The beach frontage was 175 meters, roughly 550 feet, and the property itself was 1.2 hectares...about 12 acres. Setting that aside for the moment, I picked up the second folder. The property listed here was the same as the original – 2 hectares (20 +/- acres) - and had 1200 feet of beach frontage. Taking a closer look at the location, I got out the info sheet on the first one and saw that they were adjacent, although different owners. Interesting! Something a friend had told me some time ago came to mind, and I figured it couldn't hurt to ask my property expert while I had the chance. "I have to admit," I began, "that the property you showed me in your office really appealed to me on several levels. However these two here also have an appeal if what I'm thinking would be a possibility. I want whatever I build here to have universal appeal, including being gay-friendly. There are quite a few couples and singles who don't like the..." I paused, trying to find the word I wanted." Exuberance associated with kids when they're on a vacation to relax, and even some who just plain don't like kids, although I never did understand that mind-set. My thoughts now are that, if possible, I'd like to have a resort where everyone gets to have the vacation experience they want. That first property near the airport wouldn't accommodate the type of place I'm envisioning. I want to have a separate place where each type of individual can be accommodated without infringing on the rights of others. At the moment, I see two distinct and unique hotels, sharing the same property but far removed enough from one another to accomplish that. These two here," I said, pointing to the two files she had brought today, "if I could buy both, that would give me the space I feel would be needed, since I also intend to include recreational facilities such as pools, tennis and volley ball courts and buildings for housing like video arcades and such for the kids. I'd also like to have enough room to be able to grow some of the fruits and vegetables we'd be using in the restaurants. Sorry if this is coming out a bit disjointed or confusing. I'm kinda winging it as I go. What are your thoughts about any of this?" Josie was looking rather shell-shocked but quickly regained her composure. "I'm frankly stunned and impressed by the scope of what you'd like to do," she replied. "First, let me say that there would be no problem with the land office for purchasing the two parcels, especially since you've already taken care of the snag about ownership. Secondly, I'd like to say that your idea of keeping children separate from those who'd rather not deal with them when on vacation is a rather unique but welcomed plan. I, myself, really like kids, but I've had vacation experiences where they were so intrusive, I could have cheerfully strangled the little (pause) darlings. Too many times, parents will drag their children along on vacation and just let them loose, expecting the staff to ride herd while mummy and daddy relax. So a nice resort without the noise would be most welcome. As to being gay-friendly, I think that's a marvelous idea. Even though a good deal of this part of the world is accepting of the lifestyle, there are actually very few affordable places for them to go. Those places that are usually just for gays are rather exclusively expensive. Some nice resort that was reasonably priced would be most welcome and, frankly, would become quite popular. In short, I think your ideas are very doable, and the city fathers will be overjoyed at the potential for tourist dollars, the number of people you'd employ as well as your taxes," she concluded with a wink. All throughout this exchange, Marcus had been sitting silently, his eyes going back and forth between Jodie and me with an occasional fond smile at his son on my lap. Ronni had listened in rapt attention, occasionally squirming on my lap causing the expected reaction from Phil Jr., but not really noticing what was pressing against his butt, too absorbed in what he was hearing. Now, in the brief silence, he looked first at his father, then turned his head to look at me, a sense of being totally out of his league evident in his deep, brown eyes. Giving him a reassuring hug and kiss on the cheek, I looked over at his father. "Marcus," I said, "you manage a fair number of people at the call center. If you don't mind me asking, just how many?" "Right now, there are 150 that I have responsibility for. That number goes up and down slightly, depending on the time of year. The most is 175, the least is 120." "And how long have you been doing this," I asked. "I've actually worked there since before Ronni was born," he responded. "As a matter of fact, it was because I got that job that I was able to marry my wife. But I have been supervisor now for almost 10 years." "Do you think you'd be comfortable supervising maybe 300 or more?" I asked him. His face registered shock as he realized where I was going with this. "Po...possibly," he stuttered. "It would depend on just what the details of the job would be." "Since I met Ronni," I said, kissing his cheek, "it's become my intention to make this a truly family business. If – and ONLY if - it's what you'd like, then I'd like you to be, basically, the general manager of the employees. I'd also like your wife to be head of housekeeping. She works now cleaning for others, and your home is spotless considering her time away for her outside work. I have no doubt that she'd be perfect for the job, already knowing what has to be done. The only drawback I can see is if she would feel uncomfortable telling others what to do and not really doing the cleaning herself. Her job would be mainly supervising." "These opportunities you present us are far beyond anything we had ever imagined us being a part of. While I deeply appreciate your offers and am humbled that you would consider us, I think Venus and I need some time to talk about it. I hope that doesn't upset you. I know you are thinking of my family and me, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. It's just that this would be such an enormous change for us. She and I need to have time to let it all sink in, and then to decide if we both honestly feel we would be the best people for those positions." "I certainly understand," I said. "This is a very big change I'm asking from both of you, and you don't have to worry that I'll be upset if either or both of you decide not to accept. There's still plenty of time for you to decide. I haven't even taken a look at the properties, let alone buy them and build the hotels. We're probably looking at two years or more before we'd be ready to open for business. So you can take all the time you want, but just let me warn you that if you say no, I'm going to keep after you until I wear you down and say `yes'. I smiled at him to let him know I was joking...sort of. "I personally feel that the two of you would be the best ones for those jobs." "I promise you, Phil, that Venus and I will take this very seriously and let you know as soon as possible. And again, I can't thank you enough for thinking of us." I think I detected a bit of moisture in his eyes. With that, we went about making plans to see the properties tomorrow afternoon since Josie had some morning commitments. Both properties had been on the market for some time because of the size and price, so the owners may be willing to discuss a lower price. Noticing the time, I realized that I still needed to get to the bank to make the money transfer for the house. If the fax machines were working properly, Ronni and I would be spending the night in our own home. Man, what a rush that gave me! The place where Ronni and I had first declared and consummated our love would belong to us...the TWO of us, because I'd make sure his name was on the deed as well. Things were definitely looking up! Because it was so close to lunchtime, I made the recommendation that we go out for lunch. This got a very enthusiastic response from Ronni, a gracious acceptance from Josie and regrets from Marcus. Ronni, however, would have none of that and wheedled and cajoled until his dad gave in. He said he didn't want to intrude. I quickly set him straight on that and we all headed out to eat. Thanks, as always, to all who have written me about their enthusiasm for the story. It's a great feeling to know that what I so enjoy writing others enjoy reading. I reply to all who write, and if I've missed anyone, I apologize. Write again and let me know! And, as always, it takes a lot of time, effort and money to keep a site like Nifty going. Please consider a donation to help. http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html. Thanks!