“Waiter,” Tita Evie called.A few seconds later, a young man in a server uniform briskly walked toward them.“Give us some brandy,” she ordered, then stood up and gently pulled Sal to stand.“Come, let’s get some fresh air while I tell you…”
Sal regained some composure after a few calming steps around the lush tropical grounds of Amorita, Tita Evie’s arm interlinked with hers.“Better?”the older lady asked, patting Sal’s hand.
“Yes,” Sal replied.In truth, the brandy she held in her other hand helped too.
“Good,” she said.“You were always such a skittish child; I wondered how you would get on without Claire.”
“I’ve gotten around well enough,” Sal said, as she felt the life coming back to her cheeks.
Tita Evie chortled.“Now, glad to see the brandy is working…” she said as the sounds of nature enveloped them and the crunch of sand and earth sounded underneath their feet.“Harmon was born a year before Claire,” Tita Evie began.“Claire’s parents had been married and had wanted to have a child for some time.But since Claire’s father was abroad and was seldom at home, it was a challenge.”
They stopped at one of the pool couches around the infinity pool overlooking the sea, and Tita Evie continued as they both sat down.“There came a point when they thought they couldn’t conceive, until one visit, Paul suddenly said they didn’t need to try anymore if it caused his wife too much stress.Months later, Carmen found out she was pregnant, and then they had Claire.They loved Claire.She was everything to them.Unfortunately for Paul, Carmen found out about his affair with a Korean woman back in New York and the son they had produced a year before Claire was born—”
“Harmon.”
“Yes,” Tita Evie nodded.“Paul was ready to leave Carmen for this woman and their son.But when he first laid eyes on Claire, he just couldn’t.So he ended things with the woman instead and tried to keep it a secret.Eventually, Carmen found out—womenalwaysfind out.Nothing slips past us for long.”
Sal nodded solemnly.When she said nothing, Tita Evie continued, “Carmen found out about Harmon months later when she settled into work in Manila.Which is where she met me.We had a very chatty coworker who claimed she had seen Paul somewhere in New York during the holidays, playing basketball with a little boy around Claire’s age.Of course, anyone hearing this would’ve thought he was just visiting a friend, or babysitting a workmate’s child.I think Carmen already knew.She demanded to see a photo of Harmon during one of Paul’s visits, and the moment she saw the picture, she knew Harmon was his son.He had his father’s eyes.”
Sal looked over the horizon.Every time Harmon had looked into her eyes, she felt a soft warmth from them.She realized it was because he had his father’s eyes, which were Claire’s eyes too.Her vision blurred, and a single tear fell down her cheek.She wiped it off slowly.
“I skipped some details, but you can read about it in Carmen’s journal…” Tita Evie said.“So what will you do now that you know?”
Sal shrugged, eyes still moist with tears.“There’s nothing else to do but win against him.”
“You will not confront him?”
“What for?”
“To know, my dear.I told you only about the Liang’s side of the story.You have yet to hear Harmon’s take on it all.It’s important to know, especially if you want to win.”
Sal considered this for a moment.She knew what Tita Evie was saying.If you knew a man’s motivation well enough, you would know his fears too.
“You mentioned you have a fiancé.Is he with you?”
“He couldn’t come with me because of family matters,” she muttered.
The older woman crossed her legs and gave Sal a perfunctory look.“I’m so sorry that you’re only finding out about this now.Let me treat you to dinner here, and you can stay as my guest tonight, if you like.”
“Thanks, but I promised my friends I’d be back and have dinner with them,” Sal said, leaving her brandy unfinished on the poolside table.She brought her knees to her chest, curious about the older woman seated beside her.“Tita, what have you been doing all this time?”
“Me?I’m a soon-to-retire anchorwoman,” she said, donning a pair of sunglasses.“I work, eat, sleep, travel, and have fun, all as it should be for a woman like me.”
A woman like me,Sal echoed.Not long ago, in her one-bedroom New York flat, Sal would’ve imagined herself ending up like Tita Evie; but it was interesting how her choices had brought her toward a different path.Consumed by the vibrant woman before her, Sal asked questions about her life: If she ever met anyone that made her want to marry at all.Or if she ever dreamed of changing her career.All of Aunt Evie’s answers remained consistently loyal to her individuality as a woman.Sal felt like she was a little girl again, in awe of her fabulous auntie.
For the rest of the hour before she went back to the ferry, Sal and Tita Evie caught up with everything they could, laughing about the past and toasting to the future.
***
Sal took the 5:45 p.m.ferry going back to Cebu, giving her another two hours to herself.She felt her cheeks, still warm from the brandy she had consumed on an empty stomach.The sea breeze and the view of the setting sun were refreshing, though.She took a seat nearest the ocean and started leafing through Carmen Liang’s journal.
There was something sentimental about reading the journal of someone who had long left this earth.Carmen Liang wasn’t really the best mom, though with her own mother, she didn’t exactly have a good idea of what a good mother was.Learning about Carmen’s struggles—being away from her husband for so long and raising Claire on her own, only to find out that her husband had a son all that time with someone else—was heartbreaking.Sal closed her eyes and pictured the weeping, drunk woman who was Claire’s mother.She was in and out of rehab for most of Claire’s life until she finally succumbed to her drinking addiction.As a child, she didn’t see beyond the pain it was causing her best friend, but as a grown woman, she felt sympathy for her.
Tita Evie shared the important details of the story, but she left some details out.Details that gave context, such as how Mrs.Liang had to move to Manila to find a better job because her husband was sending less money.He claimed it was because of a financial crisis affecting his employer in the US.Ever the trusting and dutiful wife; she didn’t question him and helped support Claire.Later, she’d find out it was because he had to split his earnings for Harmon, because the boy had to go to school too, and his Korean American mother had trouble providing for him.Sal couldn’t imagine this kind of betrayal being done to her by someone she loved.
By the time she finished reading, she had arrived at Cebu pier.Her eyes were puffy, and she had to blow her nose into her handkerchief.
Sal checked her phone.Willow had left a quick message, saying she was at a party in the Dusit Thani with Theola for dinner and drinks about half an hour ago.Sal checked the time and saw it was 8:00 p.m.She was hungry and needed to share what she knew with Willow, probably over a few drinks.
