Nothing 02

MY ENTIRE RIDE going to the client's province was smooth. I can really say that the place was mesmerizing. The road I was driving was nestled in between two wide pineapple plantations and afoot the mountain. I even stopped in the middle to enjoy the scenic view and breathe the fresh air it offered.

It was very different from the city. In here, there's no traffic under the scorching heat of the sun. The air was cold and refreshing, and you can feel like you're the king of the world by just driving all alone on the empty road of this beautiful place.

The route was taking me uphill wherein the weather got even gloomier. It was near afternoon but I can still notice some fogs. I pulled over at the side when my phone's battery went empty. I was just using an app to take me to my destination, the Pitong Gatang. Now that my phone was down, I have to ask those residents I spotted at the nearby flower farm. I rolled down my window and called the guy closest to my car. He looked like he had seen a famous star out of the movie. His face was both hilarious and priceless.

“Good afternoon. Can I ask something?”

“Yes, sir!” he vivaciously replied with his provincial tone.

“Do you know Mrs. Valentina Geronimo?”

His face lit up to what I assumed to be in recognition of the name I had just mentioned.

“Oh, you're looking for Nanay Valen!” he remarked and I just nodded my head in retort even though I wasn't really sure. He then proceeded to the giving of direction.

“You'll just need to go straight ahead until you reach the village and her house was the biggest bungalow at the farthest with black paint.”

“Thank you so much, bro.”

“No problem, sir!” he gleefully responded as he saluted at me.

I then headed there and parked my vintage Mercedes-Benz in front of the bungalow house at the farthest which I was directed. It looked old but durable.

The June breeze blew and the fragrance of flowers from the beautifully cultivated beds in her yard wafted through my eager nostrils. I walked towards the front door and knocked three times. I received no response. I wonder whether there's someone inside so I waited for a few more while before I decided to do it again. Just as I was about to knock, a voice spoke from my behind.

“Do you need anything?”

I slowly spun around to see the old woman dressed in a flannel shirt underneath a dungaree and boots. She removed the straw hat from her head, giving me a complete view of her grey hair that's neatly pinned on a low bun.

“Do you need anything?” she calmly repeated.

That's when I realized I've been staring at her for too long.

“Good afternoon, ma'am. I'm looking for Mrs. Valentina Geronimo.”

“I am Valentina Geronimo. What do you need?” she asked with her brow perked up.

I was stunned at first then I ran my gaze through her before I looked at her again in the eyes but just more intently this time. She was just way different from most of my clients. She seemed too strong for an old and dying woman, and without all those expensive necklaces and luxuries in the body. She was just so... plain-looking. Well, what do I expect? She's from the province.

I immediately flashed a friendly smile before offering my right hand for a shake.

“Good afternoon, ma'am. I am Sebastian Paner, but you can call me Baste for short,” I introduced.

Her forehead slowly creased as she kept looking at the hand I was offering. She then lifted her eyes to purposely meet mine.

“I thought you were a child,” she said.

She didn't even bother taking my hand, so I just put it down and hid it at my back. I was kind of embarrassed at that. I lightly chuckled to hide that before speaking.

“What do you mean, ma'am? There are no children employees in our agency.”

“Agency? What do you mean?” she asked back.

I was completely surprised. We're like just throwing each other questions we can't even answer. I licked my lips and continued. 

“Ma'am, you cannot have a child for a husband. It's against the law,” I told her.

Her eyes narrowed into slits. “What husband? When I called and told your orphanage that I want a family, I didn't mean I need a husband. I need a child,” she clarified.

I chuckled as I find the whole thing really absurd. “What orphanage do you mean, ma'am? You called a dating agency.”

“No, I called the orphanage,” she insisted.

I gasped silently but I still managed to smile as I accommodate her concern. This was ridiculous. Was she suffering from memory problems or something?

“Ma'am, listen, you called a dating agency, and I was assigned to become your husband or family as you requested. You signed the contract, how come you didn't know that? Didn't you read it first?” I asked her.

She pursed her lips tightly as if something dawned on her. We were then enveloped by an awkward silence for some good minutes until she chose to break it.

“I can read the basics but not the entire document,” she confessed, almost inaudibly.

My lips slightly parted in surprise. She didn't know how to read complex documents... Lincoln's agents didn't even clear things up. They just let this poor old woman assume it was the orphanage she was dealing with!

I looked up and muttered, “Jesus Christ...”

I don't want to curse in front of old women like her. I felt like I was built to be always tender and sweet towards them.

I clicked my tongue before looking at her again. I have to calm down. I have to make this setup work. My future land was at stake. I couldn't risk it.

“How did you get the agency's number?” I asked her.

“I was sure it was the orphanage,” she argued.

“I'm sorry to break this to you but you called the wrong number. It was our agency. Who gave you that number, by the way?”

“I asked one of my farmers to give me the orphanage's number. The number I dialed was the one he had given me.”

“And who this was?”

VALENTINA HAD TAKEN me to the sari-sari store a block away from her house. Although made from bamboo, it was the biggest store that I've seen in their place so far. They were selling a variety of items from basic commodities, spices, to the small-packed chips and junk foods, and many more. The store had no barrier like that of a chicken wire, glass window, or whatsoever. It was just open with the items neatly organized on their shelves while some plastic jars, containing candies and other sweets, were placed in front.

“Good afternoon, Nanay Valen-Oh, who's this you're with?” the storekeeper asked as she stood up from her seat to advance nigh us.

She was a brunette with long dark straight hair that swayed perfectly at her every movement. She was younger than me, a year or two probably. I felt like a ghost of a smile was slowly creeping into my lips as I looked at her more. She was pretty.

Valentina just looked at me over her shoulder for a second before she returned her attention to the woman.

“Basha, where's your Kuya Bart?” Valentina asked.

She didn't even bother introducing me to the lady.

“He just got home, nay. He's inside,” Basha politely replied.

“Can we talk to him?”

“Sure,” she answered and hurried to open the door for us.

I was face to face with the guy who gave me the directions going to Valentina's house. We're gathered at their house's dining room with his family. If I was grateful earlier, now I'm extremely pissed at his presence. I was crossing my arms over my chest as I threw him my dagger looks. The vision of a bright future for my dream hotels was on the verge of disappearing because of him.

“I am really sorry, Nanay Valen. I have exchanged our numbers. It was too late when I found out that I'd given you the wrong nu–” Bart didn't even finish his sentence when his father smacked him at the back of his head using a folded newspaper.

“And you didn't even bother to inform her!” he reprimanded.

“Pa, I'm sorry! I just called the number I had last night and found out that it was actually the orphanage and not the dating agency. I was just so embarrassed and scared of facing Nanay Valen again after that!”

I rolled my eyes and caught Valentina massaging her temples with her right hand as her elbow was resting atop the table and while looking so problematic about the entire situation.

“Son, can we just... you know, cancel the contract?” Uncle Bert asked, now calm and all smiles at me.

“There's no cancellation of the contract once signed as mandated by the agency, or else they will file a legal action against the client for breaching the contract,” I explained.

I'm thankful that apart from it being really stipulated in the contract, I still have an excuse and chance to really get the reason why I signed up for this job. I just found out that from the vegetable garden at the back of her bungalow to the flower farm I passed by earlier and down to the pineapple plantations afoot the mountain were all part of her properties. It was indeed a massive land! I wouldn't let this chance slip off my fingertips. No fucking way.

“How much does it cost if she breaches the contract?” asked Aunt Anita, Uncle Bert's plump wife.

“More than a million–”

“Liar! I may just be a primary school teacher in the province but I'm no fool. It wouldn't cost that much,” Basha argued.

I arched my brow at her, equalling her challenging gaze. “You said it yourself, you came from the province. How much do you know about how the legal system in the city works?”

I smiled at her sweetly and added, “If not a million then it prolly costs a fortune, honey.”

“I think he's right, Basha. He's a city boy. He knew how things work there,” Uncle Bert butt in.

I smiled triumphantly at Basha who just rolled her eyes on me in return.

“I also doubt we can afford that. The farm's production was currently on the decline because of the recent typhoon. We need to allot more for the seedlings and equipment,” Valentina seconded.

“But I don't need a husband,” she resumed with conviction.

I looked at her in the eye. I'm really persistent to inherit her land. I will have it by hook or by crook. I've never seen a place this magnificent — untouched, and thus perfect to develop for tourism.

“Then at least, let me be your family,” I offered.

If I have to stay by her side and take care of her to have this land at the end, I would do it. I would do anything just to have it.

•|• Illinoisdewriter •|•

DICTIONARY OF FILIPINO TERMS USED

* Nanay – to refer to a mother or grandmother; in this chapter, nanay was used to refer to Valen as grandmother.

* Sari-sari story – the Filipino style convenience store or sundry shop