Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2012 11:55:55 -0700 (PDT)
From: John Michaels <mmanlookin@yahoo.com>
Subject: FILIPINO LOVE - Chapter Ten

			       FILIPINO LOVE
				    By
				    JM
		       Email:  mmanlookin@yahoo.com

Disclaimers and other info:  see chapter one


				CHAPTER TEN

     As we went along, Ronni was talking excitedly about how happy he was
now that he'd found me, how happy he was being able to stay with me, even
if for only two weeks at this time, and also how happy he just KNEW his
lola would be with everything, especially getting to meet me.  He was
talking so rapidly, I don't think he even paused for breath...definitely
not stopping long enough for me to even respond with more than an
occasional "yes", "no" or "uh huh."  But I certainly didn't mind one bit.
I was totally enjoying listening to his exuberant chatter, sometimes having
to suppress a chuckle at his antics.  We had been walking for about fifteen
minutes when Ronni indicated that it was time to leave the beach and head
toward the street.

     Upon reaching the street, I was somewhat taken aback to see the
difference between the location of my cottage and where we were now.  My
cottage and the surrounding buildings were all of a construction-type that
I found familiar.  The buildings and houses where we were now were most
definitely not of the same quality of construction.  While they all looked
sturdy enough, it was painfully obvious that the construction materials
were of an inferior quality, and most of the buildings were roofed with
very rusty metal.  There was no reaction from Ronni as this was all very
familiar to him, and I did my best to hide my shock.  We had been holding
hands for the last few minutes when Ronni suddenly tugged on my hand,
pulling me along a little faster.  I'm guessing the reason for this urgency
was that we were very near our destination, and Ronni was getting excited.
I guessed rightly, as Ronni directed us across the road toward a narrow
alley between two of the buildings.  I was only afforded a quick glance at
the buildings as Ronni hurried us along, but from what I could tell, one
was a sort of convenience store and the other one selling some sort of
second-hand electronics.  At least, that's what I think it was, since Ronni
now had us moving at a fairly good clip.  We turned into the alley, which
went on for about 30 feet, before emerging into what I could only call a
"courtyard" that was about the size of an official-sized basketball court,
surrounded on all sides by buildings, most of them obviously houses.  At
first glance, it looked like there were three buildings on each side,
although it was hard to tell for certain, since each side looked like one
solid construction with only doors indicating separate occupancy on each
side. It appeared that there were two on the end farthest from us, and it
was in this direction that we were headed.  Again, everything was built of
the same sub-standard (MY assessment) materials with the same rusty roofs.
Ronni took us to the house on the left at the end and stopped.  Evidently,
this was home.

      The door to the house was open, and the sounds of a TV could be heard
from within.  Pulling me along, he stepped inside and hollered, "Nanay!
Tatay!"  My limited Tagalog vocabulary told me his was calling out to his
mother and father, respectively.  I then heard a female voice from
somewhere in the house reply, "Ronni?"

     Just then, a small, plump but attractive woman came through a door at
the back.  She had a big smile of welcome for her son, and then she noticed
me, standing slightly behind and to the side of Ronni, just inside the
door.  Her smile faltered slightly in surprise at seeing her son
accompanied by a stranger who was obviously much older, and not only that,
but an obvious foreigner as well, but she soon regained her composure.

     Ronni ran up to her, and as they embraced each other, he was
chattering away to her in Tagalog.  From the few words I could understand,
it sounded like he was telling her about me.  That was confirmed when I saw
her shoot me a quick glance with raised eyebrows.  The dialogue between
mother and son continued.  I could sense that she was confused and
concerned by what Ronni was telling her, but she never once looked angry or
raised her voice.  She was a mother who was trying to come to grips with
the information Ronni seemed to be bombarding her with.  Then, in the
middle of whatever Ronni was telling her, I heard the word "lola".  At
that, I could see a subtle shift in her demeanor.  The worry lines left her
face, and I could even detect the trace of a smile.  They must have come to
the end of their talk, since Ronni turned and came to me, taking my hand in
his.

     "Sorry for leave you, but I must tell Mama about you.  She understand
now.  Come.  You meet her now."

     We walked to where his mother was standing with a tentative smile on
her face, which I returned.  She was, as I said, a slightly plump woman,
but definitely not fat.  She had a pleasant round face, and her long dark
hair was pulled back in a bun at the back of her head.  She had care-worn
hands, and was shorter than I first thought.  Ronni's head came just to the
top of my shoulder, and she was maybe half a head shorter than her son.
I'm guessing her age to be early forties, but no more, although it's always
hard to tell the age of Asians.  They seem to keep a youthful appearance
well into old age.  Remembering some of the customs I had learned about the
Philippines, I took her right hand in mine, pressing the back of her hand
to my forehead and gave a small bow.  This is a sign of respect when
meeting someone older, although there may be only 10 years between our
ages.  Still, not only was she older, she was also the mother of my teen
lover, and I DEFINITELY wanted to get off on the right foot.  My action
took her by surprise.  I heard her give a small gasp, and when I stood up,
she was positively beaming at me.  Score one for the new son-in-law!
Whether she was fully aware of everything, I'm not sure, but I have a VERY
strong feeling I would find out much sooner than later.  She immediately
started talking excitedly to Ronni, and as she continued, the smile on his
face grew and grew to the point that I thought his head would split.  He
turned to me and threw his arms around me, and mine automatically wrapped
around him.

     "You surprise Mama," he said.  "She very happy you know how to give
respect."  He then turned to his mother while taking my hand and said, in
English, "Mama, this is Phil James, my love, my man."  He then repeated (I
think) in Tagalog.  Must be, because I heard my name.  Then he turned to me
and said, "Phil, this is my mama, Venus Martinez (he pronounced it
"Vee-noos", accent on the second syllable).  I just realized that I hadn't
known Ronni's last name.  Somehow, it never came up until now.  I was
puzzled, however, how he knew my last name.  If knowing it was through his
dream or his lola, this was getting downright spooky!  I decided, for my
own peace of mind, to ask him.

     "Ronni, how did you know my last name."

     "That easy," he grinned. "You name on you travel bag.  Sorry," he
said, ducking his head in apparent embarrassment.  "I not sneak. I just
want to know you name."

     I gave him a warm hug to show that I wasn't upset.  "That's ok," I
said.  "I was just wondering, that's all.  And I didn't know your last name
either until you introduced your mother."

     Just then, Ronni's mother spoke to him. I saw her gesture toward the
back of the house then pointed at me.

     "Mama say we go have tea.  Also, she bake cake.  She want to serve
you."  With that, he again took my hand, and we followed his mother.

     As we went, I was able to observe the rest of the house.  We had
entered from the courtyard into what was obviously the main family room.
There was a care-worn but comfortable-looking sofa, a few plain wooden
chairs, a small TV sitting on a rickety-looking stand and a small floor fan
that was valiantly trying to keep the worst of the heat at bay.  The narrow
hallway we were traversing was in the middle of the back wall of the room,
and as we went along, I saw a door on either side that led into a small
room on either side.  As we were walking, Ronni explained that one of the
rooms is where his parents slept and the other is where he slept with his
brother and sister.  We had paused briefly while he was telling me this,
and I looked into the room he had indicated was his.  There was a battered
wardrobe on the far wall and a small bureau beside it.  There was no
evidence of any kind of a bed, so I asked him about that.  He pointed to
three rolled-up mats in the corner and said that was what they slept on.
Because of how small the room was, they roll them up in the morning.  I was
beginning to get a clearer picture, now, of what life for the average
Filipino looked like, but my education wasn't over yet.  There would be
more.  We continued our short walk, coming to a narrow room that spanned
the full width of the house, obviously the kitchen.  But a kitchen unlike
any I had ever seen.

     In the middle of the back wall was a door that led to the outside.
Centered, but to the left of the room, was a well-scrubbed table,
surrounded by six plain wooden chairs.  To the left of the door was a sink
not much larger than a hand basin, with a single faucet.  To the right of
the door was a stone hearth-like structure that vented through the roof,
and a grill over the firebox.  This was obviously the "stove".  There was
also a small refrigerator on the right-hand wall, the rest of that space
taken up by a large open-shelf cupboard containing various pots, pans,
plates, a few glasses and other assorted cooking and eating utensils.  And
while the rest of the house had concrete floors, thinly covered by small
rugs and thin linoleum, the kitchen had a dirt floor.  I'm guessing that
maybe the kitchen was added after the rest of the house was built.  I had
read that a lot of Filipino homes had an outside kitchen accessible to the
house.  This was done primarily to keep the heat from the cooking range
outside.  It looks like this may have been the original design of Ronni's
house, and that the kitchen was enclosed sometime later, which would
explain the dirt floor.  But dirt or not, the kitchen, like the rest of the
house, was immaculately clean.  Overall, the house was very small –
maybe "compact" would be the polite word – and it amazed me that a
family of five lived here.  The cottage I was renting was almost twice the
size and was designed for no more than two.  But everything I had seen in
his house, while not of the best quality, was at least in fairly good
condition and serviceable.  It suddenly occurred to me that what I was
seeing was the home of a family in the lower to mid middle class.  It was
quite an eye-opener, that's for damn sure!

     Mrs. Martinez indicated to Ronni and me that we should sit at the
table.  I took my seat as she busied herself getting the tea ready with
water already hot from the ever-present fire under the grill, and Ronni
pitched in to help her, which I thought was a sweet gesture rather than
something to impress me.  In the short time I've known him, I can see that
he's his own person.  He doesn't seem the type to do something just to
impress.  He got dishes, cups for tea and eating utensils from the cupboard
and placed them on the table.  He then went to the refrigerator and took
the cake his mother had made and brought it also to the table before
sitting down beside me.  He immediately grabbed my hand and leaned into me.
Mr.  Subtlety he ain't!!  But it certainly wouldn't take a rocket scientist
to figure out what he wanted.  I wrapped my arm around him and pulled him
as close as I could without knocking him out of his chair.  This obviously
wasn't enough.  Once he felt my arm around him, he gave my the most
wonderful smile, got out of his chair and placed himself firmly on my lap
with his back to my chest.  He then reached back, grabbed both of my arms
and wrapped them around his chest.  God!!  I was in heaven!  Holding him in
my arms has become the most desirable thing in the world to me, and I was't
even bothered by the fact that his mother was present.  Of course, there is
a bit of the devil in my angel as he gently started wiggling his butt
against my rapidly inflating cock.  When he felt the results of his efforts
pressing into his back, he turned his head with a big shit-eating grin
plastered across his face to see what my facial reaction was.  I gave him a
quick peck on the nose and a pinched his left nipple.  I didn't pinch hard
enough to hurt, but it certainly got his attention!  At that moment, his
mother appeared at the table with the tea, took a look at her son sitting
on my lap and...

     Giggled!!  She actually giggled, then started laughing.  This got
Ronni giggling as well, but I'm sure my face was fire-engine red!  I had
just been sussed by the mother of my teenage lover!  She didn't even know I
existed until a short time ago, and here I was, in a playful encounter with
him as he sat on my lap.  When she regained her composure, she started
talking to Ronni.  This caused another fit of giggles from him before he
turned to me and said,

     "Mama say there is chair for everyone.  We not have to share."

     "I don't mind sharing, especially with you, but for now, I think your
mama is right.  It will be hard to eat and drink with you on my lap.  Any
other time, my lap is all yours," I said.  I'm glad he wasn't upset.  Just
the opposite.  He was laughing as he got off my lap and went to his own
chair.  I just smiled at him and shook my head, which set off even more
giggles.  Then I turned to his mother, smiled and shrugged my shoulders.
She chuckled, shook her head, and then surprised the hell out of me.

     "He like you much."

     I could here Ronni giggling once again (I'll NEVER get tired of that
sound!).  It felt like my eyebrows shot up into my hairline!  When I found
my voice, I asked, "You speak English?"

     With a shrug of her shoulders, she said, "Not much.  Very little."  I
smiled and shook my head in bemusement.

     At that point, she proceeded to pour tea for us all, then started to
cut the cake.  I recognized it from my research as Lemon Sponge Cake,
something that was almost a staple in most Filipino households.  As she was
handing the plate with my portion, there was an explosion of young voices,
as two of the most adorable little kids I had ever seen, a boy and a girl,
burst through the back door.


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