Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2012 20:14:59 -0700 (PDT)
From: John Michaels <mmanlookin@yahoo.com>
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.


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