Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2013 20:03:35 -0800 (PST)
From: John Michaels <mmanlookin@yahoo.com>
Subject: Filipino Love - chapter 45
FILIPINO LOVE
BY
JM
Email: mmanlookin@yahoo.com
Disclaimers and other info: see chapter one
This story is my personal intellectual property. Any reproduction is
forbidden without my express written permission.
This and all subsequent chapters are dedicated to my own Filipino Love!!
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
We arrived at the house to find that Lorenzo had evidently taken the
boys home and returned, as his car was parked on the street as we pulled
up. After reassuring them that they didn't need to stick around, Carl and
Raymar drove off, with Carl's confirmation that he'd see us in the morning
after calling his company to take the time off. Once inside the house, I
saw the family sitting around in the salla talking, minus the twins, but I
could hear the TV in the bedroom, so I guess they were being entertained.
As soon as he saw me, Ronni was up in a flash and flew into my arms,
jumping up to wrap his strong young legs around my waist.
"Is lola ok?" he asked, after kissing me.
"Your lola is fine," I said, rubbing his back. "She's going to stay
with your Uncle Ronald for now at the hospital. Let's go join the others,
and I'll tell you what I know." I carried him into the salla, and Lorenzo
stood up, as he'd been sitting in the spot that he knew Ronni and I usually
occupied. Once we were settled and Lorenzo had grabbed a chair from the
dining table, I told them what I knew about Ronald's condition and
treatment. Venus was shocked when I mentioned all the STD's and I could
tell that Ronni had a lot of questions about those but knew he could ask me
later. Venus then told us about growing up with her younger brother.
From the time he was born, Venus adored Ronald. She would help her
mother take care of him, as much as a five-year old could do, and as he
grew older, it was clear that Ronald adored his big sister as well. She
always had time for him, and he would follow her around everywhere. When
she was old enough to be able to do so, Venus would be the one to tuck him
in at night and read stories to him as he fell asleep. Throughout telling
us her story, her cheeks were wet with tears of love from the memories and,
most likely, for lost innocence too. She said that their close
relationship lasted right up until their father died around the time Ronald
was eleven and she was sixteen. The loss of their father deeply affected
all of them, but Ronald seemed to take it the hardest. He became withdrawn
and sullen, often spending long hours alone. When he was about thirteen,
he started staying out late, often with a group of boys his own age and
older, and by the time he was fourteen, would often stay out all night on
weekends, often returning the following morning dragging himself in and
going straight to his room where he'd sleep most of the day before heading
out again once it was night time. Any attempts at getting him to open up
and tell them what was going on were always met with either sullen silence
or an explosive outburst before he would again shut himself in his room.
She said that several times, when he returned from his time with the other
boys, she could detect the odor of marijuana on his clothes as he went
past, and any attempts by Sanie or her to talk to him about it usually
resulted with him denying everything and either locking himself in his room
or storming out of the house, leaving behind a string of expletives. Venus
said she noticed that when he was about fifteen, he was hanging around the
most with several boys in particular, one of whom was very obviously and
flamboyantly gay, and his nights away from the house increased. Finally,
she said, the day he turned eighteen, he simply walked out the house and
never returned. That was the last time he was seen until today. She said
that both she and her mother were heart-broken when he just disappeared,
but their love never waivered, and they both always hoped he'd return one
day. Then she turned directly to Ronni and told him that he was named
after his uncle, although with a deliberate difference in spelling, since
there would always be only one Ronald in her and her mother's hearts.
There was a heavy silence as we all absorbed Venus' narrative, but finally,
it was Marcus who broke the silence.
"Ronald has a long, hard fight ahead of him," he said. "But by the
grace of God, the wonders of modern medicine and our love and prayers, we
will get him, and all of us, through this." Venus reached over and took
his hand.
"Yes, we will, my love," she said, lovingly. "We have a strong family
filled with love. We won't let Ronald or Mama down. He will get well! I
can feel it in my heart." Everyone showed their agreement with that
statement in his own way, and it was right about then that Ronni's stomach
grumbled. No matter what the situation, when a teen's stomach growls, it
had better be fed, poor timing or not. Ronni blushed when it happened, and
I kissed his cheek, noticing that it was after 6:00.
"It sounds like our dinner alarm," I said, poking Ronni in his belly
and causing him to giggle, "is telling us it's time to eat. I think we all
need a change of scenery, so does anyone have any ideas where we can go?
And please, don't say McDonald's! We've already had our burgers today.
I'd like to go somewhere where we can have a nice, sit-down family meal."
Lorenzo spoke up, enthusiastically.
"I know a great Thai restaurant at the...mall." He finished, quietly,
thinking that maybe after our recent experiences there, that it wouldn't be
a welcome option. Ronni put that to rest immediately.
"I know that place!" he exclaimed. "I love Thai food! Can we go
there, please?" He turned to me with pleading eyes. This brought
indulgent laughter from all of us, so it was agreed. Thai food it was. I
was a bit concerned about fitting everyone in the car, but realized we
could do it, although it was going to be tight. Venus went to get the
twins while I tried to figure out if I needed anything before we left.
Remembering the wad of cash I'd grabbed earlier, I figured I had everything
we'd need for dining out. Then I remembered my cel phone, and, pulling it
out, checked to make sure there was sufficient charge. I'd been better at
remembering to put it on the charger each night, so was happy to see I
still had almost a full charge. I'd left my number with the hospital in
case they needed to reach me for any reason, so I was definitely going to
be making sure there was no dead battery. With this, we all went out to
the car to head out. Lorenzo was driving, of course, and I insisted that
Marcus take the front seat while the rest of us piled into the back. Venus
sat on one side with Sara on her lap, Ronni sat in the middle with a
squirming Christian on his lap, and I took the other side. As soon as I
was settled, Christian immediately moved himself until he was sitting on my
lap, and was perfectly still. The others all chuckled at this, and Ronni
leaned over and kissed my cheek.
"He loves you, you know," he said, looking lovingly at his little
brother. "We all do, especially me!" With that he sat back and took my
hand in his, leaning against me, and off we went. With Lorenzo's driving
skills, we arrived at the mall in no time. As we all got out of the car, I
got a mental picture of one of those clown cars at the circus where it
seemed like the stream of clowns would never stop! Going through security,
Lorenzo led the way until we were outside the restaurant. The smells that
greeted us immediately set my mouth to watering, and I was glad Lorenzo had
suggested this place. There was a host station at the door, and after
determining that there would be seven of us, we were led toward a table
near the back. Once seated, we were handed menus and asked if anyone would
like something to drink. God, yes!! I really wanted a good strong drink
right about now, and after glancing at the menu, noticed they offered
Scorpion Bowls. The only downside to one of those is that it's really a
two-person drink. There's simply too much alcohol for one person to drink
and still be able to leave the place under your own power. When I
expressed my thoughts, Marcus piped up and said he'd be happy to share one
with me. Venus chuckled indulgently, so it looked like I – WE – were
good to go! Venus ordered a rum and coke, but with a bit of cajoling,
agreed to go with something new for her and more exotic, and she ordered a
Planter's Punch. Lorenzo opted for ice tea, since he was driving, I
assumed, and when I told him that one drink wouldn't be bad, insisted that
he was happy with his choice, not really liking anything alcoholic. He said
that he'd had enough experience when he was younger with the `morning
after' effects that he pretty much steered clear of anything that could
remotely cause a reoccurrence of the unpleasantries. Ronni ordered a coke
and we got milk for the kids. As we waited for our drinks to arrive, we
talked about the events of the day. Everyone agreed that only time would
tell as to how things would turn out with Ronald, but Venus said that no
matter what: she was happy to have her brother back under any
circumstances. We decided that we'd better look at the menu to see what
everyone wanted to eat and had just put our menus down when the waiter
returned with our drinks. Ronni's eyes flew open when he saw the size of
the drink that was placed in front of Marcus and me, and was even more
amazed when the waiter lit the flame in the middle. Even Lorenzo seemed to
be impressed.
"You drink all that?" he asked in amazement.
"No, Love," I said, laughing. "Only half. Your father gets the
rest." The twins were totally entranced with the flaming drink and were
jabbering excitedly. Although I couldn't understand all they said, it was
clear they were talking about the `fire drink'. Once the waiter had taken
our order, Marcus and I dug – sipped – in. The drink really hit the
spot! We had a wonderful time, drinking, talking, laughing and drinking
some more. I noticed I was really beginning to feel the effects of the
drink and decided it was time to slow down. Marcus was evidently feeling
it too, as he also backed off a bit. At this point, I wasn't sure if we'd
even be able to finish it. It's a shame they don't give `doggy bags' for
these. Once our food arrived, everybody got down to business. Everyone
seemed to really enjoy what they had, and conversation was at a minimum
while we all enjoyed the flavors of this exotic cuisine. There were only
clean plates when we all finished, and we all sat back with a collective
sigh of satisfaction. When it came time to order dessert, everyone
declined, including Ronni and the twins. When I raised an eyebrow at him
when he turned down the offer of dessert, Ronni leaned close to me and told
me that if he got hungry later, his favorite dessert would be at the house.
Immediately getting the sexual innuendo, I'm sure I blushed, but, with the
dim ambient lighting of the restaurant, hopefully no one noticed. I
squirmed uncomfortably in my seat as my hardening cock tried to find room
in my shorts. Ronni was the only one to notice, thank God, probably
waiting for this reaction, and he gave me a wink and a grin. When the
waiter returned with the bill, I was astonished. The total was 3250 pesos,
with the Scorpion Bowl being the most expensive item. A quick mental
calculation told me that everything came to about $80 US. I was expecting
at the very least twice that amount. A meal like this back home would have
cost the same for two people, and we had managed to feed seven for the
price! I handed the waiter 4000 and told him the rest was his. He was
clearly surprised but very appreciative and thanked me profusely. He had
provided excellent service and been attentive to our every need without
being intrusive. He'd earned it, as far as I was concerned.
We all waddled our way out to the car, all of us stuffed by that
excellent meal. With the same seating configuration as when we arrived, we
headed home. It wasn't long into the trip before I had a sleeping
Christian on my lap, and glancing over at Venus, saw that Sara was also
asleep. I held the little boy to me as we made our way home, taking in his
little boy scent and feeling his unconditional love. Life just doesn't get
any better than this. I couldn't resist giving him a gentle squeeze and
kissing the top of his head, which Ronni noticed, and smiled lovingly at
me.
"I love you so much, Phil," he said, quietly, then leaned against me
and kissed my cheek.
You would naturally assume that the first stop would be the Martinez',
since they had the greater number of people, including the two youngest,
both now fast asleep. But with the location of the restaurant, our place
was the first to be reached, and when we arrived at the house, there was a
bit of a struggle as I tried to get out of the car without disturbing a
sleeping Christian. As I placed him gently on his fathers' lap, I
impulsively leaned in and kissed both of them on the cheek.
"Good night, my son," he said, with moist eyes. "Thank you for
everything."
Ronni also leaned in and kissed his father and brother goodnight, and
once they were sure everyone was settled, drove off. Ronni and I stood
there, watching the tail lights of the car disappear, our arms around each
other. Then turning to me, Ronni leaped into my arms, legs wrapped around
my waist and kissed me, his tongue demanding entrance. We dueled tongues
for a while, and then he moved his head back and looked at me with
smoldering eyes.
"Husband," he said, throatily, "I'm hungry for dessert now!"
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