Friday, May 16, 2008 Mother's Day By Rene Lizada Papa's table
MY WIFE'S phone started squeaking early in the morning. The messages were early and relentless. There were so many coming in. She read some of the messages to me but after awhile she got tired. All the messages were all about motherhood and how mothers are important and all that. My phone, on the other hand, was silent. I am not a mother so why would people text me in the first place.
We had our customary Sunday breakfast. We were talking about gas prices, the Buzz, why I liked burnt fried egg and other fascinating things. Then my wife fell silent and said softly, "miss ko si Mama." I just watched her in her silence. Then her phone screamed again. This time it was no longer the motherhood bla blahs but two text messages from her sister and one from of her friends.
Shayne, her eldest sister texted that we were going to the memorial park to visit Mama and Papa. I thought that was a good idea. We finished breakfast, took our baths and picked up Shayne and Bien. I really like being with Bien and Shayne because they are good people and besides it is not everyday that a National Artist gets to ride in our car.
Our first stop was the Agdao Public Market where we bought flowers. Then we drove to the memorial park. When we got there we had a problem. The key to the lock would not open the lock. We had to open it because we had flowers and we just could not leave them that would have been disrespectful.
It was Shayne who tried first. She failed. Bien tried. Nothing happened. My turn had the same results. Chona gave a whack at it, pffft. Then it was back to Bien. I guess he was feeling the pressure because he murmured something like, "kaluluwa lang ata ang pwedeng pumasok dito."
For some reason Chona and I found that funny. But Bien would not give up as he kept twisting the damn key. Then Shayne said, "Mama, tulungan mo kami dito kasi kung hindi wala kang bulaklak."
And guess what? A second after she said that, the lock gave way. It was open. I guess Mama really wanted the flowers. We stepped in and prayed for a few moments. I still was thinking about the key. After a few minutes we left and we went to Victoria Plaza. Bien and Shayne had to do groceries and an aunt of ours invited them to lunch in one of the nearby restaurants.
Chona and I bought a chocolate mousse. After all it was Mother's day. And we bought a chocolate roll but that was not for us. Which brings me to the second text message.
After Chona got Shayne's message, another friend texted her asking a favor. Her friend was in Manila and her children were here in Davao. She felt a little guilty so she asked Chona if we could get them something. Her friend told her that she would pay us when she gets back. (If I know my wife, she would not think of being refunded!)
So we got the chocolate roll and searched for the house in which her friend's children were. You should have seen the faces when they got the cake! I smiled. My wife was grinning. She went out of her way even though she was not feeling well. I love my wife talaga!
When we got home it was time for lunch. Eps and Gabo were still asleep. As usual, we had her famous bulalo. I am not kidding when I say my wife cooks a really mean bulalo! Then for dessert we had frozen durian and the chocolate mousse!
Then it was siesta for her and for me it was the time to get ready for The Buzz! I fell asleep after a few pages. When I awoke it was time for The Buzz. We watched the preview and the only thing worth watching was the break up of Jericho and Heart. (I cannot believe I just wrote that!)
While we were waiting for the episode Chona and I were discussing where we would have dinner. We were pretty sure that the restaurants would be full and that we did not want to be part of that. So we ended up ordering out. And we waited and waited. Until Jericho revealed his broken heart. My wife ended up saying, "kawawa naman si Jericho." Wawa Jewicho. I thought.
We drove downtown to get the food. We were glad we decided to eat at home because the place was filled. We got home and we found out that the restaurant made a mistake. Instead of sweet and sour pork, they gave us sweet and sour fish, which made my sweet wife turn sour.
After dinner we watched television. My phone had not received a single message the entire day. And I was hoping no one would text me. It was almost 10 p.m. when someone did. Sayang I thought. But that happens.
And yes as I write this after Mother's day my wife is smiling like the sun because she just got a gift from the girlfriend of one of our sons. She got a cake because according to the girlfriend, Chona is nice. Hmmmmmmm.
