Nanay - Part 2

We went back to Bayombong just in time for me to enroll for the next school year. We had new classmates and new teachers. Among my teachers was Miss Natividad Inocentes who was our Home Economics and English Instructor. We struck such a nice friendship with one another and when later that year she was transferred to the La Union High School, I was heartbroken. I told her so in my letters, which were numerous, and during the Northern Luzon Athletic Meet that year, I grasped the opportunity to attend it so I could see her. The Meet was being held in San Fernando, La Union. Two friends of mine, Visitacion Singuego and Virginia Santos went along. My aunt in Bayombong also joined us as she was visiting her daughter (Manang Pinang) whose husband, Dr. Torralba, was then the Surgeon in the Cadre at Naguilian. He was then recently called to active duty as a 1st Lt. in the Army.

We arrived in San Fernando in the evening and proceeded to the Mission dormitory where our delegates were housed for the duration of the Meet. There we met Miss Inocentes and she took me home with her. She was boarding, together with two other lady teachers, at the very nice residence of the then Major Rosas. The place was a few minutes walk from San Fernando to Naguilian and vice versa. Vising got the measles while we were there and Miss Inocentes took her to the Bethany Hospital. We had to leave her when we left a week later as she could not make the trip yet. We were very sorry to leave her, but had no other choice, the Meet was over.

Before the school year was over, my sister got married to Onofre Aquino from Manaoag, Pangasinan. As the husband was then taking up Law in Manila, my mother asked me if I did not want to study in Manila too. I said if we could afford it, why not? That summer vacation, my mother brought me to Manila and we (my bro-in-law, my sis and I) boarded in a house in San Andres. My mother went back to Bayombong to sell some of our belongings because she had made up her mind to operate a boarding house in the city as business was slack in the province. When she came back, we rented an apartment in Azcarraga and hung the “We Admit Boarders” sign. Manong Augusto Feir volunteered to look for boarders and he did bring some. He also lived with us and my mother made him pay half price only.

The place we occupied in Azcaraga was a large apartment; downstairs was a laundry shop and they had a telephone. One afternoon as I was standing at the door to the shop I saw Siniong approaching. He was scanning the numbers on the doors and I when he saw me he stopped and said he was looking for our place. I brought him upstairs to Mother and they had a nice exchange of newsy tid-bits. We informed him of my intention to enroll at the National University for the next school year and I even showed him my card. He was surprised to see my grades all a row of 90s and 95s. He asked me when I intended to go for enrollment and when I told him, he said he’ll be around to help me. My mother was glad because I had someone to help me and one whom she could trust. When he came on the day I said, I told him I couldn’t enroll because the money we were waiting for hadn’t arrived yet. He said that I would enroll anyway otherwise I would be late. We therefore went to the N.U. and I filled out the necessary papers. When I was through, he brought them to the cashier and paid my fees. I was feeling rather ashamed, but he said that I could pbeay him back when our money arrived. He paid 8.00 pesos all in all. When we were going home, he bought notebooks and paper and folders for me. My gratitude for his goodness was beyond words and I just had to let him know. He said he was doing it because he was very much interested in my welfare – in my finishing school, because I had very good grades. Would I keep them up? I promised him I would.

Schooling in the city was quite different from schooling in the province, I soon found out. I discovered that my classmates just took our lessons for granted, just took things easy. In my case it was different. I was used to knowing my lessons well everyday while at the NVHS and I took real pains to study between chores in the house. My mother had seven male boarders then and we didn’t hire help. We did everything and my sister helped of course. It didn’t take long for me to make good impressions on my instructors as well as my classmates. Soon they didn’t eye me anymore as just another “newcomer.” I liked my English teacher best; she knew what she talked about. As the days went on, I grew to like my Biology teacher also, although in the beginning, I could not seem to like her because she seemed aloof and proud. In one of my letters to Miss Inocentes, (I still wrote her a lot) I mentioned my Biology teacher (Miss A. Garcia) and when she wrote me back she told me that she and Miss Garcia were friends; they were co-graduates from the Tarlac High School. Would I please extend her best regards? I did, and there began our friendship together.

Siniong visited us a lot those days and my mother sort of looked forward to his visits because he always had something for her, sometimes a bag of lanzones, which Mother simply adored, or a bag of pancit. He often dined with us in the evening and one evening he accompanied me to Gandara to buy a new pair of shoes. There was also a time when he asked my mother to help him buy a new “barong Tagalog” and my mother took me along because she said that I had “good taste.”

A shadow seemed to cloud my sunny skies, though. Some of the boarders failed to pay their fees on time and soon the little capital my mother had rapidly disappeared. We were hard-up in cash and soon we were looking for a cheaper apartment. We found one in Calle Vargara and August of that year we moved there. My sister and her husband came along of course and our boarders, except one, tagged along. It was about this time that my sister’s marriage showed signs of disruption. They quarreled very often and they became more bitter everyday. Their behavior affected my life a great deal. Coming home from school tired and hungry, I usually arrived while they were having their quarrels. My nerves were always on edge. Sis was pregnant then and very often had her moods. My mother seemed not to exist to them and they made me even angrier. Even at night they would not let us sleep because we occupied the same room. I tried my best to forget the domestic hardships by delving deeper and deeper in my studies but soon I noticed that I was becoming thinner. It was during this time that the High School Department of the National University issued a call for literary minded students to take part in an essay contest to select prospective staff-members of the school organ. I did not hear about it until the afternoon the contest was being given.

I was feeling unusually morose that afternoon because things at home were not doing so good again and I dressed up to get away from it all. I didn’t have any place to go, so I just woke and walked until I reached school. I was so tired and took a bench at the lobby fronting the quadrangle when my eyes wandered to the Bulletin Board. Then I saw the announcement. It said the contest was being held at 3:00 that afternoon. I glanced at the big clock in the Registrar’s office. It was 10 minutes before three. I got up and proceeded to the Physical Education room where they said the contest was being held.

The room was full of students – most of them seniors. As I entered Mr. Leon O. Ty, who was supervising the contest, looked up and asked if I was participating. I could not back out anymore and I was very much embarrassed when all the students were looking at me. I saw only one Junior like me and he was the president of the Junior Class Organization. Mr. Ty motioned me to a seat which was the only vacant one and then stood up and went to the blackboard. He must have been giving instructions before I went in because without saying anything he wrote: “What I would like to be after Graduation.” After writing it, he said with a wave of the hand, “Go on, develop that in not more than 100 words. I’m giving you 30 minutes.”

I just wrote and wrote the first thing that came into my mind. In ten minutes I submitted my write-up. Mr. Ty was surprised and his look told me so. I felt all eyes on me and I strode out of that room.

Finances at home were at their lowest. We were only able to get by from day to day by my mother’s clever budgeting. We realized even then, that the boarding house business was a losing proposition for us. My mother’s small capital soon was exhausted and our patience with the delinquent boarders was worn so thin. There were only two who paid my mother on time; they were cousins from Sta. Cruz, Ilocos Sur. One of them, Silvestre, soon started giving me attention. At first I didn’t pay any particular notice to his eyeing me when I was not looking at him. Then one afternoon while I was studying my lessons, I discovered a pink, linen envelope inside one of my books. When I opened it, I found it came from Vestre. I was surprised and nervous. It was not because I had not been receiving love letters from boys, as I rated at least one a day, but I was nervous because I realized then that we had to send him away. And he was our best boarder! I also realized then that my peace of mind would be disturbed tremendously by his presence.

I tried to be diplomatic with Vestre. I even told him that I had counted on him as a brother and now he had other intentions. Our finances were no better. I did not wish to add more worries to my mother, so I didn’t tell her about the letter. At about this time Siniong began to act funny whenever he came to our place. I could not make it out until during a dance we had at school. It was logical enough for me to ask him to escort me because I was sure that my mother would not let me go if I didn’t go with people she trusted.

We went to the dance, Siniong and I, but we didn’t stay long as the place was stuffy. After doing my duties as Secretary of the class organization that was giving the dance, we left. We proceeded to the “Selecta” where Siniong said we would have some ice cream and sandwiches before we went home. I was feeling self-conscious as that was my first time to be out with a man at night. Then like a bolt from the blue, Siniong blurted out as we were having ice cream: “Pat, do you know why I am doing all these for you?” It came so unexpectedly and I didn’t know what to say. I did not want to ask him why. I was afraid of his answer. Until the day I die, I’ll never forget this moment and had I known then that this man was to become my husband, I would not have acted so foolishly nervous. I was so nervous I felt a cold chill run up and down my spine. And plus the cold ice cream, I was just a block of cold hands and feet. Thanks to his understanding, he saved the embarrassing moment by saying, “I’m doing all these, Pat, because I love you.” So simply said and so solemnly, that I felt the ice cream stuck in my throat. But if I was embarrassed in the beginning, I was even more embarrassed then. I could not raise my eyes to meet his. I didn’t know what to do. I have very often read those words written to me, but never before have they been said to my face. I must have been red all over because I felt my face become warm and flushed.

Then followed a long silence between us as I absent-mindedly poked at my ice cream. He again broke the silence. “I’m not going to rush you, Pat. I can wait. And besides, I want you to finish school. I am very much interested in that.”

After awhile we left the parlor and walked home. Our place was just a few blocks away. I had wanted to walk so I could regain my composure which was badly damaged. I was that nervous. I didn’t want the folks at home to notice anything and so we walked.