THE ILLEGITIMATE DAUGHTER

CHAPTER 3: Who is very pretty?

The Vernal Matriarch did not know how to respond to the Muñoz Patriarch, so she mustered up her courage, smiled, and then said, “She is my ward and Imelda’s granddaughter. I am sure you still remember Imelda.”

Her ex-boyfriend responded, “Yeah, I remember her. So where is she now?”

Lola Fatima answered, “She had already passed away a long time ago. This young lady is her daughter's daughter, left under my legal guardianship until she reached 18 as well as financial conservatorship as she finished her collegiate studies.”

The Muñoz Patriach replied, “A very pretty young lady. At first look, I had mistaken her as the teenager you. But as I looked closer, her nose, lips, and ears were different. But she also got your heart-shaped face,” and then asked his former girlfriend’s companion, “So what is your name, hija? And how old are you?”

Aivi then answered politely, “My name is Aivi Dominique Gomez, sir. And I just turned 18 today.”

The old man responded, “I am Thomas Muñoz. Happy birthday then, hija. You are surely a member of this establishment since you are shopping here.”

Aivi replied, “My mother was the primary membership cardholder, and I am her extension cardholder, sir. Even if we still live in Beaunne City, we already shop at W & M since it has everything we need. Plus, the employees are all cordial and helpful.”

Lola Fatima’s ex-boyfriend said, “Well, since you are already 18, then let us process your primary membership. W & M Corporation owns the chain of W & M Superstores, free of charge. Consider it as my birthday gift to you. And I am its Chairman and CEO. And here with me is my grandson, Theo, who will inherit all my corporate shares someday,” then introduced his grandson, “Theo, this is Atty. Fatima Legarda-Vernal. We were classmates from elementary until senior high school along with Aivi’s grandmother. We all just parted ways when we had our collegiate studies. Fatima studied at Oxford, I studied at Harvard, while Imelda stayed there, if I am not mistaken.”

Theo then spoke, “It is my honor and privilege to meet you, Madam. I attended your lecture about cost and benefit analysis as a visiting professor at Wharton during my first year there. I could then be even much prouder being a Filipino since you are a famous economist.”

Lola Fatima smiled, “It is also my pleasure meeting you, young man. I bet your grandfather is very proud of you. Wharton is a very prestigious business school.”

The W & M Chairman-CEO even added, “You bet. He is just here for a school break. He will return to Wharton again to finish his MBA, then he will already take my position. We are both not getting older anyway, I think it about time that I retire. I am just waiting for him to finish his studies.

They still talked for a while and then the grandfather and grandson duo had already left after instructing the store manager to have the primary membership of Aivi processed. So she and her foster grandmother had continued shopping. Her foster grandmother also insisted that she also buy items to fill in her still empty pantry cabinet and she would pay for everything, already putting some induction cookware sets, baking ingredients, baking tools, bakeware, dinnerware, drinkware, cutleries, organizers, storage canisters, as well as a big jar each of her favorite mixed dried fruit and vegetable chips and mixed dried fruits and nuts on her shopping cart. The matriarch also replaced the items she chose with the bigger size, volume, or weight which were already more than enough for her month-long supply. But as for the fresh produce, she just purchase enough for the celebration and a weeklong supply

When it was already time for the check out and p*****t, the store manager approached them, handed her primary membership card, and then said, “Here is your card, Miss. Gomez. The Chairman had also taken care of your purchases. He said for you to just consider it as his birthday present. Happy 18th birthday, too. We also arranged one of our bestselling cakes for you. You are very lucky, Miss. He was just here for his random incognito inspection as part of his grandson’s training. He usually chooses a random customer whenever he visits. The customer only got know about it upon checkout. This cake and all your purchases are charged on his tab.”

Then Aivi responded, “Thank you very much,” and asked, “Is there a way for me to thank him? Perhaps I could write him a personal appreciation note. Would it possibly reach him? Or perhaps I could just mail it to him.”

The store manager said, “Just write a note and I will make sure that it will reach him.”

She did and expressed her utmost gratitude towards the store manager for agreeing with one of her suggestions in thanking the Chairman of W & M Corporation for his kindness and generosity.

Later that day when the Chairman of W & M Corporation received Aivi’s handwritten appreciation note, he felt very happy.

Lolo Thomas even told his grandson, “That young lady surely knows how to be grateful to someone who did a good deed unto her. I have paid for a lot of customers in our superstores through the years, but it is only now that I have received an appreciation letter like this. She even has excellent calligraphic penmanship. Nonetheless, she looked more like Fatima than Imelda.”

Theo expressed, “Perhaps she got those features from her paternal side of the family.”

Lolo Thomas responded, “Honey brown eyes are rare. And they have exactly the same eyes, including the brows. She truly looked like Fatima at that same age.”

Theo then said, “But I wonder why the Vernal Matriarch shopped at our superstore. She had a lot of employees to do that for her.”

Lolo Thomas replied, “I think she just accompanied her ward. There were no personal employees following them. Perhaps they are just shopping for her birthday celebration.”

Theo also mentioned, “She does not dress up like an upper-class lady. But she is indeed very pretty.”

Tessa, Theo’s younger sister, then came in asking, “Who is very pretty,” and further teased her brother, “If Kelly hears it, she will definitely go ballistic that you find someone else very pretty.”

Theo bantered, “Just stating a fact. Even Lolo finds her very pretty,” and then teased their grandfather, “As in as pretty as Lolo’s ex-girlfriend.”

Tessa joined the teasing, “The one that Lola was very jealous of?!”

Lola Thomas just laughed it off, “You two rascals!

On the other hand, Aivi’s birthday celebration went like this…

Aivi cooked several dishes as they reached her residence. She steamed rice using the rice cooker while preparing the other dishes and talking to her foster grandmother.

She teased Lola Fatima, “So is Chairman Muñoz just a former classmate or even more, Lola?”

Lola Fatima smiled, knowing that her granddaughter was in the mood for some teasing once again like the way she did with Adina before, and then told her the truth, “She was my first boyfriend. But don’t tell my husband that we met him or else he would be jealous.”

Aivi reacted, “Really?! Lolo still gets jealous at his age?! You are probably married for s couple of decades already. Tito Nick is almost 50 already. So you are married for more or less 50 years already.”

Lola Fatima confirmed, “Yeah, we actually celebrated our golden wedding anniversary last June 1 and had a big celebration but you and your mother did not attend.”

Aivi recalled, “Mama fell asleep from so much tiredness. And I didn’t bother to wake her up anymore. Anyway, she was unsure whether to attend or not. So I just let her rest.”

Lola Fatima then tried to change the topic by asking, “So what dishes would you be preparing?”

Aivi enumerated, “Just the usual – Pancit Guisado using egg noodles and vermicelli noodles, Lumpiang Shanghai using ground chicken meat, Lumpiang Sariwa, Bistek Tagalog, Chopsuey, and Buko Pandan with Nata de Coco, s**o, and Corn. Then we also have rice, steamed stuffed tilapia, and baked chicken tenders.”

Lola Fatima then recalled that there was a narrow slab by the window of the living room filled with self-watering pots of different plants including snake plant, photos, pandan, rosemary, aloe vera, basil, parsley, scallion, and anthurium, which is the centerpiece. And then she asked, “Anyway, do you have extra chairs should your guests all come at once?”

Aivi affirmed, “I believe we have several wooden foot stool storage box seats with a padded lid, Lola. They are kept in the storage under our bed. The bed’s top could actually be lifted with the mattress still on it. There are also some folding tables and chairs. I will just bring them out later for more seating.”

The first ones to arrive were the Vernals. Everyone brought a present. A custom-made wood multi-game boxed set from Damien since they bonded over playing chess, go, monopoly, and scrabble with Lolo Dominico and Daddy Nick. A high-density fiberglass board box of mahjong set (152 tiles) from Duncan since they bonded playing mahjong with Lolo Dominico and Lola Fatima. Daphne was civil enough to give her a 3D lamp crystal ball with wooden base. The mayor’s wife gifted her with a boxful of well-organized hair ties, bobby pins, elastic black rubber bands, satin heatless curler with 2 scrunchies, claw clips, ponytail plastic rings, plastic hair braid tool, and foam hair bun maker. The mayor gifted her with iPad 9.7, MacBook Core i7 3.1 GHz 15” Touch and HP WiFi Print Copy Scan Deskjet. She thanked everyone wholeheartedly.

Lolo Dominico didn’t bring with him the birthday gift but it was delivered by two men while they were eating. Everyone was surprised. It was a Yamaha B1 Upright Piano with an upholstered piano bench in polished ebony and brass fitting. It was unpacked and placed by the delivery men at the vacant space in the bedroom against the wall of the walk-in closet and along its bi-fold tempered frosted glass sliding barn door.

Aivi was dumbfounded and before she could complain the patriarch immediately said, “You need to practice more so whenever you visit us, you will be the one playing the piano for us already. I already asked your piano teacher to provide a music sheets with the lettered notes. You perfectly piano memorized all the keys already anyway.”

Every Vernal family member already knew that Aivi was a quick learner in board games, dancing and playing the piano. But Celeste didn’t expect her father-in-law to give Aivi a brand new piano.

In her mind – I could understand why Nick gifted Aivi the tablet laptop and printer since she would need them in her studies. But Papa and Mama are clearly indulging her like they did with Adina before. I was so overjoyed when Adina just suddenly disappeared in our lives 18 years ago. Then she returned and left permanently but she left a replacement who even got her sweet and cheerful personality.

Her thoughts were disrupted when the Delgados arrived. Their beautiful daughter was even pushing an aluminum luggage. She knew that her younger son Duncan was crushing on that young lady and she despised even the thought of that.

She was thinking – Good thing Duncan just a term away from finishing his two-year JD program at SBU. Then her would be taking a rigorous review for the bar exam after that. I should keep an eye on him. I don’t like that girl for him. A girl from a middle-class family is not what I want both my sons to end up with. I should also be looking or a potential wife for Damien. He is doing very well as the CEO of Vernal Equity Firm. He is already 25, but he doesn’t have a girlfriend yet. Papa and Mama suggested for him to take his LL.M. in Harvard for a year, then after that, he took over the management of the firm already. He has so caught up with work all the time that he doesn’t even have time for dating. He would rather play those board games with Papa and that leech. He could not fall for her. I won’t allow that.

Aivi even excitedly asked, “Are you moving in already, bestie?!”

Shayne smiled so they jumped together with so much joy.

Then her father said, “She convinced us to give her some time to be acclimatized here in Balsemea before the start of the academic year.”

Shayne’s mother added, “And he gave in right away. A papa’s girl indeed! But the two of you cannot just have all the fun that you want. No boys are also allowed to hang around here without a parental presence. I will check on both of you every day. You should always be at home on or before 10 PM."

Lola Fatima seconded, “I agree to those rules. And I will make sure to check on them too regularly.”

“Yeah. Thanks, Mamu,” Mommy Elaine then talked to her goddaughter again while her own daughter had already rolled her luggage into the walk-in closet with a single panel pocket door, “Anyway, we also brought some fresh produce from the farm. We brought your favorites – goat milk, avocado, lanzones, rambutan, guyabano, makopa and suha. We also packed some mangoes and bananas. They will ripen within this week.”

Aivi said, “Thank you very much, Ninang, Ninong. I will unpack them already and serve the others. Please have your meals already.”

After sometime, the mayor, his wife, and their three offspring had already left. On their way home…

Daphne asked, “Can I also have my own condo unit, Dad? I will already turn 19 in August. Aivi and Shayne are just both 18 years old but they will already live on their own.”

Daddy Nick answered his daughter by asking his daughter a series of questions, “Do you know how to cook? Do you know how to do any house chores? Do you even know how to pay for your own bills?”

Daphne responded by questioning her bather back, “What do they have to do with me having my own condo?”

Daddy Nick said, “Those are my requirements. If you can already cook, clean up your own mess, wash your laundry and do the rest of the house choirs, then I will buy you a condo. Aivi and Shayne both know how to fend for themselves. So their parents allowed them to live on their own. Nonetheless, they have to follow some rules. You heard Shayne’s Mom. They should be at home on or before 10 AM. No boys are also allowed to hang around there without any parent figure. They also have to live within a certain monetary allowance.”

Daphne complained, “That’s unfair! Kuya Damien, Kuya Duncan, Aivi, and Shayne even got to drive a car on their own, while I always have to be with a driver/bodyguard.”

Daddy Nick then asked his daughter, “So would you rather exchange your life with Aivi’s or Shayne’s? They don’t get to have all the luxury of life that you are enjoying. Then you are still complaining. Did you even see how Aivi soak and then wash the fruits before serving them to her guests and storing the other? I bet you didn’t even know that since a maid will just serve you the fruits washed and at times cut or sliced already. Aivi even cooked all the dishes she served to all her guests. Do you even know how to boil water? Do you even know how to operate a stove?”

Daphne didn’t argue anymore.

But her thoughts were – Aivi knows this! Aivi knows that! She is free as a butterfly while I am caged.

Meanwhile, at Aivi’s residence, the Hos and the Santoses had already arrived. Her godfather was with his mother while her godmother was with her two teenage sons.

Doc Manuel gifted Aivi with a custom-made fashionable medical alert bracelet, a custom-made fashionable medical alert bag charm, food grade stainless steel insulated water bottle, and blue light blocking eye glasses. His mother was so happy to see Aivi again. Adina had never forgotten to reach out to her from time to time but it was only at that moment that she got to see Aivi after Adina left with her baby girl to move to Beaunne City, Sorocon. She wasn’t able to visit the wake because she was sick at that time. She gifted her with a boxful of school supplies including a 6-pack pastel highlighters, undated planner, 24-pack black gel pens, 24-pack multicolor gel pens, mechanical pen with cases of #2 leads, 12-pack pencil erasers, plastic back to back pencil case, sticky notes, stapler, stapler remover, box of paper clips, ruled colored index cards, and notebooks.

Her godmother then gifted her with a boxful of hair, face, and skin care products including: 100 percent virgin coconut oil and she butter face soap; organic castor oil for the face; organic argan shampoo, conditioner and hair oil; and organic natural hair serum from a blend of avocado, soybean, sunflower and broccoli seeds oil.

She felt that since none of them was able to give gifts the previous years, they were somehow making up for those times.

After that, Aivi had already focused with her studies. But she was still able to see the benevolent Chairman-CEO of W & M Corporation again even if she was not expecting that they would meet again.

June 3, 2018. Sunday. It was the first death anniversary of her mother. After attending the early morning mass at Saint Benilde Chapel inside the campus offering a mass for the soul of her mother, she went to the grave of her mother and grandparents.

Then someone approached her from behind.

It was Theo’s grandfather, saying, “Who would have thought that of all places, we will meet her again, young lady?”

She turned her back and responded, “Oh, Chairman Muñoz! You are also here. Whom did you visit?”

The old man sat on the picnic mat that she set on the grass in front of the tombstones of her loved ones.

Lolo Thomas responded, “I visited our mausoleum. It is just across the road,” and then noticed the date of death of Adina Gomez and said, “So your mother died exactly a year ago.”

She affirmed, “Yes, Chairman. She died of Stage 4 Ovarian Cancer. She didn’t tell me about it when it was diagnosed just a few months before I was about to graduate from senior high school. She just resigned from her work at SLSU – Beaunne as a university infirmary nurse and prepared everything for my emancipation. By then we already knew the results of NCAT. So among the degree program choices and universities that I could possibly enroll at, I chose to study psychology in SBU. It was her hometown anyway. I was also born here before she decided to move to Beaunne City.”

Lolo Thomas asked, “So how are you coping?”

She took a deep breath and said, “I am focusing on my studies. She always wanted me to spread my wings and reach for my dreams. So that is what I am doing. Then, every term break, I would work for Lola Fatima’s business as an assistant to her chief property manager because if I just stayed at home, then I would just be sad.”

Lolo Thomas admitted, “I also focused on work and raising Theo and his sister with my wife when we lost my son and his wife. Then when I lose my wife, work, Theo and Tessa, his sister have been the focus of my life. The truth is you will never ever get over the loss of a loved one. Grieving for them remains all your life. But until it is already time for us to join them in the afterlife, we just learn to live with that loss.”

She affirmed, “It makes sense. I will forever miss Mama, but it does not mean that I should stop living my life. We will all soon die anyway and be with them.”

Lolo Thomas then curiously asked, “So how about your father? Was he not in the picture?”

She admitted, “Yeah. He has never been around. Mama told me that my life and his life will both just be complicated if we know each other. So she buried to her grave that secret involving my father. She didn’t even tell any of her friends, not even Lola Fatima. She raised me as a single mother and worked very hard to save for my future and college funds. Her life just revolved around work and me when she was still alive.”

She didn’t know that it was the last time that she would meet the old man. A month after that, the Chairman/CEO of W & M Corporation had already passed away.