Chapter 42
Chapter Forty-Two
Alonzo
I hit the horn as a driver cut narrowly into my lane and didn’t let up until my jaw ached from gritting it.
Maya’s revelation haunted me, and I vacillated between wanting to find the jerks that had made Maya’s life here miserable and chasing her bus all the way to Juana.
Since I didn’t have their names and I understood Maya’s need for space, I resigned myself to driving back to Tala’s condo in the thick of Friday night traffic.
Energy pumped through my veins and my brain whirred on triple speed, trying to reconcile facts with emotions, all of them revolving around one woman.
I wondered what Maya was doing right at this moment. She’d texted when she got on the bus and told me she planned to sleep. Was she sleeping now? Had she seen what I’d put in the bag?
Suppressing the need to call Maya, I dialed Tala.
“Lonzo.” Tala’s voice came over the line, and I put the phone on speaker. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I’m on my way there. Thanks again for lending me your car.”
“Anytime. Have you eaten?”
“No.” Food was the last thing on my mind, even though I hadn’t had any since lunch.
“Okay, you can eat with me then.”
The invitation sent a lump to my throat. She couldn’t have known how much I needed someone to talk to. “Alright. I’ll be there in around thirty minutes.”
“Got it. Take care, Lonz.”
“Thanks. See you in a few.”
As I drove to Tala’s condo, my thoughts shifted to how I hadn’t really taken the time to ponder on the reality that my sister was getting married. It wouldn’t simply be a one day—or in this case, three-day—affair. It was the start of her new life.
I had a feeling she wouldn’t be spending as much of it here.
That familiar heaviness settled in the pit of my stomach. Another goodbye to anticipate.
Then my earlier words came back to me: this isn’t goodbye .
Tala might be leaving, but not yet. Even when she did, it wouldn’t be for good. Manila called to her just as deeply as Juana did to me. She would always go back to her roots, like I would always go back to my harbor.
Our times together may not come as often, but they would come. I just needed to make sure I made the most of every moment.
As soon as Tala opened the door, I caught her in a bear hug.
“Oof.” She stumbled backward before regaining her balance. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
“Can’t I hug my sister just because?” Spotting Jason beyond the doorway, I said, “Hey, Jason.”
He smiled as he came in for a bro-hug. “Lonzo. Glad you came by.”
I pulled away from Tala. “You sure it’s okay for me to crash your evening? Isn’t it date night or something?”
“Of course it’s okay. Jason has work to do anyway.”
Nodding, Jason said, “I’m finishing a report, so I’ll leave you two for now. If you need anything, I’ll be in my office.”
Tala tilted her head up to him for a quick kiss. After he left, she turned to me. “How are you really?”
“Can we talk while eating?” Now that I’d remembered it was way past dinnertime, my stomach gnawed at me.
“Sure.”
I followed her to the kitchen area, and on the island sat platters of lumpiang shanghai, rice, and nachos, along with plate settings for two. “Looks good.”
She chuckled. “The lumpia’s one of the frozen meals I keep on standby. I figured you’d want meat.”
On impulse, I put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “I’m going to miss you, Ate.”
“What are you talking about?” She frowned at me. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Who knows where you’ll go after you get married.”
Her body tensed. “Lonzo?—”
“I’m not saying that to make you feel bad,” I reassured her. “I just know that things are going to change, and I’ll miss you. That’s it.”
She sniffed. “Don’t start with that. I’m in my luteal phase.”
“No idea what that means,” I said as I took a seat.
“Watch my next video.” She sat beside me. “I’m not going anywhere in the near future. And if we decide to move or travel, we’ll always return here. You know that, right?”
“Yeah, Ate L gave me a similar speech.”
“Of course she did.” Planting her elbow on the counter, Tala propped her chin on her palm and watched me eat. “Are your classmates messing with you over the photos?”
Next to Maya’s confession, it was inconsequential. “They did, but it’s not anything I can’t handle.”
“How about work?”
“I’ll find out tomorrow.”
“Papa and Mama?”
I froze, remembering my phone call with Papa and how I’d ignored his texts after that.
“Mama called to ask about our plans for Sunday,” Tala said gently. “I told them I invited you over.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
“Mmhmm. Papa said you haven’t been replying to him.”
My anger came rushing back. “I don’t want to talk to him now. He only cares about my grades and what time I’ll be home so I can study. Shit, I sound like I’m in grade school. To think Papa wasn’t this way back then.”
She grimaced. “I understand what you mean. It was definitely an adjustment, living with him again after so many years.”
“For you especially, I guess, since you’re used to being on your own.”
Nodding, she said, “Yes, but I know it’s hard for you too—especially since you’ve been the only guy at home since you were a kid. It has to be extra frustrating, having Papa keep an eye on you when you’re twenty-one.”
“Yeah.” I took a drink of water and wished it was something stronger.
“Do you want me to talk to him?” Tala offered.
I shook my head, not wanting her to fight my battles. “No. I’ll do it. I just have to clear my head first.”
“Okay. He’s also still adjusting after living away from the family for so long. But he listened to Luna, right? He’ll listen to you too, though it might take some time.”
“I hope so.” I reached for another lumpia and ate it in two bites. “These are good for ready-made food.”
“Right? They’re my guilty pleasure.” Grabbing a chip, she popped it into her mouth. “So. Did you borrow the car to see café girl?”
“I brought her to the bus station. She’s going back to Juana.”
Her brows swung up. “She’s from La Union? I thought she worked with you at the coffee shop.”
“She’s here for a work thing, but she lives in Juana. We met the last time I went there.”
“Wait. Have you been…seeing each other since then?”
Confusion filled Tala’s voice, so I told her how Maya and I had been housemates and how she’d reached out to me for help. My sister didn’t need to know the rest of the details.
“How did she end up working at the coffee shop?” Tala asked.
“I called her and she figured out we were swamped. Next thing I knew, she was there and she took over the dishwashing. I told her not to, but she did it anyway.” My lips curved at the memory, even though I’d now be disappointed every time I’d go to the kitchen and not find her there.
“Based on that look on your face, I’m guessing you like this girl.”
I met her eyes. “I’m crazy for her.”
Tala stared at me.
I took a chip.
The crunch when I bit into it seemed to snap her back to herself. “Wow.”
“Yeah. It blindsided me too. I know it’s fast but…”
She shrugged. “You’ve never needed much time to decide on the big things.”
“That’s it? You’re not going to ask if this is a rebound or if I’m losing my mind?”
“I know you, Lonzo. If you can look me in the eye while saying something as big as that, you mean it and you’ve already thought things through.”
“I have. I just need to convince her that we can make it work.”
“At least you’re in the same country,” she said.
We shared a laugh.
“Are you open to advice?”
“From my sister? Of course.”
“As someone who’s been on both sides of the situation, I’d say the best thing you can do is be honest with her about how you feel. And to keep showing up for her—but not in a pushy way, of course,” she added.
“That’s the plan.” My stomach grumbled, so I reached for another lumpia.
Meanwhile, Tala snagged a chip. “You know Luna’s going to hate missing out on this, right? You’ll have to repeat everything for her.”
I swallowed a mouthful of spring roll and said, “That’s what she gets for being in the US.”
I meant it as a joke, but Tala’s expression grew troubled. “Does it bother you that you had to stay here with Mama?”
If she had asked me that a few months ago, I might have said yes.
Now I had a different perspective on it.
“No. Do I wish I got to experience what you guys did? For sure. If I had that kind of freedom, I don’t know what I would have done.
” I let out a short chuckle. “But I wouldn’t trade my time with Mama and everything I did get to experience here, good or bad. ”
“No regrets then? No what-ifs?”
I shrugged. “The what-ifs will always be there. I’m just choosing to appreciate the good things that came from the decisions I made and to focus on what I can control right now.”
The present might be messy, but I was in the position where I could decide for myself. I wasn’t backed into a corner, forced to do whatever I could in order to survive. That alone was a gift. So was being able to talk to my sister like this.
Even when Tala moved away, I wouldn’t be left behind. She’d carry part of me wherever she went, just like Luna did. Likewise, I would also still hold parts of each of them no matter where our paths brought us.
I realized that staying here in the country I was born in wasn’t settling.
It was simply knowing this was where I wanted to be—in these small land masses divided yet bound together by the sea, this place where people sang and laughed despite life’s challenges and expressed love through food and gatherings.
I belonged here. It was far from perfect, but it was right for me.
And when I knew something was right, I fought for it.