25. Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Five
A Bit of Brandy Helps
SAL
Cebu Harbor
The ticket in her hand said the boat would dock at Tagbilaran in two hours.
Two hours was enough time to settle her thoughts and questions before meeting Tita Evie.
Questions like: what made you want to share this with me now?
Or what have you been up to all these years?
And why didn’t you come to Claire’s funeral?
Tita Evie was the closest thing to a second mother Claire had and was one of Sal’s favorite family friends of the Liangs too.
Grief took hold of Sal’s heart once more when she unearthed memories of Claire, herself, and Tita Evie.
But mercifully, grief’s grip had loosened through the years, and through it, she could recall everything with more clarity: Claire moving to Manila and meeting Sal for the first time as kids, then meeting their Tita Evie each time Claire’s mother came home intoxicated or hungover the next morning.
Then, when Claire’s father died, Claire and her mother moved to the US, leaving Sal behind until she moved to the US in the middle of her master’s degree with her cat Kimmy.
Sal recalled her memories of Claire’s death, which had spurred her to move to St. Stephenshire.
Sal wanted to focus her thoughts on one thing, and that was figuring out Harmon’s connection to all this.
Ever since he arrived, her new life had suddenly gone up in smoke.
She had never met anyone like Harmon. He stirred up emotions so potent that sometimes she could barely think.
She was hoping Tita Evie would give her the answers she was searching for.
The ferryman announced they would dock fifteen minutes earlier than scheduled. It looked like smooth sailing; she could only hope that would be the case for the rest of her day.
After a quick car ride to Alona Beach, and a picturesque stride past the bustling shoreline, Sal arrived at the entrance of Amorita.
God, the resorts in my homeland are something, she thought.
The hotel staff greeted her warmly in the lobby, and after Sal introduced herself, she was brought directly to the hotel’s restaurant overlooking the sea.
The staff escorted her to a lady who was facing the view and wearing a wide-brimmed derby hat that partially covered her face.
She picked up a glass of wine and took a sip.
“Tita Evie?” Sal said.
The lady snapped in Sal’s direction. “Sal?” she said, placing the wine on the table. She narrowed her eyes and then, as though convinced that the person before her was indeed Sal, she let out a smile and stood up. “My dear…” She opened her arms and gave Sal a tight embrace.
Sal hugged her back and settled in the seat opposite her as she waved for the waiter. “I’d like to order some tea,” she said when the waiter approached them.
“Certainly, ma’am,” the waiter replied and went on his way.
“My God…” Tita Evie started. “I don’t have children of my own, but you two came close to it. I feel old,” she said with a sentimental tone.
Sal pictured Tita Evie back in the day and compared her to the woman who sat before her.
People still thought she was attractive, she’d imagine.
She was slim and wore a good amount of makeup to cover her age spots.
She must’ve been in her late-sixties, maybe the same age Claire’s parents would’ve been if they were alive; but again, she didn’t look it.
“Well, you don’t look your age, Tita,” Sal complimented her at the thought.
The waiter arrived with a tea set and set up the tray.
Tita Evie giggled. “Never married, no children. I can’t say it was never lonely, but I always looked fabulous…
” Her voice trailed off, then she took a deep breath.
She waited for the waiter to finish pouring Sal’s tea, and after he left, she continued, “I know you mentioned you needed information about Harmon Moon. But I want to know why first before I tell you.”
Tita Evie was a shrewd woman. Of course she wouldn’t risk giving out information if she didn’t know what it was for.
Sal took a sip of her tea. “I inherited Claire’s estate, her life savings, and a hefty life insurance policy when she passed away.
I used most of the money to purchase land in St. Stephenshire and build an art community center—”
“That must’ve been costly,” Tita Evie interjected as she took a bite of cut cheese after sipping her Bordeaux.
“Yes, my fiancé pitched in, so there was more than enough,” she said, taking another sip of tea.
Tita Evie raised her brow in acknowledgment; probably to note the fact about the money, or that she had a fiancé with money, Sal couldn’t tell, but she continued, “The name of the art community center is Autumn Town. All was going well until this guy…Harmon showed up and wanted to claim the inheritance, and the land I used the money on—”
“And you’re here now because?” she asked again, eyes narrowed.
“Because we made a wager that if I were to win by besting him in an art show, he’d drop everything,” Sal said simply.
Tita Evie took a deep breath, sipped her wine, and started sifting through her bag.
“Now you want to prove whether there’s any credence to his claims…
” She took out a small canvas-covered notebook decorated with embroidered flowers.
“This belonged to Claire’s mother,” Tita Evie said, holding the notebook.
“Before she died, she asked me to give this to Claire when the time was right.”
Sal leaned forward expectantly as Tita Evie cleared her throat. “I want you to know, I had every intention of giving this to Claire, but I thought I had time before she…” Her eyes looked downward, and she took a deep breath. “Well, I haven’t been able to forgive myself since…”
“You hoped that by giving this to me you’d be making things right?”
Tita Evie grinned. “I figured this is the best I could do. You and Claire were so close, after all.” She handed the notebook to Sal.
“Thanks, but I don’t know how this has anything to do with Harmon.”
“Oh, it has everything to do with Harmon, my dear.” Tita Evie gave her a solemn look, as though sorrowful at what she was to tell Sal.
Sal frowned. It was true Tita Evie had already been a ghost to them by the time Claire died.
Sal pictured Tita Evie again in her head as she remembered her from her childhood.
It only occurred to her just then that the similarities she and Tita Evie shared surrounding Claire’s family.
The Liangs drew them—two strangers—together; Sal through Claire, and Tita Evie through Claire’s mother.
At present, they were both grieving. The difference between her and Tita Evie was that Sal took an active role in meeting her grief head-on with the help of Rafa, Willow, Auden, and St. Stephenshire; while Tita Evie might not have had the same chance.
Now Sal was here, and despite the guilt and grief Tita Evie felt, the secrets she knew were no longer her cross to bear; they were Sal’s. “Could you tell me now who Harmon is?” she asked, placing the notebook on the table.
Tita Evie leaned forward. “You sure you only want tea with what I’m about to tell you?” Her eyes narrowed at Sal once more.
Sal’s heart pounded. “I-I can take it…” she lied and held her breath.
Tita Evie paused and nodded. “I’m sorry to tell you this, Sal, but it looks like Harmon has every right to the inheritance and to the land…” She bit her lip and looked Sal straight in the eye. “He’s Claire’s half-brother. They were born of the same father.”
Sal exhaled. “What?” She felt the blood drain from her face.
“Waiter,” Tita Evie called. A few seconds later, a young man in a server uniform briskly walked toward them. “Give us some brandy,” she ordered, then stood up and gently pulled Sal to stand. “Come, let’s get some fresh air while I tell you…”
Sal regained some composure after a few calming steps around the lush tropical grounds of Amorita, Tita Evie’s arm interlinked with hers. “Better?” the older lady asked, patting Sal’s hand.
“Yes,” Sal replied. In truth, the brandy she held in her other hand helped too.
“Good,” she said. “You were always such a skittish child; I wondered how you would get on without Claire.”
“I’ve gotten around well enough,” Sal said, as she felt the life coming back to her cheeks.
Tita Evie chortled. “Now, glad to see the brandy is working…” she said as the sounds of nature enveloped them and the crunch of sand and earth sounded underneath their feet.
“Harmon was born a year before Claire,” Tita Evie began.
“Claire’s parents had been married and had wanted to have a child for some time.
But since Claire’s father was abroad and was seldom at home, it was a challenge. ”
They stopped at one of the pool couches around the infinity pool overlooking the sea, and Tita Evie continued as they both sat down.
“There came a point when they thought they couldn’t conceive, until one visit, Paul suddenly said they didn’t need to try anymore if it caused his wife too much stress.
Months later, Carmen found out she was pregnant, and then they had Claire.
They loved Claire. She was everything to them.
Unfortunately for Paul, Carmen found out about his affair with a Korean woman back in New York and the son they had produced a year before Claire was born—”
“Harmon.”
“Yes,” Tita Evie nodded. “Paul was ready to leave Carmen for this woman and their son. But when he first laid eyes on Claire, he just couldn’t.
So he ended things with the woman instead and tried to keep it a secret.
Eventually, Carmen found out—women always find out. Nothing slips past us for long.”