Valentine Story 1:
The other night, I found myself huddled with the significant other while she was watching her favorite telenovela. No, I have not changed my mind about them. As I have written a few blogs earlier, I am not one for telenovelas. I think they dwell heavily on the sad and then insidiously package it as something entertaining. How can sad be entertaining remains a conundrum for this writer.
Back to the cuddling. On the screen was, for my wife, the “kilig-King,” the young actor Xian Lim. I impishly asked her if she prefers I was as good looking. Turning to me and with a tight hug she said: “I will always choose this one, for he takes care of me.”
I never saw myself as the caring husband but more of the debating type. Cecille loves to rebut any thought I would verbalize. These days, however, she would just remain quiet. She probably thinks it is dangerous to argue with a fool for people listening will not know who among us is. There is virtue in silence.
But that evening something beautiful was said and with it, I have become more of a man that I imagined myself to be.
Valentine Story 2:
Fairly recently, even if it lasted only for two paydays, I was able to give Cecille a little allowance. Literally little. As in 200 Philippine Pesos little. Or at the current exchange rate US$5. My power, honestly, can not go beyond that.
To give an idea how little is little: no one goes on a date on Php200 unless they are intent on sharing a balut (fertilized duck egg) and a Coke sakto as their date's highlight. There should be enough left for a packet of Mentos to mask the balut aftermath.
For someone who already receives a modest 5-figure salary, Php200 is hardly significant. It will not buy her that bag she has been wanting for decades or even that shoe or a Double Burger at Army Navy. It may bring her to Greenhills or Divisoria where she can get a good made-in-China imitation but she will not, for a good portion of that Php200 will be spent on fare alone. There is no indulging on Php200.
But while most would find Php200 pitiful (others might even decide to give me another Php200 as a sign they sympathize with my predicament), this woman was just happy to receive. It is not merely out of prudence, as I now understand it. Cecille's sense of joy is more profound, always defined by the condition of the giver's heart.
For her, it is not how much I have but who I am willing to be in our relationship. That I have this assurance from the woman of my dreams, this Php200 truly rewards me more than her.
