Jennifer was born out of wedlock. When Jaime Varona and Maria Valles finally
got married, Jennifer was already two years old and was behaved enough to be
the flower girl during her parents. wedding. And of course, she stole the show.
Pretty in white, a pink sash around her waist and a pink ribbon holding up her
long wavy jet black hair, she marched daintily to the tune of the theme of
.Somewhere In Time., along the center aisle of the church, tossing perfumed
rose petals along the way. The people, guests of the couple, and others who
were simply there for the mass, all turned around to watch her march. They
could not help but smile back in return at her and who would not, with those
sparkling eyes and barely visible dimples and a tiny heart-shaped mouth
revealing perfect baby teeth. She was the breeze that cooled the muggy,
stagnant afternoon air in the Libertad Catholic church, where the congregation
was like two hundred butterflies flapping wings in unison, as the women and
some men fanned themselves to get some relief from the stifling early summer
humidity. The officiating priest, Fr. Joselito Amarilla, himself, was
distracted by this little cherubim and in a quivering, stentorian, sacerdotal
voice that begged to be admired, pronounced "Maria, do you take Jaime as your
lawfully wedded wife?" to the amusement of the ladies in the front aisles who
covered their mouths with their hands as they giggled, an accepted expression
of coquetry in that part of the world where it was considered unladylike to
show one's tonsils in public or in a place of worship.
Jaime spent all his savings for the wedding and borrowed some more from
friends, and relatives. He asked for and was given a cash advance by his
employer. It took him three years to pay off the debts he incurred for that
single day of extravagance and he never regretted it. He promised his wife a
wedding worth remembering the rest of their lives and he delivered. He ended up
working at two jobs, as a carpenter in a furniture shop for one hundred and
eighty five pesos a day and as a traveling fish vendor on Sundays. He would buy
fresh fish from the Langihan Market and sell them in Dulag and Tungao. He used
a motorcycle fitted with an ice box at the back, filling the box with the fish
and driving to distant barrios. He netted about four hundred pesos per trip.
Maria raised the children. They ultimately had three more. She augmented their
income by doing the laundry for college students in nearby dormitories and
boarding houses. Life for the family was a constant struggle but the children
never lacked for food and the basic necessities. Their house off T. Calo Street
was bare and simple, approachable only by stepping on narrow makeshift wooden
bridges over shallow dark stagnant water. But it was a happy one, always filled
with friends or neighbors.
Jennifer.s performance in school was average but her popularity was not. Her
female classmates admired her and would gather around her during recess and
after school hours. All the boys were in love with her at one time or another
during high school and although none would succeed in capturing her exclusive
affection, none resented it either because she remained unselfconscious and
unaffected by the attention showered on her.
Carmelo Izquierda, a sensitive and susceptible teacher, smitten by her face and
captured by her character, wrote her an unsigned letter that declared his
devotion to her and swore that he would always love her and that he was willing
to do so even in silence and in anonymity. Jennifer never considered the
letters and poems of this nature inappropriate or corny. She kept the letter,
and three other dozens of similar juvenile declarations of eternal love in a
felt lined musical jewelry box which her father made for her on her twelfth
birthday and which played .Love Story. and would read them now and then
whenever she was sad or lonely. She suspected, almost knew, that one of the
letters was from Sir Izquierda because of the penmanship and by the way he
looked at her but she never mentioned it, much less confronted him about it for
fear of embarrassing him. And she felt sorry for him because he seemed so
pitiful and vulnerable. She knew that nothing would come out of it anyway.
Neri June Ibanez was her best friend. They grew up together and they lived in
the same cluster of homes not too far from the Green Bank. They would wait for
each other at a nipa waiting shed close to Jennifer's house and would go to
school and come home together. They would hang around the nipa shed with other
classmates on Friday nights or during weekends when they had nothing else to
do. The shed was large enough to provide shade from the sun during summertime
when it got too hot. It was donated by some NGO and a sign "Just Say No" was
painted on a piece of cardboard and thumb-tacked to the main post.
Neri June was not as pretty but by the time she was sixteen, her body
measurements had acquired the proportions ideal for motherhood. Her breast
struggled against the front of her blouse, so much so that there was always
that threateningly imminent danger that the buttons would pop out should she
take a deep breath. Her hips had a natural sway that invited scrutiny and a
second look. Men who saw them walking together would look at Jennifer's face
and would be filled with admiration. Men would look at Neri June's body and be
filled with desire. Where Jennifer was reserved and somewhat shy, Neri June was
bubbly and ebullient. She was always the adventurous one but it was Jennifer
who would get the final attention. They complimented each other but it was Neri
who would bathe and be dependent on the glow that emanated from her best
friend. She was the satellite that reflected Jennifer's light.
And when Jennifer was asked to be a contestant for Mutya ng Butuan, it was Neri
who was ecstatic and excited and who worked more for Jenifer to win than
Jennifer herself. She helped coach her on how to dress, walk, talk, and dance.
And she was more devastated when Jennifer lost to the other girl simply because
'that witch' was a couple of inches taller.
"Papa, I do not want to go to college yet. Let me help you with my sisters and
my brother. I'll work for a couple of years, half my salary will be for my
future education, and the other half will be for them."
Jaime's eyes almost filled with tears. He loved his daughter so much. She had
given the family so much joy and now this offer! His younger children, Jana,
Junjun, and Jeannie were growing up fast and the family income could not catch
up with the expenses. Surely, Jennifer's offer was only right and reasonable.
He would have wanted it to be different but he knew he could only take what
life had to offer.
There were forty five applicants for salesperson positions and only ten
positions were available. The owners and management of the mall were experts on
labor laws. Forty five applicants would be accepted, paid fifty pesos a day
while .training. for six months and at the end of the training period, the
majority would routinely be considered unfit for the job, and a new set of
applicants would take over.
Jennifer and Neri June were two of those who became permanent, each one paid
one hundred fifty pesos a day. Neri June was assigned to the kitchenware
department in the basement while Jennifer sold cell phones in the lobby of the
second floor close to the escalator. After just three months, Jennifer was
given a salary increase of twenty five pesos a day because the sale of the
phones and accessories had tripled in volume since she started.
"Miss, may I see that Motorola Razor cell phone with the built in camera?" Tony
Fidel could not help but look at her face, completely captivated.
"This?"
"Yeah." His heart skipped a beat upon hearing her voice.
"Now, that is our best phone. It has unbelievable features. Thing is, it might
be a bit too expensive for you. This other one, it's a Nokia, it's not quite as
state of the art but this is the most practical and popular one. I must have
sold twenty three of these this weekend alone." Jennifer took the Nokia and
placed it on top of the glass counter, with the Motorola.
"Oh, I think I can afford this." Tony answered as he reached for the Motorola
Razor. Their fingers touched and Tony's heart skipped a beat again. " I ., I ."
He was at a loss for words. This had never happened to him before.
"Do you want to buy this?" Jennifer smiled sweetly at him.
"Yeah." He was perspiring and had to wipe his upper lip with his handkerchief.
His comb fell to the floor when he took his handkerchief out. He stooped down
to pick the comb up and immediately bumped his forehead hard against the front
of the glass display counter.
"My goodness, are you all right, Sir?" Without realizing it, and out of real
concern, Jennifer reflexively reached up to touch the spot on Tony's forehead
which was red but was not bleeding.
"It's okay." Tony answered, then screamed silently at himself, "You clumsy
moron! That's it. It's official. I'm a stupid idiot!"
Her fingertip was soft and soothingly cool and he immediately regretted that
the bump was not more extensive. He thought that he should have pretended that
he was really hurt and perhaps her touch would have lingered a little bit
longer.
"Well, all right. Let me wrap this up for you."
"No, no. Don't bother. Just give me the manual. Perhaps you can show me the
basics."
She did but he was not paying much attention and he just kept looking at her.
"How does the camera work?"
"Here, let me show you." She started working the phone.
"Oh, okay. Like this?"
"Yeah."
He used his credit card, an American Express Platinum unlimited charge card.
She read the name but it did not ring a bell. "Hmmm, Chinese, must be rich. He
seems nice. A clutch, but sweet." She thought in passing.
In the car, Tony was quiet. "What's the matter, are you sick?" Loloy asked
while driving.
Instead of answering, Tony took his new phone and turned the camera on and
showed him the picture of Jennifer that he took while she was showing him the
different phone functions.
"Lat naamo! That's a gorgeous looking chick. How old is she?"
"I don't know."
"What's her name?"
"I don't know." He was a bit embarrassed. "She works on the second floor, a
salesgirl for cell phones."
Sergeant Loloy looked at Tony intently, waiting for instructions that he knew
was forthcoming.
"No, I don't want you to do anything. Let me handle this myself."
"Sure."
"No, I'm serious. It's different. This time I'll find a way. My own way."
"Okay, bossing." Sergeant Loloy answered gently.
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Next - Chapter 10
