Chapter 19: Chapter 19

The entire Castro household was busy preparing for Noche Buena, the traditional Christmas Eve Midnight Feast. Everyone had his or her assignment, including me. Mr. and Mrs. Castro, or Uncle Florian and Auntie Lillian, as they liked to be called, treated me like it wasn’t their first time to lay eyes on me. Auntie Lillian fussed over my lack of appetite, bemoaning the sickly pallor of my skin and too slight figure. Jan couldn’t stop laughing at the way her mother kept piling food on my plate. When she promised to set aside a special Noche Buena plate for me, Mel joined in the laughter. I could hardly complain. This was the first time anyone promised me a special plate of anything.

From the time I lost my parents, I had dreaded this Christmas tradition. It was the one time I felt most alone. Although I lived with distant relatives, I was still an outsider. And since I never stayed for more than a year with one family, I didn’t form any lasting bonds with them. The last family I stayed with wasn’t even a proper family. There was just Aunt Gilda, who was often out of the house because of her work and her two cats, Orange and Blackie. Truth be told, I missed the cats more than I did Aunt Gilda when I left her house.

“Hey,” Liam said, taking the stool across from me on the kitchen counter.

Two glass bowls of boiled potatoes sat in front of me. Mel and Jan were helping with the cooking and roasting in the backyard while they assigned the preparation of potato salad to me, which included the boiling, peeling, and dicing of potatoes.

“Hey,” I said.

“How’s the potato peeling going? Need any help?”

“Well, if you’ve got nothing better to do,” I said, gesturing at the second bowl of unpeeled potatoes on the table. I’d never seen so much boiled potatoes in my life. And much as I enjoyed taking part in the preparations, my fingers were cramping.

Liam laughed and pulled the bowl to him, grabbing a peeler as well.

“I bet you’re already regretting coming here. You’re probably just realizing that Jan and Mel invited you over just so they could escape potato peeling duties.”

“Yeah, the thought crossed my mind,” I said, laughing.

“Auntie Lillian invited me for the same reason. I used to be their official potato peeler, you know. When I left for Singapore, thoughts of unpeeled potatoes left rotting on the kitchen table still haunted me. Now, I can rest assured that my duties are in the most capable of hands,” Liam said, winking at me.

“Hey, don’t sweet-talk me, mister, and start peeling,” I said in my sternest tone.

Liam laughed as he chose a potato from the bowl and started peeling it. He then regaled me with funny tales from Jan and Mel’s childhood. I hardly noticed my cramping fingers after that, so engrossed in his hilarious stories about Jan’s and Mel’s antics as kids. Liam had a pleasant voice and an infectious laugh. I laughed more than I ever did in a long while. It was a refreshing change from the bleakness of the past couple of days, and I welcomed it wholeheartedly.

“Oy, you two. Mama’s serving snacks by the poolside. She said you should stop whatever you’re doing and come eat turon and sapin-sapin,” Jan said, walking up to us with a gigantic basin of cooked macaroni held in front of her.

“Eh? I haven’t even digested lunch yet,” I moaned.

“Get used to it. She’s going to fatten you up before you leave here,” Liam said, smirking at me. He dumped the peeled potatoes into the bowl and jumped down from the stool. “Let’s go, princess,” he said, waiting for me to finish tidying my work area.

“Lead the way, dear sir,” I said, discarding the apron I was wearing.

We spent the entire afternoon eating, peeling potatoes, eating, and eating some more. I was so full by dinner I opted to feign sleepiness and retreated into the room I shared with Jan. Luckily, Auntie Lillian and Aunt Florian had already left for their restaurant near the village chapel. It was the last night of Simbang Gabi (Night Mass) and Auntie wanted to maximize the sale of puto-bumbóng and bibingka.

I avoided thinking of Nick during my waking hours, but he still filled my dreams. Most were pleasant, yet even those would turn depressing in the end. My plan was to take a nap, but I somehow ended up sleeping longer than intended. I guess I was more sleep deprived than I thought. The room was already dark when I woke up. Jan was on the other side of the bed, snoring softly. At least I wasn’t the only one who skipped dinner, I thought. Stretching my arms over my head, I silently cursed when I knocked the digital clock off of the side table. I picked it up and gasped when I saw the time on the luminous screen. 10 PM! The Misa de Gallo would start at 11. We also promised Auntie Lillian to be there by 10:30 and help set-up the chapel.

“Jan, wake up,” I said, shaking Jan’s shoulders.

“Go away,” Jan grunted, burrowing deeper into the covers.

Typical Jan. She was always the most difficult to wake up in the morning.

“Jan, we have to go. Your mom will go ballistic if we don’t show up soon. It’s already 10 PM,” I said, jumping to my feet. I grabbed a towel and headed for the bathroom. I gasped when I found a barely clad Liam standing in front of the mirror, toweling his hair dry.

“Shit! I’m sorry! I didn’t know this was an adjoining bath,” I said, retreating into the room, my face flushed in humiliation.

“It’s okay. I’m done. The bathroom’s all yours, princess,” Liam called out with a hint of laughter in his voice.

“Thanks,” I said, sighing in relief when I heard the door on the other side close with a resounding click. Still, I was more careful this time and made sure I bolted the door leading to Liam’s room. I took a quick shower and unbolted the other door before returning to Jan’s room. Jan was just stirring awake, and I had to remind her of her mom’s standing order. She didn’t need any further prodding after that.

Jan and I left our room as fast as we could and found Mel and Liam already waiting for us in the foyer. I avoided Liam’s smiling eyes as best as I could, still embarrassed by my earlier blunder. It had burned the image of his perfectly muscled torso into my brain, and it would take some time to get rid of it. Good thing Liam was a gentleman and didn’t mention the incident. Knowing that parking would be difficult, Mel had us all go on foot instead of taking the car. It was just a few blocks away and wouldn't take us much time to reach if we walked at a brisk pace, she said. Jan, of course, protested. As another argument ensued between the sisters, Liam and I both stepped back and walked side by side in amused silence. We were fifteen minutes late. Fortunately, Auntie Lillian was too preoccupied with entertaining her guests and didn’t notice our late arrival.

The Misa de Gallo was beautiful, especially since the two sisters had stopped arguing and were now like two peas in a pod again. Auntie Lillian and Uncle Florian looked regal in their traditional baro’t saya and barong as they walked down the aisle, like a royal couple bearing their offerings for the child Jesus. Mel led the solemn singing of ‘Silent Night’, while Jan gave a wonderful rendition of ‘Joy to the World’ on her violin. After the Mass, well-wishers surrounded the family, leaving me and Liam to fend for ourselves.

“I will just light candles for my parents,” I whispered to Liam.

“I’ll come with you. I want to light one for my Papa, too,” he said.

We both lit candles yesterday when we passed by the chapel coming from the airport. I learned then that Liam’s dad, Auntie Lillian’s elder brother, died five years ago. Liam’s mom was a half-American, half-Filipina who grew up in the US. She returned to her family’s home in Boston right after the funeral. When she remarried last year, Liam wasn’t too happy about it. So, instead of visiting her mom in Texas, where she was now staying with her new husband, he came here to spend the holidays with his aunt and cousins.

After lighting candles for our dearly departed, Liam and I sat on one pew to say a silent prayer for them. I was just finishing my prayer when I heard Liam sniffing beside me.

“I miss him so much, Mira. I wish he was still here. Christmas was his favorite holiday, and we always came here to celebrate with Auntie Lillian and her family before. We were all really close back then. Mel and Jan were like sisters to me. I never felt like an only child when I was with them,” Liam said, the back of his hand swiping at the tears flowing down his cheeks.

“It’s always difficult losing a parent,” I said, squeezing his hand in sympathy.

“I can only imagine how difficult it must’ve been for you. Especially since you lost them at a young age,” he said, squeezing my hand back.

“It was, but I managed well enough considering, thanks to my generous aunts and uncles,” I said, grateful for having someone to talk to about my pain. “It still hurts every time I think of them. But I know they’re at peace now and watching over me.”

Liam smiled, his beautiful hazel eyes shining with unshed tears. Then he reached for my hand and stood. “Come, they’re probably looking for us by now. I’m sure Auntie Lillian is quite eager to start with our Noche Buena. She did promise to set aside a special plate for you,” he said, winking at me.

“Oh, please stop talking about food already,” I groaned.

Liam laughed as I took his hand and let him lead me out of the alcove. A slight movement to my right made me turn and peek out into the courtyard. Just beyond the grilled fence of the chapel, under a large tree and hidden in shadows, stood a tall man. Somehow, even from this distance, I felt his burning eyes on me. His stance looked familiar. Too familiar, in fact, that only one person came to mind.

Nick? I almost gasped.

Yet, just as quickly as he appeared, he was gone. And I wondered if I was just imagining things. Liam noticed my discomfort and stopped walking, turning to me with concerned eyes.

“Is there something wrong?” he asked gently.

I glanced back outside, still trying to discern if what I saw was real. But there was no one there. The space under the tree was empty. I looked up at Liam and shook my head.

“No, nothing’s wrong. I just thought I saw...something. Come on, let’s go,” I said, smiling at Liam, forcing myself to send Nick back to the farthest corners of my mind.

Chapter 19 - Nick