Fifteen

Back to Commitments, obligations and the cable company...2

Author's note: These chapters are NOT stand-alones...The story starts here.

Commitments, obligations and the cable company...3

I need a hobby.

My ‘stuff’ from the USA will not get here for months. While I will apply this week for Internet, it is unclear how long that will take. I have some books to read, but I can’t spend the rest of my life only reading. Life here makes sense, but I also need to be doing something.

One of the problems I had with the consulting practice is that I wasn’t busy enough. I knew that giving up even that was going to make things even more challenging. But that was going to happen no matter where I landed.

As I have mentioned, I am not a team player, and so organized activities just don’t work for me.

I need a hobby. Joining something just sounds awful.

Maybe I am a bit weird, but there are times that I withdraw into myself. I shut everything out and just take the time to think.

A hobby should be something I enjoy. But that is possibly the wrong way to start. Maybe I should start thinking about what I am missing. Things that would be nicer if I had here, but seem unavailable.

I miss a good steak, but no hobby I can come up with can resolve that.

I miss good bread. The bread here is too sweet and there is just no crust. In that way it reminds me of Wonder Bread back in the states. I want bread with a crust, with substance, and with a yeasty flavor.

I have never made bread, but maybe I can. So that is one potential hobby.

I love Italian food and, from what I have seen here, there is no Italian food to be had. I have a pasta making machine, a hand crank affair, coming in the container from Boston. So making pasta is something I will be able to do, but I have not seen any veal, or ricotta cheese, or cottage cheese. I also haven’t seen any Italian sausage. I can research cheese making and sausage making. That might also lead to hobbies.

So, cooking can be a thing, but I can’t do that all the time. I need more ideas.

This is a Wednesday and there are things I do want to do now… I can put off the hobby stuff for a little bit.

My earlier decision to take a day off and do nothing isn’t working in my head. There are things I need to do. First is to talk to a lawyer. I have seen signs of law offices all over town. These are mostly small and pretty ratty signs. I am not sure the legal acuity I need will be found in such places.

I tell Lyn that I need to go downtown. It is just a courtesy, telling someone that you are leaving before you leave. I have not had to do that for a long time, but I do now. And I am glad I did it because Lyn starts rummaging around in her purse. Out comes a new prepaid SIM card for my cellphone and a card containing a 300 peso load. Without that I would have been unable to text any of them and they would have been unable to contact me.

It seems Lyn already knows the phone number assigned to the phone and has shared it with the other girls. My Philippine cellphone, which I left here, contains all their contact information as their numbers have not changed. The only issue was that my old SIM has expired and with it I lost the use of that phone number. The new SIM provides me with a new number.

I know my plan going forward today has some risks attached to it, but I decide to ride down to my bank and ask if they can point me to a good attorney to handle contracts, leases, and the formation of trusts.

I have an idea of how I want to proceed on a couple of matters. While I was back in Dorchester, I did some research on Philippine civil law, but I don’t know how accurate the information that I found is.

The bank manager I speak to is, in fact, helpful. As soon as I explain that I will have in dollars what amounts to about eighteen million pesos arriving at his bank in the next seven days, he just about jumps at the ability to provide me with a solid referral.

And so, I do get the address of an attorney who has an office at Trinity College here in GenSan. If this was Boston, I would be scratching my head over a law office at a college, but I am not in Boston and I just go with the flow.

When I get to the college, I ask for help to Atty. Juan Trujillo’s office and a perfectly nice young woman leads me up some stairs and down a hall to the wonderfully colonial style, dark wooden chambers of the attorney. It just so happens that he is there, and though he is currently busy, if I would please wait, he will see me as soon as he can.

An hour later, I am ushered into his inner office. The guy is in his forties, by the look of him. As opposed to many I have seen here, who dress rather informally, this guy is in dress slacks and a formal dress shirt, which I have read is called a Barong Tagalog ¹.

After a formal introduction on both his side and my own, I am ready to get down to business. Atty. Trujillo is not.

Sir Craig, what brings you to the Philippines?

I was looking for a good place to retire.

And you find our city such a place?

I do.

Really? May I ask why?

I initially decided to come here based on the cost of living, the climate, and the fact that English is spoken here.

I see. I also note you said initially. So there is more. Is that not true?

I just have to smile. I think I am going to like this guy, if he can put up with me and my needs.

When I arrived I was asked the same question as you asked, relating to why I am here, by a sweet young woman. I told her and she asked, where was my girlfriend. When I told her I didn’t have a girlfriend, she told me that if I stayed, it would be because I had a girl here. She was right.

You have found such a companion?

I have found several.

Several? He is chuckling. There will be blood when they find out about each other! Be very careful, Sir Craig! Filipina are very emotional.

Oh, but they do know of each other. Each knows if she gives me any problems related to it, she is out of my life.

Really! He is shaking his head. I think you are in for a big disappointment.

If I am, I have been warned then. The reason why I am here relates to this in any case. Possibly you will not want to handle my legal needs, but I do intend to pursue them in any case.

Please explain and I will do my best to give you firm advice.

I will have a significant sum of money deposited in my account in BPI next week. It comes from the sale of my home in the USA. I know I cannot own land here. However, is it possible to create a non-revocable trust naming Filipinas as the recipients of the trust?

Yes, that is legal.

Can I establish terms of trust membership?

Yes.

Can the trust own land?

Yes.

Can I then build a home on the trust land?

Yes! This is an interesting way of working within the legal requirements. But why not just marry the woman?

Because there are seven of them and I am not going to play favorites.

Seven? Really? Seven?

Yes.

And you say they all know each other?

Yes.

And you visit each of them? It must be tiring maintaining such a schedule!

They all live with me in a home I have leased here.

Trujillo just looks at me, shakes his head and declares, I do not believe you Sir Craig and I do not have time for such foolishness.

I believe he is about to get up. I quickly ask, If a few of them can come here, right now, and attest to the truth of this, would you be willing to assist me?

The guy grimaces before answering with a question, How soon can they get here?

The house is in City Heights, close to Lagao National High School. I will text them and ask that a few come here right now. Will you entertain the possibility of reconsidering your position after you meet them?

I have a meeting for which I must leave in an hour. If they can get here well before that, I will meet them. Will all seven come?

Probably not all seven, but maybe three or four. Will that be sufficient?

Maybe. … wait out in the outer office. If they arrive in time, I will meet with them. Good day, Sir.

Thank you.

As soon as I get out of the inner office I call Lyn and ask that Mel, Jana and she get down here as soon as humanly possible. I ask her to call me back as soon as they are on their way but that getting going must happen without any delay.

Five minutes later my phone rings.

Hi Lyn, you on your way?

The sound from her phone is not the best but I can hear her as she says, We are in a tricycle. I tell the driver, I pay extra if he will drive fast. I hear her laughing. Craig, he is… We will be there soon.

Good. Sweetheart, I need you to meet an attorney. I asked him to do some things, but he tells me I am lying when I told him I have seven girls. Don’t talk about the ages of the others, just that they are too busy to come right now.

I understand. Why you need an attorney?

I will explain that later.

OK. We will be there soon. Hehe… we going very fast!

They girls walk in only 20 minutes from when I placed the call for them to come. That is well within Trujillo’s timeframe.

I ask the secretary to inform Trujillo of their arrival and three minutes later, they are told to go into the office but I am told I am not invited to go with them.

For twenty minutes I sit and wait. I am sure I have not done anything illegal, but I am getting increasingly nervous. What is taking so long?

Eventually, Lyn sticks her head out and motions for me to enter. As I do, she whispers to me, I am sorry, Craig. He know everything.

Damn, well, let’s see how much trouble I am in.

I am still standing when Trujillo starts talking.

Sir Craig, you told me the truth. Not all of it. No, not all of it. The pregnant one, Lexi… you didn’t want me to know this? And the three younger ones, you were trying to hide them too?

Yes.

I understand. It is a difficult matter. But you have done nothing wrong. It is not illegal and I am told by these three that you wanted the parents to tell the three youngest that they should not be with you. That was right to do. I am also told that you told the three youngest to stay out of your bed. Once again, that was the right thing to do. So, you do have seven and you want a trust to protect them. Correct?

Yes.

They don’t know this?

None did until you just spoke. I have not discussed it with them as I did not know if it would be legal.

So you are putting six of the seven through school, including a university education. You are working to provide for their future. That is why you have come to me?

Yes, and to find a way to build a home for us that is ours and not a lease which we will eventually have to vacate.

Please sit down, Sir Craig. I was wrong in my assessment of you. Very wrong. Yes, I will assist you. These girls are very lucky. I am not sure they know how lucky.

Thank you for reconsidering.

Yes, yes, now I will need the names and NSO² birth certificates for each of the girls. You said that you wanted to establish terms of membership. Do you want to discuss that now? Or would you prefer to wait until another time?

That’s a nice way of asking if I want the girls to hear what the terms are.

If you have the time now, I can proceed.

Very well, what membership terms are you seeking?

We start with the seven right now as members. At the end of every calendar year, only those who remain with me are to retain membership. New members can only be added if they have been with me for two years and are still with me at an annual reviewal of membership date.

Yes, that can be accomplished.

Further, the trust is managed by those members of the trust who have reached their age of majority. All decisions of the trust must be by a vote of those members, and must reflect agreement of not less than seventy-five percent of the voting members.

The age of Majority is eighteen. You have two who qualify now.

Yes and Jana, here, will be eighteen very soon.

To get seventy-five percent all three will have to agree.

Yes for now, but I don’t see a problem with that for the short term and Lexi is only two years away from joining those of majority age.

Trujillo turns to the girls, smiles, shakes his head once again, before asking, Do you three understand what your Sir Craig is trying to do for you?

Lyn speaks for all three as she says, simply, No, Attorney, we not know.

Your Sir Craig is going to give you property and build a house on that property, which in the end you will own as well. When this happens, you will not be poor girls any more. You will be land owners. Sir Craig is doing for you seven what he would do for a wife.

Lyn is just looking at me. Jana has a big smile on her face and is clapping her hands. Mel is bawling. Crying isn’t close to describe the wails coming from her.

Lyn now turns to Trujillo and asks… When Craig talk about percentage, that mean we are the real owners of the land he will buy?

Yes and no. The Trust will own the land. So long as you stay with Sir Craig, you will be a member of the trust.

Then yes! No one will leave. We not need land to keep us with Craig. He the one we love. All of us. No one will leave.

I am not surprised. Well, I need to leave for my meeting now. But please provide the official NSO birth certificates to my secretary as soon as you can and all contact information. Once I have it all I will write up what is needed and contact you all.

And with that the meeting was over.

I am not yet down the stairs to the ground floor when Lyn says, Craig, you not need to do this to make sure we not going to leave.

I hear it and say nothing, one step, two steps, almost down to the bottom.

Jana chimes in, Lyn tells the truth. There no need. We not leaving. Even Mel, she will not leave. This not needed.

I say nothing as we walk through the portal out of Trinity College and out onto the street.

They have no idea that I have already transferred a fair amount of cash to my BPI account. I did it after verifying that the funds I wired to Lyn’s account had reached her without a problem.

My next item on my list is to buy a van and there is sufficient money in the account to accommodate that. All of them don’t need to be with me. Theoretically, none of them do. I am sure I pulled at least one away from a task.

OK, who needs to go back home immediately?

I get blank stares.

Lyn, what were you doing when I called?

She giggles. I doing Jana’s nails!

Do you need to go back to that now?

No need, I think.

Mel, what were you doing?

Cooking.

Do you need to get back to that?

Maybe, yes.

OK, who wants to go back with Mel?

Neither Lyn nor Jana seem to be interested. Jana asks, It OK three on your motorcycle?

Really? I guess we can try.

Sure.

That seals the deal. Mel grabs a tricycle back to the house. Lyn and Jana climb on to my Yamaha, without a clue as to where we are going. They just want to be with me.

Where we are going is to the Mitsubishi dealer. Pulling into the dealer, Jana gasps. We buying a car?

No.

Then why we here?

We are looking at vans.

Oh! Van not a car?

Not in my world. Is it the same thing in yours?

Craig, what you mean?

Never mind.

There is a Spacegear van on the floor. It sits nine in three rows of benches. Maybe it will be OK but I decide to check out the Toyota dealer. There I find a HiAce Granvia. It has a little roomier seating, but only eight seats. The Mitsubishi is a gas engine, and the Toyota is a diesel. Here, diesel fuel is far less expensive. My best guess is a diesel engine will run better and longer in this climate.

The Granvia has two nice captain’s chairs up front with a ton of room between the chairs. The second row is a split bench of a two seater and a single seat. The back row is a bench that can hold three normal sized adults or four Filipinas.

I like the Granvia better but with only seats for eight without squeezing, it will barely accommodate us now. The Spacegear is barely better.

The next option is a regular Toyota HiAce, not the smaller Granvia. It has four benches and can carry 15 people. That’s way too large and yet may be what I need to purchase. I can’t find anything between these seating capacities. I need to think about this for a day or two.

I say as much to the girls, who both tell me I am an idiot. With Lexi pregnant, that already argues for nine and don’t I think there will be other pregnancies?

OK so there are no real options… I get the price on the HiAce in a straight cash sale. I get a very small discount. It seems that they are only happy if I am financing the vehicle. There is no value to arguing. It is clear that it’s the only option I have.

They need a day to get the paperwork ready. I will return tomorrow with the cash. Following that there is some prep work to be done. I can have the vehicle the following Tuesday. Welcome to the Philippines. Things don’t happen fast here.

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1 - Worn outside the slacks and no jacket over the top.
2 - National Statistics Office, part of the Philippines Statistics Authority. In the Philippines, like many other nations, there is a national registry for records of birth, death, marriage, and annulment/divorce. The USA is an outlier in this regard.

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Commitments, obligations and the cable company...4