The Ark

Copyright © 2020 by VeryWellAged

Birthday thoughts...11

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

Birthday thoughts...12

While I have given some thought to the matter, I have no answer.

I don’t know. I don’t even know which island. I have been reading about the legal issues involved with my getting a house. It seems to be pretty complicated. I need to get us settled temporarily. Then we need to figure out where permanent will be. But before permanent really happens, I need to go back to the States and sell my stuff. … There are lots of things to do.

Lillian takes a bite of what I’m told is something called Crispy Pata¹ and asks, Sir Ira, what you looking for to have?

I want to build a house, but I gather I can’t own the land. So I’m not sure how to go about it, though I guess it’s possible. I read about homes with RFO certificates. I really don’t want the RFO for a visa, though I guess it can be used for that. There are many things that need to be resolved.

Sir, I have land. Not in the city. It farmland. Mostly coconut. We not live there. Our place is in Tigbauan, but it not far from the farm. No need to buy land I think. I dream of a house there!

That sounds nice, Lillian, but it’s an hour and a half from a mall to your place and I’m afraid at least two of my gals will find that too far. I’m also thinking that makes it a long drive to MickeyD’s.

I not!

I was not referring to you, Nelia. I was referring to Bim and Cincer.

Cincer appears to be wanting to speak but not wanting to cause a problem. I’ve no idea what she’s struggling with, but Bim jumps in and offers, If we have a car, maybe it OK if we not that close, Ira.

Yes! Yes! I think the same thing! See, I was right! Cincer was not wanting to be against Bim, but Bim set her free. Ira, maybe you get a car?

We’ll probably need a couple of vehicles if we are that far out of town. So yes, we’d have a car.

Then Bim and me OK with the land of Lillian. Ate, are you rich?

Ha! No. It land I inherit. Not good to sell. No big value. But nice I think. I think if I not have to work selling things at my sari-sari², then that place be nice to live.

OK, Ate, you say nice. You have electric there? Water? If Ira build there, there must be electric service. Cincer is using her brain. I would never have thought to have asked.

Electric there. No problem with that. Water need a well. There a well there but not good for a house I think, so need to drill another one.

It safe there? Bim and me, we live in Manila. We not know Panay.

Yes, it safe, but maybe kawatan³. Yes, always robbers I think, no matter where.

OK, tomorrow I’ll see about renting a car and we’ll take a look at this property.

I’m a little apprehensive about building a house on her land. What if she just kicks me off it for some damned reason? I’ll talk to Cincer about it later. She may have the best mind for business here. There’s no reason to discuss it now.

Po, when you leave us?

Lorie, I’m not sure yet. We have to get things at least temporarily set up before I go back home. I’ve no idea where or how long that will take before I can go.

We not all go back to our homes when you leave?

Cincer and Bim can’t. They have quit their jobs to be with me. So even if three of you went back, they can’t. I’m not sure about Nelia. We haven’t talked about it. … Nelia, what would be your situation while I’m gone?

Maybe I stay with Cincer and Bim if you allow.

Yes, that’s OK with me.

So while I’m gone I need to find a place for these three, and maybe myself. When I come back, I need to find a place for all of us close to where we will build a house.

Po, how long you gone?

I’m not sure, Lorie, but not too long. … Maybe a few months.

I scared you not return.

I understand, but there’s really no choice. I must go back to sell things, like my home and my cars. I’ve got to do some banking while I’m there and get set up to live here full time.

Ri⁴! He will be back. I sure. He loves them. And she points to my other three gals. Sir Ira, I think I know a place you can rent that big enough for all until the house is built. It a church before but no more. Many rooms. This close to my sari-sari.

OK, well, we can take a look at it. I’m not committing to anything yet. It’s happening too fast and I need time to consider what other options I have.

Lillian thinks I have spanked her because she immediately apologizes, which isn’t necessary. I don’t know how to settle her down as the gal looks to be frantic, thinking that I’m angry with her. That I’m not, is seemingly irrelevant. Bim takes another approach.

Ate, stop it! Ira is not angry. He not upset. He only say it too soon for him to decide such an important thing! Behave! You not do anything wrong. Ira say we will look at what you tell us. He only say it too soon for a decision. You not understand this man. He like ideas. He listen to ideas. But he will make up his own mind.

Lillian is still quietly caterwauling, if such a thing is possible. At the very least she seems inconsolable. It gets bad enough that Cincer slaps the older woman and tells her to knock it off. That seems to do the trick.

I’m not sure what the problem really is. She’s the only one of these gals who actually owns something and maybe that’s the problem. Maybe that’s a good reason why she really should not be part of us.

What if I hadn’t said ‘enough, no more gals’ and flew us to Leyte next? Would she fall apart? Maybe I ought to reconsider that.

Have any of you gals ever been to Leyte?

None have. Cincer may be picking up on what I’m pondering.

Ira, isn’t that where some of the other girls live?

Yeh, it is.

Maybe some of them own property too?

Maybe, and maybe I just need to look at all our options.

And now Lillian is coming undone again. I bet she can’t leave her land. Maybe that’s how I strip her off from us. Nothing that I have tried so far has gotten her to back out. Since Lorie will turn eighteen in a month, I guess keeping her with us is possible without her mother. Is the land issue the way to jettison her?

Bim is looking confused, as is Nelia. They know I said just a few minutes ago that no one is to be added.

Lorie is totally lost. She’s confused about her mother’s behavior and not my comments.

Bim knows that Cincer sees things she doesn’t. I can see Bim looking at Cincer, trying to divine what her friend has realized. But, Cincer has no intention of saying anything more at present.

The rest of our dinner is completed in awkward quiet.

Afterward, I speak to the hotel concierge and ask help in arranging for a rental car. I gather it’ll be done and we’ll have a car tomorrow. We’ll take Lillian back to their place and I’ll look around. I’ve committed to nothing and have taken nothing off the table.

The gals are going back to the rooms and I decide I want a drink or two at the bar. I’ll join them later. Lillian, Lorie, Bim and Nelia head back to the rooms, though Cincer joins me at the bar.

Cincer has a SanMig light. The barman asks me and I tell him, I’ll have a scotch on the rocks with a beer back. The guy looks at me and is totally lost. So I explain in more simple terms what I want and he goes about getting it. As the guy moves away, Cincer asks, That really a common thing?

You mean asking for a beer back?

Yes, that what I wonder.

I can walk into any bar in the US and say that. All would understand, so yes, it’s common there. Maybe not here.

About Leyte. You see the need to change your decision because of Lillian?

Yes.

Maybe someone really have land there? Or maybe just other options?

Maybe, but I really don’t expect anyone to have other land. Yes, I want other options. I’m pretty sure I don’t want to be that dependent on Lillian, especially should she own the land I build on. … In any case, I’m not sure I should be making any long term decision without thinking it through a bit more. Plus, I wonder … if Lillian is so attached to her land, by going to Leyte, might she decide to leave us? So, all those things are in my mind. Using the possibility of other gals, whom I have already contacted, makes the Leyte option more understandable.

Cincer was all for keeping Lillian until the gal pitched the weird fit at dinner. Now, I suspect she isn’t as sure that Lillian is right for us. I’m pretty sure that the woman isn’t. It isn’t that she is too old. She’s not. I just don’t see her as good for us in a number of other ways. This land thing is only the most visible of those things.

Bringing Lillian home tomorrow may allow me to say goodbye to her without a lot of trauma. She may even come to understand on her own that she isn’t a good fit for us.

The trip to Tigbauan is long, and the sense of being well and truly outside the city is damned clear. The town of Tigbauan has a population of about sixty thousand, but you sure wouldn’t know it by being here. This is not a place I want to call home. Lillian’s land is closer to the town of Leon than her own, and it’s hillier. I guess it’s possible but I’m not sold on this option.

I’m not saying an absolute no, but it sure would not be my first choice. I would not mind being on the sea, or up in the hills. But I want to be closer to town and this is far from town. The town of Tigbauan is on a flat plain… far from sea, mountain and city. It’s totally uninteresting to me, and too far from where we would be building to make any sense.

The abandoned church, which has had a secondary life as a home, is far from suitable without a lot of work; I don’t want to put that much work into it.

I’m not being rude, but Lillian can see based on my concerns, that this really isn’t working. She doesn’t want to shut down the sari-sari and, in point of fact, needs to get back to it right now.

She is looking at it, and then at me, and back at it. I’m not saying a word. I’m allowing her to listen to her own thoughts. Finally I hear, Sir Ira, take Lorie and look at Leyte. Maybe you stay there. Maybe you come back here to me. OK?

Yes, I think that is a good plan, but Lillian, even if we are to settle on the coconut farm, there would need to be a change in ownership to provide safety for the other gals and me.

She looks at me, nods, and says, Maybe Leyte is better, I think.

Yes, maybe.

The ride back to the Marriott is light two gals, as Lillian and Lorie have stayed behind. Lorie technically remains with us, but I don’t want to fly with her until her eighteenth birthday. I have read that travelling with a gal underage can get you arrested for human trafficking. In a month that will no longer be an issue.

Let this be a lesson to me. Never say never unless I want to eat my words. I have to reacquire my account on the website and send new messages that I have decided to come to Tacloban on Leyte and want to know if they are still interested in meeting.

Two of the four are not interested, but one still is and one has not answered. I let the two that remain know that I’m looking to settle somewhere in the Philippines. So being with me will not get them to the USA. I further let them know that I’m not going to get married. Are they still interested?

One is. But the other hasn’t answered the first message yet. However, I’m being messaged by more gals. I don’t respond to anyone else, but I keep those messages as possible future contacts. And that makes no sense as I tell myself, I don’t want to add anyone else. I do want to see if the city of Tacloban and the islands of Leyte and Samar, in general, offer a place to settle down.

There are no direct flights from Iloilo to Tacloban. One can get there by air with a stop in either Cebu or Manila, and it’s also possible to take a ferry. However, the ferry is a full day plus. The cost of the fare via Manila is too high. Tomorrow we fly there via Philippines Airlines, using Cebu as the stopover.

There’s an interesting selection of hotels in Tacloban, and I choose the Leyte Park Hotel, deciding to splurge on the Pool Villa which is really pricy, at ten thousand pesos a night. Still, even five adults can stay here, which would allow me to add another gal right now, and there’s a private pool⁵. At the Marriot I had to pay for two rooms and so, even though this room is pricier, it ends up being cheaper.

The place is right on Cancabato Bay which is on the north end of Tacloban. We get to the hotel late in the afternoon, and I tell the gals, Let’s have some fun, as I take in the reality of the beauty of our selection.

The next thing I do is text Lorie regarding where we are, and telling her I look forward to being with her again as soon as possible.

She texts back.

OK, if I fly alone?

She makes a good point. As she is not with me, why can’t she fly? It won’t set off any red flags unless she is flying on my credit card. Cincer tells me I can send her money to pay for the ticket via a cash service that works like Western Union.

Yes! Cincer tells me to send you the cash via Cebuana⁶ for the airfare. Will that work for you?

Yes. OK, Gud⁷.

I provide cash to Cincer and she gets the rest worked through with Lorie. My jailbait gal will get here in two days.

Tonight I’ll meet Shaniel. I know very little about her. The website shows a pretty gal but I’m not clear on much else. The description is too vague. After the issue with Lorie and her real age, I decide to not trust what I read. Vagueness in details may well indicate problems.

Cincer and Nelia are waiting for the sun to go down a bit before going out to the pool for a dip. I gather swimming when the sun is up, and strong, is a bad idea. I noticed that back in Iloilo at the hotel pool there. It’s the same issue here.

Bim has decided it’s time to get a manicure and pedicure. The hotel information booklet notes that it’s available as an in-room service. She calls and someone’s on the way, right now. The cost will be under a buck fifty.

I’m looking at real estate values locally, via my tablet, but I can’t find much useful information. I’ll need to find another way to get the skinny on this. With little else pressing at the moment, I decide to check on my email and I’m glad I do.

There are issues, a pile of them, I need to resolve regarding the house. Some extra damage has been discovered that was likely caused by the failed heater. The insurance adjuster needs to be notified before I can have the contractor fix it.

The real estate agent I contacted back home has made a walk-through of the house and tells me that before I sell it, I need to replace all the carpeting, not just the part that was water damaged, fix some dripping faucets, and paint the house!

I email the realtor back and ask, why paint it when the new owners might want a different color? I can either ask the buyer what color they want me to paint it or discount it based on the value of the painting work. As to carpet, I’m of the same opinion on that, up to a point, as carpets come in all levels of quality. I can either offset for what some new carpet would have cost me at the time of sale or carpet it, and then the future owner is stuck with what I decide. Does that second option make sense to anyone? Really?

I do contact the plumber and ask him to fix the drippy faucets. I’m so over wanting to be back in that house that I can’t wait to see it sold.

I had emailed my neighbor to handle some issues for me regarding bills. He is letting me know that it’s done. I contact my bank to see if I can get the guy made whole before I return.

My friend with the Filipina wife wants to know what’s up. I only tell him that I’m traveling around the Philippines and enjoying my time here. He doesn’t need to know the rest of this.

There’s an email from a friend just wanting to touch base with me. I’m in the middle of answering him when my cellphone buzzes.

I had given Shaniel my number. It’s she who is texting me.

I at the front desk. Where are you?

I am coming. Wait!

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Birthday thoughts...13