July 20, 1900 11:00 p.m.
I just had arrived from Simeon's palatial house. The road home was dark
and muddy, and damn, the walk has soiled my good pants. It will take
another two days to wash the mud off in this foul weather.
I should have left earlier if it were not for Simeon's insistence to join
him in his private lounge for some after-dinner Poker. He was already
drunk and I asked if he wanted to call it a night, but he was determined
to play his silly game. He even had the temerity to suggest we play strip
poker as he had learned from Madame Victorina's brothel. Of course, my
friend Luis Rocha was not amused. I instead laughed it off just to defuse
that awkward moment. Good thing because Simeon and later, Luis laughed
with me. But I saw the playful flicker in Simeon's eyes looking at me
just to see if I will bite his offer or not. It was wise on my part not
to give any indication of pleasure to his offer, an ability I had honed
since childhood.
Simeon just smiled at Luis and me, and dared us to bet on several rounds
of poker. I hadn't had a centavo with me and Luis only had a couple of
pesos, so I begged Simeon to call the bets off. However, that mischievous
mestizo had other ideas in mind. He said that our payment will be
deferred, subject for retrieval during an appropriate time. He made me
sign a couple of blank chits as assurance of my good faith. Luis looked
incredulous but relented nonetheless.
It was huge mistake. I lost a fortune. For 20 pesos, one can already have
a fiesta for 50 people, and for the 100 pesos I lost in the game, it will
take more than a fiesta to pay it all off. Simeon, with his enigmatic
smile, reassured me that he will not ask for immediate payment, but he
will collect it from time to time, be it in cash or in kind. From his
reputation in town as a strict paymaster to the obreros, I felt a cold
shudder run down my back. It has just been two weeks since my arrival and
I'm already buried in debt. And the rich bastard just smiled at me.
As for Luis, he won 30 pesos which Simeon gladly gave him in a small
pouch. Luis smiled wanly as he jiggled the small bag of coins and
stuffed it inside his uniform pocket. I felt envious of Luis then.
Simeon told me not to worry because since I am his friend, he will
collect the debt in amicable terms. I hope so. I guess the leather
journal I gave Simeon as a present when I first arrived has reminded him
of our friendly relationship.
Other than the poker game, the dinner was generally uneventful. The food,
consisting of spit-roasted pig, callos, pork empanadas, lumpia, paella
valenciana, sinigang soup, lengua estofado, and other Spanish entrees was
rich and superb. It was even topped with fresh mangoes, ensaymadas and
leche flan, the specialty of the cooks of the Ledesma household. All food
was placed in expensive china and drinks in baccarat crystal. Even the
toothpick holders in the shape of pineapples were made from silver. I
wonder if this was their everyday supper.
Mayor Enrique was in a sour mood that night and was fairly quiet the
whole meal. His wife was not with him, so probably he had another verbal
disagreement with Mrs. Ledesma. On the contrary, Simeon and his two
sisters, Clarita and Stella were good enough to regale me with their
childhood tales- of Muslim pirates from Mindanao pillaging Calaca during
summer, of ghosts of headless nuns seen in their convent school, of a
cache of jewels found behind the ruins of San Isidro church, of bandits
stealing bananas in the dead of night and how the obreros or farmhands
gave the bandits who were mere twelve years old a good whipping. We had a
hearty time laughing our heads off, even Luis Rocha was boisterously
laughing with Simeon. Clarita wanting to talk more about the family
stories told the group of Simeon's first amorous crush. She said her name
was Soledad, but from her descriptions, she must have looked like a goat,
because in the end, we couldn't help but laugh at Simeon who was too
embarrassed to comment. Simeon just looked at me and smirked. He took a
swig of his rum, then left.
I just had arrived from Simeon's palatial house. The road home was dark
and muddy, and damn, the walk has soiled my good pants. It will take
another two days to wash the mud off in this foul weather.
I should have left earlier if it were not for Simeon's insistence to join
him in his private lounge for some after-dinner Poker. He was already
drunk and I asked if he wanted to call it a night, but he was determined
to play his silly game. He even had the temerity to suggest we play strip
poker as he had learned from Madame Victorina's brothel. Of course, my
friend Luis Rocha was not amused. I instead laughed it off just to defuse
that awkward moment. Good thing because Simeon and later, Luis laughed
with me. But I saw the playful flicker in Simeon's eyes looking at me
just to see if I will bite his offer or not. It was wise on my part not
to give any indication of pleasure to his offer, an ability I had honed
since childhood.
Simeon just smiled at Luis and me, and dared us to bet on several rounds
of poker. I hadn't had a centavo with me and Luis only had a couple of
pesos, so I begged Simeon to call the bets off. However, that mischievous
mestizo had other ideas in mind. He said that our payment will be
deferred, subject for retrieval during an appropriate time. He made me
sign a couple of blank chits as assurance of my good faith. Luis looked
incredulous but relented nonetheless.
It was huge mistake. I lost a fortune. For 20 pesos, one can already have
a fiesta for 50 people, and for the 100 pesos I lost in the game, it will
take more than a fiesta to pay it all off. Simeon, with his enigmatic
smile, reassured me that he will not ask for immediate payment, but he
will collect it from time to time, be it in cash or in kind. From his
reputation in town as a strict paymaster to the obreros, I felt a cold
shudder run down my back. It has just been two weeks since my arrival and
I'm already buried in debt. And the rich bastard just smiled at me.
As for Luis, he won 30 pesos which Simeon gladly gave him in a small
pouch. Luis smiled wanly as he jiggled the small bag of coins and
stuffed it inside his uniform pocket. I felt envious of Luis then.
Simeon told me not to worry because since I am his friend, he will
collect the debt in amicable terms. I hope so. I guess the leather
journal I gave Simeon as a present when I first arrived has reminded him
of our friendly relationship.
Other than the poker game, the dinner was generally uneventful. The food,
consisting of spit-roasted pig, callos, pork empanadas, lumpia, paella
valenciana, sinigang soup, lengua estofado, and other Spanish entrees was
rich and superb. It was even topped with fresh mangoes, ensaymadas and
leche flan, the specialty of the cooks of the Ledesma household. All food
was placed in expensive china and drinks in baccarat crystal. Even the
toothpick holders in the shape of pineapples were made from silver. I
wonder if this was their everyday supper.
Mayor Enrique was in a sour mood that night and was fairly quiet the
whole meal. His wife was not with him, so probably he had another verbal
disagreement with Mrs. Ledesma. On the contrary, Simeon and his two
sisters, Clarita and Stella were good enough to regale me with their
childhood tales- of Muslim pirates from Mindanao pillaging Calaca during
summer, of ghosts of headless nuns seen in their convent school, of a
cache of jewels found behind the ruins of San Isidro church, of bandits
stealing bananas in the dead of night and how the obreros or farmhands
gave the bandits who were mere twelve years old a good whipping. We had a
hearty time laughing our heads off, even Luis Rocha was boisterously
laughing with Simeon. Clarita wanting to talk more about the family
stories told the group of Simeon's first amorous crush. She said her name
was Soledad, but from her descriptions, she must have looked like a goat,
because in the end, we couldn't help but laugh at Simeon who was too
embarrassed to comment. Simeon just looked at me and smirked. He took a
swig of his rum, then left.
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