Tita Inday is Dad's younger sister. She is married now with children of her own. The photo above was taken in Opao, at the house of Dad's parents. Even before I knew the truth, I could tell that I wasn't one of them. Don't get me wrong.. Dad's family has been great to me. They've always treated me as family. Really, they do. But even so, one can always tell. It's a sixth-sense, one we are not usually aware of.
So how did my mother and father end up together? Well, it's a long story-- but since you are obviously both curious and bored, I shall tell you.
Mom and Dad went to the same high school, East Negros Institute (now known as Diaz College in Tanjay). However, they belonged to different cliqués. Dad was a bit of a nerd and had anti-social tendecies, while Mom was the epitome of a social butterfly. She was gorgeous (self-absorbed as she was and still is-- she thought so), well-liked, much-desired and had suitors out the wazoo. Perhaps Dad felt he wasn't good enough and was plagued with a fear of rejection typical of adolescent males for he did not express any interest in Mom during that time. Not that she could tell, anyway.
When Mom had me, everything was very hush, hush-- if you know what I mean. A month after I was born, I was shipped to the province right away where I lived with Mama Iyay (grandmother extraordinaire). Dad, who had just graduated from St. Louis University in Baguio armed with an electrical engineering degree, went down to Manila to (I assume) woo my mother. Mom, unsure of his motives and certain that he knew of her predicament, gave him a terrible time. But he was very persistent.
He persevered unlike any suitor my mother had ever known. He even followed her to Tanjay when she went home to sort her life out (and spend some time with me, I suppose). That's when we met.
