Gabriel's Checklist (or, How To Survive Your First Christmas in Manila)

□ Prepare to sing with all your heart.

□ Prepare to sing with all your heart.

Fi tried her best to play hostess for the next three days, taking Gabriel to places he'd never been to the last time he was here. But because she had to factor in Christmas-rush traffic to their travel time, their itinerary was rather limited. He didn't mind.

On the first day, Fi had Carlos (who was already on Christmas break) drive them to Calauan, Laguna, so they could enjoy lunch at a restaurant called Isdaan. Gabriel found the place disorienting at first, what with grand Buddha sculptures displayed alongside cartoon characters and statues of famous people. He enjoyed taking silly photos by the sculptures while waiting for their food to arrive, though.

"Gabe, have you tried eating with your hands?" Carlos asked as platters of fresh seafood cooked in various ways—grilled, baked, sautéed in butter—were placed on their table. Fi giggled.

"No."

"Oh, you really should. The food tastes better that way," Carlos said, leaning over so he could take Gabriel's spoon and fork away. "Fi, do the honors."

Gabriel observed Fi while she picked off a bit of flesh from the grilled tilapia, dipped it in a mixture of soy sauce, calamansi, and crushed pepper, and put it on top of her steamed rice. Then, she gathered the rice and fish into a small ball between her fingers before bringing it into her mouth.

It looked easy enough.

He watched her relish the morsel of food, brushing away a grain of rice by her bottom lip with his thumb.

The gesture made Fi blink twice and look away. She picked up a glass of water and drank from it.

"Fi, are you blushing?" Carlos asked. Gabriel could tell he was fighting the urge to laugh out loud.

Fi shot her friend a glare, then turned to Gabriel. "What are you waiting for?" she snapped. From across the table, Carlos let out a snort, then quickly diverted his attention to his plate.

"Your turn," she told Gabriel.

"Yes, ma'am," he said, unable to suppress a smile upon seeing Fi's cheeks turn a nice shade of pink. Carefully, Gabriel mimicked what Fi had done, but ended up spilling half of the food he picked up with his fingers. It made her laugh, and she spent the next ten minutes teaching him how to eat kamayan style.

He wasn't sure about the logic (or was it some sort of magic?) behind it, but the food did taste better when he used his hands to eat.

Fi took him strolling through Luneta Park the next day, and they enjoyed some dirty ice cream he surprisingly missed. And because he finished a total of five ice cream cones in just a few minutes (in his defense, they were tiny), she began teasing him about it.

"I should look for some ice cream eating contests around... make some good money out of them while you're here."

"This makes me assume you've joined them in the past."

"Not ice cream. Hotdogs."

Gabriel coughed. It took every bit of willpower to keep himself from making a naughty comment, and in the end he just cleared his throat to stifle a laugh.

She threw him a playful punch on the arm. "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking."

"I beg your pardon?" He placed a hand against his chest, as though offended.

With one eyebrow raised, Fi said nothing and just stared at him. He mirrored her expression and stared back, and soon they were laughing like idiots in the middle of the park.

"Come on. Where to next?" Gabriel asked and took her hand. Lifting it slowly to his lips, he watched the tender smile on Fi's face turn into a scowl when he gnawed at her hand instead of kissing it. She shoved her hand to his face and he bolted, laughing, enjoying this—Fi chasing after him for once.