To Love Again

Lander

It's been 12 years since I've step foot on Philippine soil. It's so good to be back home.

I've been living in France as a businessman for these past few years. When the small restaurant that I've opened in Paris became a huge success, I've decided to branch out. My business have been gradually expanding over the years until I was able to put up a total of 20 restaurants all over Europe and America. La Casa de Esperanza became a staple and well-known restaurant ever since. I decided, however, to come back home to Philippines to possibly put up a restaurant in Manila. I wanted to expand my business across Asia as well.

"Lander, apo!" Lola Esperanza greeted as I step foot on our family house in our hacienda.

I gave her a warm, tight hug. "I missed you Lola! Sina Mama pala?" tanong ko as I let go of her.

"Ayun, busy sa trabaho as always. Buti pa ikaw apo, you came to visit me dito sa hacienda," nagtatampong sabi ni Lola. I gave her another hug.

"Yung Kuya Lance mo, di man lang ako binibisita." dagdag pa nya,

"Busy lang siguro si Kuya, 'La. Alam mo naman, kapapanganak lang ni Ate Audrey. Di ko pa nga nakikita yung pamangkin ko eh!"

"Ikaw kasi, di ka man lang umuwi dito sa Pinas! Huling kita namin sa'yo eh 5 years ago pa sa kasal nina Lance at Audrey sa New York!" reklamo ni Lola.

"Sorry na, 'La. Alam mo naman, busy ako sa business. Pero, I promise, I'll stay here for a while. Namiss ko ang Pinas ng sobra sobra."

"Bakit di ka nalang dito for good?" tanong nya,

"We'll see, 'La. Malay natin I'll find something that'll make me stay... for good." makahulugang sabi ko.

"Kuya Lander?" tawag sakin ng isang pamilyar na boses.

"Wallace Michael Zamora!" I exclaimed as I pulled him into a hug. "Grabe, ikaw na ba talaga yan Wallyboy? Fetus ka palang nung huli kitang nakita ah!"

"Kuya Lander talaga, di ka parin nagbabago. Loko ka parin." natatawang sabi nya.

I invited him to lunch at an Italian Restaurant nearby, I wanted to catch up with him at sa pamilya nya narin.

"So kamusta ka na? Si Kuya Wes mo?" I asked as I twisted the pasta on my fork.

"Di mo ba nabalitaan, Kuya?"

"Ang alin?" I asked, curiously.

"Kuya Wes is... gone. It's been 5 years since the plane he was on crashed."

I let go of my fork, shocked at what I found out. This can't be true. Wesley was one of my bestest childhood friends. Sya ang pinakaclose ko sa mga Zamoras. The dela Vegas and Zamoras have always been close family friends, business partners kasi ang mga companya namin. Wesley and I were the same age kaya sya talaga ang pinaka-close ko sa kamilang lima.

We were inseparable. Lahat ng kalokohan ginawa naming magkasama. He was my partner in crime. But something happened that tore our friendship apart, add in the fact that I moved to France for school. We drifted apart, hindi na kami nagkausap. I wasn't updated with all the happenings back home, wala akong balita sa kanila. I never bothered creating social media accounts, wala naman akong oras para sa mga yun. I was busy with work, and my whole life revolved around my business. I forgot about Wesley.

"Tell me you're joking." sabi ko kay Wallace. Di parin ako makapaniwala.

"I wish I was, Kuya. Pero wala eh... Wala na si Kuya."

Matagal pa kaming nag-usap ni Wallace, I caught up with all of the things that I've missed over the years. Kinasal na pala si Kuya Wyatt at may pamilya na. Pati si Wes, may pamilya nadin daw. Kasalukuyang nasa med school si Warren at nasa law school naman si Walden. At si Wallace, kaka-graduate lang ng high school at aalis na patungong New York para sa college. He invited me to his farewell party sa Sunday, and I wanted to go. Baka sakaling nandun ang pamilya ni Wesley. I somehow wanted to know if they were doing alright. I needed to.

"Lander dela Vega, ex-bestfriend of the great Wesley Samuel Zamora." Wesley's wife, Liv, stared at my hand and after a few seconds, finally decided to shake it.

Umupo ako sa bakanteng upuan sa tabi ni Liv. I wanted to ask her a lot of things. I wanted to get to know the woman who captured Wesley's heart. Playboy yun eh, so there really must be something amazing about this woman that changed him.

"Wes never mentioned anything about you nung nabubuhay pa sya," pag-amin nya,

"I figured. It's been a long time nadin kasi since we parted ways. 12 years to be exact. I moved to France kasi, so we drifted. Di man lang ako inimbita ng mokong na yun sa kasal nya. Tsk."

Tipid na ngumiti si Liv. "Well it's good to finally have met you, Lander."

I looked at the little boy sitting by Liv, staring at me wide-eyed. I smiled at him. "Your son looks just like Wesley nung bata pa kami. Photocopy, grabe. Ano ngang pangalan mo, baby boy?" tanong ko,

"Casseus Oliver Villaver Zamora po! 8 years old!" bibong bibong sagot nya.

"At manang mana ka din sa ugali ng tatay mo. Ganyan din ka-hyper si Wesley noon. Diba, kuya Wyatt?"

Kuya Wyatt chuckled, "Little Wes yang si Oli," saad nya. "Minana na yata lahat ng traits ni Wes." dagdag pa nya.

"By the way, what have you been up to these past few years Andy?" tanong ni Kuya Wyatt sakin. Andy ang palayaw ko, matagal nadin since someone called me by that name.

"Well I've been busy with business. I put up a restaurant sa Paris and fortunately, it became a huge success. I was able to expand it to about 20 restaurants across Europe and America," simula ko.

"Wow! Really? Anong pangalan ng resto mo?" tanong ni Kuya Wyatt.

"La Casa de Esperanza, Kuya." sagot ko,

"As in the La Casa de Esperanza!?" di makapaniwalang tanong nung asawa ni Kuya Wyatt, si Ate Selene.

I smiled and nodded proudly.

"Omg hun, we've been there before dun sa Barcelona. Yung masarap na Paella!" dagdag pa ni Ate Selene. Kuya Wyatt took a moment to remember and then his face lit up when he did.

"Wow! Sa'yo pala yun Andy. I would've never guessed! Grabe, congrats!"

"Salamat, Kuya. Kaya nga po ako umuwi dito kasi I wanted to expand my business in Asia as well. And of course, I have to start here, sa Pinas. Close to home." I explained,

"That's great to hear, hindi dapat kinakalimutang lumingon sa pinanggalingan. Where do you plan on building the resto?" tanong nya,

"Not sure yet, Kuya. I plan on looking around for the perfect place. I just don't know where to start."

"Why don't you ask Liv for help? Her family owns a real estate business. I'm sure they can help you find the perfect place." Kuya Wyatt suggested.

Liv blushed, taken aback by Kuya Wyatt's suggestion. I smiled at her, hey this might work.

"I'd love to." makahulugang saad ko.