THE RAINS OF TAMARIND AND OTHER STORIES

NECKTIES ON THE DOORKNOB

               "Wow. Is that Perrie? You're all grown up. The last time I saw you, you were about this tall." Says Kuya Eric, gesturing his hands on the level of his waist and his other, entwined into the hands of his beautiful wife, Ate Judy with their darling infant in her arm.
                It has been a long time, indeed. About ten years ago, Kuya Eric was one of our tenants in the boarding house we own near the university campus which bear the color of maroon and white.
                It was ten years ago and the memory is still fresh from my mind. When in the middle of the night, silly little me got up to get a glass of water. It is then that I heard a bizarre sound coming from the room with a maroon necktie on its broken doorknob. I went in to take a look.
                Once the lights behind me embraced the dark domicile, I couldn't make up what I saw. I was six years old then. I thought I saw mating dogs, like the ones I saw on the street. Only it was Kuya Eric and Ate Judy, who stumbled unto the sheets to cover their bare flesh upon seeing me.
              "Get the hell out, Perrie! Damn it!" He cussed. I recoiled in fear. Kuya Eric has never yelled at me like that before.
               Mama pulled me out, her hand covering my eyes as she apologized. That night, I learned my first lesson about respecting other people's privacy.
             "Perrie, listen to me. Never ever barge into someone's room like that. Invading people's privacy is bad and impolite."
             "But I heard something, Ma and—..."
             "Regardless of hearing something or not, we mustn't mind their business."
             "Why is Ate Judy's necktie hanging on the doorknob, Ma?"
             "It means they don't want to be disturbed. Any object hanging on the doorknob means that they're... busy." She hesitated as she chose her words carefully.

              "You got yourself a college girl now, Tita. Quite a stunning young lady too. What is she taking?" Ate Judy complements, her eyes on me then to my mother.
              "Oh, she's taking Education at the University."
             "Well, good luck to you, young lady. Stay away from boys like your Kuya Eric here." Ate Judy said to me as she chuckles.
             "We better be going, to give out more invites, Tita. We'll see you at our baby's christening next week." Kuya Eric added.

               I was practicing my solfege when he came. Lost in my singing violin and the music sheet in front of me, I didn't notice Mama was talking to the new boarder of the room at the end of the hall, until I put down my bow and saw him looking at me.
              He was tall, moreno and a bit muscular. He has a cute button nose, fine lips, stubbled chin and deep almond brown eyes with long lashes. He was really lovely.
              He smiled and I swear, my heart never skipped a beat like that before. I averted my eyes back to the music sheet as he focused his attention back to my mother.

              He was unlike the other male tenants. He was quiet. He doesn't have any loud guy friends coming over for drinks. Just a few, with books or papers on hand, always talking about plants, livestock and fish. Such odd topics, I thought. A semester have come, and he still doesn't have not one necktie or anything on his doorknob. Perhaps, he was gay, I thought.
             Till one Saturday morning, I was doing laundry in the backyard. I was about to go to the clothesline, a bucketful of colored shirts clung to my waist and a pail of whites at the other, when he said,
            "Let me help you with that." Getting the pail from my right hand. He walked me into the clothesline.
            "You're Perrie, aren't you?" He asked.
            "Yes, I am. I still haven't catch your name, Kuya."
            "I'm Aaron. Please, don't call me Kuya. I'm only a year older than you after all." He said as he starts helping me hang clothes.
            "So, you're into music. Is that for school or just a hobby of yours?" He asks curiously.
            "Both. I'm a MAPEH major and I'm in the school's string ensemble."
            "How interesting. I think that's cool. Mind if I listen to you rehearse some other time?"
            "Are you sure? I choke a couple of times at practice."
            "Of course. I wouldn't even notice when you mess up. You still sound great."
           "I didn't know you have quite a talent in flattery, Aaron." But flattery never works on me, I said to myself. Or does it?
           "It's a gift and a curse. But I'm telling you, it's not merely flattery. It's the truth. You sound great from what I've heard from my room." He chuckled. He noticed the water running from his laundry and clumsily rushes to it, slipping to the suds on the paved floor, we both laughed.
            It has been like this every Saturday morning. And since then, I have never enjoyed laundering much as this one.