2 Reunion [1]

That happened forty years ago.

Now I'm back in this cafe, waiting for my friends, Brenda, Lizzie and Molly, sitting on the same spot, under the chipped frame of Eleanor Roosevelt's quote which had turned brown with age.

I recalled our once happy and adventurous young life riddled with ups and downs.

Right after high school graduation, my life turned one hundred eighty degrees.

My parents suddenly met their untimely demise through a plane crash in the Pacific. They were coming home for my high school graduation. Their bodies were never found.

My father's brother took over our family business and managed our estate as I was still a minor. When I said took over, I meant literally. He took over everything my parents left me, including my trust fund.

Fortunately, before my graduation, my parents already gifted me with a Chanel bag. Inside it was a thick envelop with a wad of money amounting to two hundred thousand pesos.

So when uncle Phil and his family threw me out of my home, I was able to survive for a few months.

Having learned about my predicament, Lizzie asked me to stay with her, rent-free, as long as I take charge of the tasks in the kitchen.

Lizzie took charge of the house cleaning. We both did our own laundry.

It was a real cool bargain!

Lizzie had her own place given by her stepfather so, she wouldn't have to stay with her mother and him. It wasn't really a high school graduation gift, but more like good riddance gift.

Aside from the fact that Lizzie's parents didn't mind my stay, they were even ecstatic to have me as their daughter's company.

So even after what happened, I felt that the heavens were still smiling at me.

Brenda, meanwhile, was sent abroad for her university studies. Molly, on the other hand, entered the same university as me and Lizzie.

The three of us took up accounting with the intention of pursuing further studies in management. Brenda took up legal management in America.

To support my studies, I had to work part time as an apprentice in a newly established advertising company. The salary wasn't high but could pay for a month's tuition. The following semester I applied for scholarship and was qualified. I just have to maintain a certain grade which I painstakingly achieved over the course of four years.

For my allowance, I had to act as an extra in any commercial the advertising company were producing. My first acting job was a receptionist in a five star hotel. I was paid one thousand pesos for that which took three days to shoot. It wasn't my fault that there were several NG shots. The main actor always misread his lines. For some reason, he said, I distracted him. After the commercial was done, he asked me out for a date.

Of course, I declined. He was arrogant and obnoxious, apart from the fact that I didn't want anything to distract me from my goal of finishing my course and getting a Master's degree.

Once in a while, the advertising company would call me if they needed extra hand to copy-write for their campaign ads. They paid me well for copies that were approved and used in the ads.

It has been ten minutes since I got here at Tom's cafe. No sight of the three women yet so I let my eyes roam around the newly furbished place, checking every corner for remnants of joyful memories.

Back then, we used to sit on iron chairs with wooden seat. Now, Tom's cafe adopted cushioned boxes like other fast food stores.

I ordered my usual hot chocolate. Nearing antiquity and conscious of my health, I tried to limit my intake of very sweet food. So I just opted for toast and sugar-free strawberry jam.

There were major changes in the interior of the cafe. The stained glass windows were replaced with tinted floor to ceiling ones. Modern equipment have replaced the crude way of brewing coffee and tea, likewise with the hot chocolate. Where old glass racks once stood were now refrigerated glass displays that kept all pastries fresh. I also noticed the brand new split-type air-conditioner.

Neighboring businesses have torn down their buildings and built modern ones. But Tom's building had been preserved, so it still possessed its quaint and charming features.

I just learned, from the lady server, that the new owner was not related to Old Tom. This establishment had been sold to a rich, handsome middle-aged man two years ago. So, I wondered what happened to the last owner.

Thankfully, the new owner had been wise enough to retain the name of the cafe, for this had been a popular landmark of City Q for many years. It would be a shame not to find Tom's in this city where generations of youth come to gather and share stories and laughter.

I checked the time again and my watched said 10:30. Where the hell are they. It must be the traffic.

Just as i looked up from reading the time, I felt a pair of eyes staring at me from the entrance of the cafe. I slowly turned to see who it was, when I felt a sudden surge of emotion attack me.

His handsome timeworn face was familiar, like I've known him well for a long time.