The Agreement

On the first Friday of January, I received two letters from the Northern Province. One was brought home by my brother which was addressed to the Brent's Construction Company while the other one was from my love. I was so happy that I finished my dinner quickly, went to take shower then took the letters to the study room to red and plan.

I read my love's letter first. It was rather short but precise. I could feel her anger and coldness as I read it. Although she assured me of her deep love despite being pissed off. I felt so sorry and regret that I made her upset but she made me love her more as I realized she can master her emotions well.

The second letter was very different from the first one I just read. The penmanship was quite shaky and some letter strokes aren't clear. Nevertheless, it was understandable and the ideas were coherent. It was informing they want to meet us on the third Saturday of this month. They wanted to discuss their conditions with the company and from then, if both parties agree, the development can start.

....

So it was now the third Saturday of the month. My older brother, Dan, the two company lawyers and I drove to the Northern Province. We stopped in a small canteen at the foot of the mountain. Along the way, I was thinking if I could spot a glimpse of my love. I made a response letter to her and planned to drop it in her boarding house. I just prayed things will work out smoothly so that I don't need to keep away from her. However, when we passed by the store, it was closed and I didn't see anyone to hand in my letter. I planned to drop it when we return.

We arrived at nine o'clock in the meeting place having departed at half past six in B City. We bought some bread and ordered some brewed coffee for breakfast while waiting for our counterparts to arrive.

After thirty minutes, while we were deliberating what could their possible conditions be, three elderly men arrived. One was a slim but tall guy. He looked like Clint Eastwood. His hair was a bit long but he looked good on it. The other one was fair skinned, about half a head shorter than the tallest guy but have same facial features. The third one was the shortest of them but was wearing a wide smile that even his eyes followed the line if his mouth. They occupied the bench just opposite the road as they talked to each other when they saw us.

Not long after they took their seats, the man whom I met almost a month ago arrived on a dark brown shiny horse. He got down from his horse a little bit farther from the canteen, tied his horse to a tree beside the road then joined the other three men. He was the youngest of them and was the most descent looking one. He was also as tall as the second tallest of the three. I observed them talking for sometime before I decided to approach them.

"Good morning sir and uncles! I see that you all look handsome!"I greeted them as I helped a nervous smile and looked at each one of them. "If you dont mind, I want to introduce you my companions. Two of them are still single and are still searching for in-laws." I said smiling wide.

"Good morning son! How are you? Sorry if we made you wait long time. By the way, these are all my cousins. Douglas, Theodore, and Marshall. These two are wasted years too." He said as he point at the tallest which he introduced as Theodore and the second tallest which he introduced as Marshall.

The tallest one brought out a cigarette and lit it before he followed us to the canteen opposite the roadside.

There were three rectangular tables with benches around them at the yard of the canteen. We occupied the farthest one minding that our conversation will be eavesdropped.

After setting ourselves, we mutually wanted to go direct to the point.

" So what's the condition?" Our senior lawyer said as he looked at four of them.

Marshall spoke, "We agreed on two options. First is to lease the land. We are not selling it. We will give you two years to develop and 10 years to operate. After 10 years, any of our children can redeem it."

I looked at Mr. Law and didn't know what to say. Then I turned to the lawyer then to my brother. I am not really a business man so I didn't know what exactly to say. All I knew was that my chance of marrying their daughter seemed to become more hopeless.

"Second option is for your company to send two of each of our children to University until they finish. Given that we are four here, there should be eight of our children to send. Offcourse, it will be their own choice as to what course they would take." Marshall continued.

"So how's the two of you who have no children?" Our lawyer asked.

"I suppose that's no problem, my cousin here has a platoon of kids. They are as good as mine. I give him my slot. His kids will take care of me just the same." Marshall nodded at the Mr. Law I knew.

Mr. Law seemed to be caught in deep thought. I was guessing he must be thinking about his spoken word to me last time.

Douglas who had been shifting his eyes to and from us spoke up. "My kids are almost all finished with their schooling. Although I am sending two of them now, they will be finished within five years. This condition isn't favorable for me." He said.

"As a lawyer, I can see some problem in the near future if you go with that second option. Maybe not between you but among your descendants. My clients are businessmen and they will just do business as much as possible. Our company however are willing to support any charity organizations around this area if there are." Our elder lawyer spoke said but still my concern was not yet touched. I was getting worried.

I whispered to the younger lawyer next to me reminding him of my intention. He just nodded then looked at Mr. Law.

"The first condition seems good. However, the tourist attractions in this place are not yet known by many outsiders. Even if the community will do an all out promotion, I'm afraid it will only boom in the next five to 10 years. That means ten years will not be enough to redeem the expenses in the development." The lawyer spoke like an economist.

I turned to look at my brother who seemed to have remembered something. He nodded while giving me a wry smile. Then he said, "I am a CEO of two companies. I almost can predict when and how a business will grow or die. This first condition is not bad but unfavorable to us as businessmen. We will appear to have just donated our money for a community's development. We shouldn't be minding, after all, many will benefit from it. However, how do you know if your children will take care of it when you're all gone? Will they not grumble against each other just like what I heard about your family history?" he said boldly.

"I only have one solution in mind though,this is to secure the ownership of the business and also keep the land intact and secure." My brother continued as he leaned closely on the table with his left arm and his right arm doing the gestures.

"Then tell us!" Douglas responded eagerly.

"You see, I and my brother are both singles. I saw one of your daughters and she is quite pretty. If you know what I'm trying to say. I dont mind if it's me or my brother. After all, we look the same and we aren't looking bad. Are we?" My brother smiled mischievously as he gave me a sharp look.

So he is seriously trying to snatch from me my love. Huh!

I stared at him bitterly.

Mr. Law looked confused as he shifted his eyes between me and my brother. I prayed that he will speak up to save me.

Finally, as if he read my mind, he spoke, "I have a daughter who is pledged to be married after her graduation. This is an arrangement we made as parents because we need to secure our land. It was the best solution we could come up. However, pondering it through, the community's development and many people's welfare are noble causes to consider. I am not selling away my daughter. I am just giving her the option to choose for herself. But I can only grant her this choice after her graduation. She is too young to be bothered with this issue. Let her decide after she graduates. She will be either marrying her fourth cousin or be married to one of you. I think it's fair this way." He said.

I was so delighted and heaved a silent deep sigh.

Douglas looked at Mr. Law intently and meaningfully. I knew he wanted to say something but he must have held it. After all, what Mr. Law said made sense.

"Does she have another cousin?" My brother pressed as if his words meant nothing as he focused his eyes on that uncle Douglas.

"They're mostly boys, the two girls are already married." Douglas turned to my brother as he smiled wryly.

"So we'll go with that first condition then. One of your daughters will be pledged to be married to one of these brothers. After all, they are not only capable of securing your land and the business but also I heard they are both captivated by your daughter. So the bout is between two of them." Our elder lawyer came in conclusion that sent me sneering inside as I turned my face away from my brother.

Douglas seemed to smile in defeat. He must be thinking about his son.

We wrapped up at almost eleven o'clock. Seeing that it was still early, we requested the store owner to cook lunch for us. I had the idea that she accepts this service because I saw some ready kitchen utensils neatly arranged at the corner. It should be as per costumer's request. At half past twelve, we were already eating lunch together. Native dishes like broiled chicken in soup topped with various vegetables, some freshly harvested vegetable leaves, freshly riped papaya. The service wasn't bad. Atleast, the business idea is there. It will only be a matter of time before it will grow.

We shook hands as we bid goodbye and separated our ways after some casual talks. I was very happy as we drove off that I forgot to drop my letter at the boarding house of my love.