For the briefest of moments, Eiselle Santiago felt completely alone. She’d been kicked out of her own home, the plans for “Eiselle Lee’s 1st Annual Grand Cotillion” had come unraveled, and she’d been trapped between the sibling rivalries and her mother’s wavering health. Somehow, somewhere, something had to give.
Of course, there was also her failed marriage to Arvind Lee, but she hadn’t given that much thought during the last week. The only thing in Eiselle’s mind was failure. She would most certainly be the laughing stock in her old social set. She spent the next day alone, moping about the house as she sulked from one room to another. She hadn’t even bothered to change out of her pajamas or apply the slightest bit of makeup. She was in a funk and didn’t care about a thing in the world. Utterly, the little girl was lost.
“You’re taking all of this so very hard,” said her mother, “why don’t you brew us some tea?”
Eiselle heaved a sigh, “not now, ma.”
“Yes, now. I want tea and you need tea, so now is the perfect time for tea. Brew us some chamomile. It’ll chase out the demons.”
Eiselle shuffled to the kitchen and started her old process, but with a new twist. She filled the teakettle and placed it on the stove. She moved the old boxes out of the way as she sorted through the cupboard gathered ginger cloves into one hand and fresh lemons into the other. Then, she grabbed a bottle of honey, too. She hand-washed the ginger cloves, chopped the garlic and lemons into rough chunks and dumped them into boiling water. Mrs. Santiago called from the living room.
“What are you doing?”
“Be patient, ma.”
Eiselle stirred the brew as she waited for the ingredients to steep. The aromatics tumbled in the stew and filled the air with their fantastic smells. Eiselle inhaled deeply and her thoughts wandered wonderfully away from all those things that had weighed her down. She poured two cups and added splashes of milk and honey. A smile as wide as the Philippine Sea stretched across her mother’s face.
“Ohhh,” gasped Mrs. Santiago, “I have not had the chance to enjoy a cup of your homemade ginger tea in the longest time.”
“Me neither.”
They sat quietly in the living room and emptied the teapot. Then, Eiselle brewed another pot of ginger tea.
“Eiselle, I need to know what is going on in the world. Can you be a dear and turn on MindaNews?”
Eiselle turned on the radio without disagreement. The curiosity of things had gotten to her, too.
“With the capture and arrest of the five individuals believed to be responsible for the unrest in South Cotabato, local authorities are dealing with the subsequent outrage from pro-Muslim groups that seek justice for the assassination of Cleric Yehuda Brampipat and damages done to the Yellow Mosque, a building with a 500-year history in South Cotabato. Some have even called it the Pinoy Mecca.”
The radio droned on and Eiselle’s head was filled once again with thoughts about the outside world. She played with the frayed edges of her old bathrobe and thought of her home – the Lee estate – and then looked around at her present surroundings. Like the old dirty robe, there were frayed edges here at the old Santiago house: loose floorboards, dirty corners where dust rags hadn’t been since the last time Eiselle lived there.
Eiselle plucked her cell phone off the end table and shot a text to Lorna.
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing.”
“I am going back to the Estate today. Do you want to go?”
“Will Arvind let you?”
“He has to, I’m his wife. Besides, Gensan is such a dirty place. I don’t think I can take it any more.”
“Eiselle, you’re from Gensan. I’m from Gensan. I’ve lived my whole life here.”
“That’s why we need an escapade.”
“I think I’ll pass,” wrote Lorna.
Eiselle gave a little huff and jumped to her feet. She quickly pocketed her cell phone and headed to the bedroom. She leafed through the meager selection of dresses until she found one she liked. It was a little yellow sundress she had worn to a handful of social events and received a hundred compliments each time. She pulled it off the hanger and gave it the once over.
“I think someone needs a good washing.”
She went to the bathroom and filled the sink with warm water. Then, she dabbed the little yellow dress with Ariel liquid and vigorously scrubbed the dress by hand. She spent an hour over the sink, diligently trying to work the stains out of the bodice. Still, without true hot water, the color would never shine like it had before.
“I need to get back into that house,” she said to herself.
She carefully folded the dress and tucked it into her overnight bag. Then, she threw on another dress and ran a brush through her hair. With a few generous dabs of lipstick and blush, she felt she was ready to face the outside world. She grabbed her car keys and twirled them in her fingers as she headed for the door.
“Where are you headed?” asked her mother.
“I’m going to take a little trip to the Highlands.
“Why on earth are you going there?”
“To see Arvind, of course. Plus, Sarangani Highlands needs me – and I need it, too. I am sick and tired of Gensan City.”
“Why must you always be too good for your own home?”
“I’m not, ma. The Highlands are where I belong.”
Eiselle jaunted off to the comfort room, too a cold, refreshing shower, and applied a thick layer of war paint, complete with mascara, blush, and her best bright red lipstick.
“Now,” she said as she stood in front of the full-length mirror in just her bra and panties, “I’m ready for anything.”
She primped and preened as she donned a dress of peacock blue and infused her hair with a generous dose of hair spray. She scrunched her locks, creating a mane of full, unnatural waves.
“What is this mess?’ said her mother.
“I’m have to make an impression if I’m going back to the Lee Estate.”
In just under an hour, she transformed herself from miserable waif to miser-king.
“Ta-ta, mum!”
With a peck on her mother’s cheek, Eiselle bounced out the front door. The car keys jangled as she spun the ring about her finger. With a quick hop, skip, and a jump, she made her way to the little red BMW and turned on the engine. With a press of the gas pedal, it roared to life.
The streets of Gensan were clogged with all varieties of traffic, but Eiselle careened through it as effortlessly as a Formula One driver, switching from lane-to-lane with boundless confidence. She reached over with her right hand and switched on the music, tuning it to a station and cranking the volume as high as it would go. Then, she fished around in her purse until she shook a cigarette loose from its pack and found the lighter. She popped it into her mouth and puckered her lips around it as she set it ablaze. With one long inhale, a fresh dose of nicotine filled her throat and lungs. She felt more alive than ever now; all she needed was a good pick-me-up.
“I hate that stupid Jaki Gomez. Where does she get telling me what from what? I should put her in her place.”
The little red BMW approached the Lee Estate and stopped at the outer gate. Eiselle pushed the numbers to her birthday and the gate slowly opened.
“A-ha!” she spat confidently, “I knew he’d change it back to my birthday.”
Eiselle headed to the front door inserted the key and it fit comfortably inside the hole; however, it would not turn. Eiselle jiggled it fiercely, trying to get it to work.
“God damn you, Jackilyn Gomez!” she shouted to the gods with one clenched fist.
She yanked on the key and strode to her car. Old grudges rose to the surface as she circled around the drive and headed to the Arvind Construction office down at the beach.
A thin layer of mud still covered most of the parking lot, so Eiselle parked her BMW at the uppermost edge of the parking lot. She got out and surveyed her options. There was no two ways about it, she’d have to get through the mud to get to the construction office.
“Now,” she thought, “how am I gonna get through this slop?”
She reopened the car door and leaned over her steering wheel as she punched on the horn. It blared loudly. Some of the construction engineers glanced her way, but most simply ignored her. They’d already recognized Eiselle’s little red sports car.
“Come on!” she shouted towards the building. After a few attempts, one of the men in hardhats came her way.
“What can I do for you, ma’am?”
“I have to get to the office. Don’t you know who I am?”
“I know exactly who you are, but I came over here anyway.”
Eiselle scowled at the man.
“Well, I suppose you want a way from here to there, right?”
Eiselle nodded.
“Wait here.”
The man toddled over to the building and grabbed a wheelbarrow and a tarp. As he pushed it through the mud, a deep scowl appeared on Eiselle’s face.
“You expect me to get into a wheelbarrow?”
“I expect you not to ruin your pretty black heels. What do you expect about that?”
Eiselle cleared her throat as she stepped into the wheelbarrow.
“Pick up your feet. This still could get messy.”
The wheelbarrow bumped and slid through the mud. Eiselle braced herself against the side rails. Her skirt continued to hike up until it looked like a micro-mini, hugging the tops of her thighs.
“There you go,” said the man as he dumped her at the first step, “safe and sound.”
He pushed the wheelbarrow forward, easing Eiselle onto the concrete walk. She, however, was ungrateful to him as she headed up the stairs without a word of thanks.
Eiselle walked directly to the door to the construction office, stopping only to check herself as she combed a single finger through her bangs and then used it to wipe the smudged dirt from her heels.
“Ugh!” she groaned, “stupid mud all over my beautiful pumps.”
She checked her makeup in her compact and quickly fixed the hem on her dress. Then, she cleared her throat before opening the door. Jaki, who was working busily at her computer, paused momentarily from her work. Then, she returned to her phone conversation..
“Jaki…” Eiselle started. Jaki wagged a finger at Eiselle, motioning for her to remain quiet. Eiselle cleared her throat again. Jaki ignored her.
“Jaki,” she continued.
Jaki covered the receiver.
“Can’t you see I’m on the phone?”
“You’re not now…I just need to ask one question.”
“Just wait until I’m finished, Eiselle.”
Eisellefolded her arms across her chest and cocked her body as she waited impatiently for Jaki to finish. To her, it seemed as if Jaki was prolonging the call just to get on Eiselle’s nerves. Well, if she was, it was certainly working.
“Come on…” Eiselle muttered under her breath. Jaki looked up casually as she quietly returned the receiver to its rest.
“How can I help you, Miss Santiago?”
“It’s Ms. Lee,” Eiselle corrected Jaki as she clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth.
“Yes…Ms. Lee. What do you need?”
“I need to talk to my husband.”
“Eiselle...we’re not going through this again.”
“No, were not,” replied Eiselle as she bent over and placed both hands in the center of Jaki’s desk, perching herself directly in Jaki’s way, “now, where is my husband?”
“No, Eiselle. Just no.”
Eiselle gave a snort and pushed off from Jaki’s desk, launching a handful of papers over the side. She strode away defiantly, slamming the door behind her. Jaki let loose a long, heavy sigh as Eiselle went away.
Jaki took a few deep breaths and tried to regain her composure. She wondered why she hadn’t yet been able to deal with Eiselle any better after all their head-to-head clashes. As she returned to her work, she heard the echo of Eiselle’s heels clacking down the stairs.
“Oh, God damn it,” muttered Eiselle as she arrived at the bottom of the stairs. There was still the matter of the muddy parking lot.
Eiselle glanced back towards the building, but there was no one to be found. She fixed her gaze on the BMW.
“It’s really not that far,” she said out loud.
Then, she carefully tiptoed across the mud. A bit of anxiousness arose as the soles of her pumps slid through the mud.
“Come on now,” she urged herself, “just a few more steps. Once she caught her balance against the BMW, she quickly proceeded to the driver’s side door. She dumped herself into the deep bucket seat and peeled her pumps off her feet and placed them gently in the back seat, taking care not to disturb the clean interior.
As always, it had been quite a clash between Eiselle and Jaki. Eiselle got into her car, lit a cigarette and sped out of the lot. The sound echoed throughout the construction office. Jaki looked up from her work and smiled slightly.
“Good riddance,” she said quietly as she fixed her chair into place and turned her attention to the computer. Hopefully, that would be the last she saw of Ms. Lee. Jaki decided to get Arvind up-to-speed with a quick text.
“Arvind, your ex-wife stopped by the site and she’s hunting for you. I just thought you might want to know.”
A mere hop, skip, and a jump away, Arvind glanced down at his cell phone for the briefest moment to read the message. He rolled his eyes before he stashed the phone back into his pocket.
“Something wrong?” asked Jonny Gutierrez.
“Oh, it’s just Eiselle. You know, she keeps on with the same old song and dance.”
Jonny nodded, “so, what brings you down here?”
“I have an offer for you.”
“An offer?”
“Well, it’s more of a proposition. I was thinking…with the village wiped out by the tidal wave and me needing that chunk of property…”
“You wanted to take Baluntay away from the villagers?”
“I was thinking it would be more of a trade. If I construct temporary housing in the highlands for these people, I could build a multi-use complex here. That would get these people away from the lowland.”
“And you’d get to develop your beachside resort for a tidy profit.”
“Jonny, you know it wouldn’t be like that.”
“Why would it be any different than when you bought that lot next door?”
“It wasn’t me. It was people from the council.”
Jonny shook his head as he returned to his work cleaning the classroom floor.
“Let me have a mop,” said Arvind.
He stood side-by-side with Jonny, working the last bits of grit out of the cracks in the concrete.
“Jonny, these people are my neighbors, too. Let me help. I will build temporary houses and we’ll move everyone into the highlands. Then, I’ll develop an affordable housing community here in Baluntay and offer a job to anyone who wants it.”
“How long would that last? I’ve seen what happens to these people in the secret dealings of councilmen and businessmen. One hand washes the other.”
“I’m not like that. I always take care of my employees. A good businessman is only as good as what his worst employee says of him.”
“Let me talk to the people of Baluntay and see what they think about all this.”
“I’d be happy to give you any help you need. I know it’s tough for these people right now.”
Jonny twisted the mop onto one edge and used the metal fastener to scrape grime out of the crevices. Almost everyone in and around the Academy was homeless now. He knew there wasn’t much else he could say or do. At this point, though, an offer of four walls, a roof overhead, and a place to lay a weary head would be a most welcome gift for anyone from Baluntay.
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