The Love (Dis)connection

Chapter 6

Number of burgers I had that night: Two.

Number of beers I drank: Six.

Number of messages from Jack: Zero.

Surprisingly, I had fun with Dante. We managed to talk about things other than academics, and he told me how life was like in his province in Jaen, Nueva Ecija, and that he never expected to get into USP because they barely had any money, and he was unaware that we had a scholarship program.

I also learned that he was an altar boy back at home, and that he still served during the holidays or semestral breaks. And that he was in a five-year relationship with a girl named Dorothea Alvarez, which ended last year when she got pregnant by one of the local men in their barangay in a night of utter drunkenness, she said by way of explanation.

“Dorothea was a fool,” I announced, my words getting a bit slurred as I drank my fifth beer. I was making more and more heartfelt pronouncements as the night wore on.

“I’ve always believed that Jack and I are meant to be because the initials of our first names are the initials of my favorite author, Jane Austen.” It was a secret I only told Mia, but with this liquid courage, I was suddenly spouting things even Jack doesn’t know.”

Through blurry eyes, I saw Dante trying not to laugh.

One more thing I learned about Dante: He can drink me under the table. He was already on his seventh beer, and he was showing no signs of inebriation. We ended up in his apartment, but not before we bought a case of Red Horse and had food delivered to his room.

“Love sucks,” I pronounced an hour later. I reached for another beer, but Dante pulled it out of my reach.

“I think you’ve had enough,” he said.

I pouted, but he was right. I still had to get home.

He went to his kitchen, and came back carrying two cups of black coffee. He handed me one while he nursed the other.

“So what do you want to do when you grow up?” I asked, hiccupping and giggling. I haven’t had my first sip of coffee yet.

“I want to be a social entrepreneur.” His voice was strong, like this was the path he was sure he’d take.

“Really? For which industry?”

He shrugged. “That, I’m not sure yet. I can take on any business, right? It’s in my business model and how I do my businesses that I will give back to community.”

“That’s noble of you.”

“Nah. It’s a great town, but it’s quite poor. And someday, I want to build a school for the town, and I will invite a lot of really good teachers. I believe in education, you see. And I think it’s really sad that a lot of kids in my community don’t get a satisfactory education.”

“But you turned out okay,” I asked, confused. The coffee was taking its effect on me, and my head was getting clearer.

“Dad was a voracious reader, and he imparted to me a lot of knowledge. Plus, he’s really good in math and science. I guess I inherited that from him.” He sat beside me. “I mean, I’m not discounting my teachers, but a lot of what I know now is because of my dad.”

“Sounds like a great guy.”

“He was, you know. I miss him a lot.”

“Was?”

“Died last year. Heart attack.”

I immediately covered his hands with mine. “I’m sorry for your loss.”