All This Time [COMPLETED]

3 - Happy Goodbye

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

DECEMBER 2010

Claire finally caved in and created a twitter account. It's all the rage right now. Everyone in her senior class are tweeting away. She thought of what to tweet. What was she doing a year ago? Something suddenly came to mind.

"One year ago today, I saw OneRepublic for the first time! It was so much fun lol. First time my parents allowed me to go on a concert with my friends" she hit tweet. 

"Also a year ago when someone stood me up. I'll admit I was wounded but I got over it quickly. Who knows, that guy could be up to no good lol" she tweeted. 

She thought she seems like an overconfident but bitter bitch so she started to type again.

"But I'll admit sometimes I wonder what if he showed up. We might ended up friends. After all, we both sang 'All This Time' at the top of our lungs lol".

Claire looked at her feed. Twitter isn't bad after all. 

She heard a knock on her bedroom door. "Hey, Claire" her mom, Susana greeted her. 

"Hi, Mama what's up?" she asked. 

"We just got off the phone with your Aunt Shirley. Grandma Amelia was rushed to the hospital" her mom relayed to her.

"What happened?" she asked worriedly. Grandma Amelie is her father's mom. Her second name Amelie came from her grandma. 

"She collapsed. It turns out she was suffering from stomach pains but wasn't saying anything. The doctors are running some more tests but the initial findings showed that she has multiple tumors in her intestines that are cancerous" her mom sat down on her bed. 

Claire can tell that this is a huge blow to her mom and most definitely her dad. "How's Papa?" she asked her. 

"He's in shock. He booked a flight back to the Philippines. He'll go first thing in the morning" she sounded so defeated.

"Is he going alone?" Claire asked. 

"Yes. I want to go but I can't just go on leave. There are a lot of weddings this December that I need to arrange and attend to" her mom said. 

"I can go with Papa" Claire offered. 

"Are you sure? How about that ski trip you are going with Kristen in Lake Tahoe?" her mom asked. 

"She'll understand" Claire said. "I'll go talk to Papa downstairs".

It was a long journey to the Philippines. Claire was so tired and jet-lagged but she didn't complain. She have to be strong for her dad. Her father, Oscar is sort of a mama's boy. She heard from her mom's stories that her Papa was so sad to have to leave the Philippines to work in San Diego. She can see how this affected her usual happy-go-lucky Papa.

They stayed there for about a month. They have to return because of Claire's school. Grandma Amelia recovered and is now on cancer medications. The doctors are hopeful she can make it despite her old age. Meanwhile, her aunts, uncles and cousins made them feel very welcome during Christmas and New Year's. The rumors are true, the Philippines does the holidays so festive like nowhere else. She made a mental note in her mind to ask her parents next year to spend the holidays in the Philippines again.

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MANILA, PHILIPPINES

MARCH 2011

Claire peered down the plane window. She can see Manila from above. It's lit by tall buildings and car taillights. People kept asking her if she's sad they have to move and leave San Diego. She said she is but to be honest it's just a little bit. She was born and raised in San Diego but the Philippines have this incredible pull to her. 

"You okay?" she heard her Papa ask. 

"I'm good, Papa" she replied.

Grandma Amelia took a turn for the worst after a few months in cancer medication. Her Papa wants to take care of her. They decided it would be best if they moved. Her dad's contract with the company he is working for was bound to expire. Her Mama can do wedding planning in the Philippines. As for Claire, there are amazing art colleges in Manila. Her high school agreed for her to do distance learning and take her final exams online. She may have to fly back to attend graduation though.

Their reason to move might be sad but Claire is happy about it. She could use a change of scenery. She wanted to learn the culture too. She might be a "Californian" but the blood in her veins is Filipino blood and it's calling to her.

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*Header Art: "The Maas at Dordrecht" by Aelbert Cuyp