The Box

20. wealth

"Now that you got your passport, where would you want to go?" Chuck asked when Maia shared that her passport had arrived in the mail.

"Cebu? Kasama sina Nanay. Kaso lang wala silang passport pareho"

"What?"

"Walang passport sina Nanay. Ako lang ang nag-apply, diba?"

Amused at Maia's innocence, Chuck smiled and patiently explained that passports were not necessary for local travel. "...unless we go abroad from Cebu, then you'll definitely need a passport"

"Ah" Maia said. "...matagal ko na sana silang gustong dalhin sa Cebu o kaya sa Bohol pero wala kaming passport..."

"Well, we can all go. They don't need passports to go to Cebu or Bohol." Chuck smiled. After a few moments he said, "What if we get married in Batanes?"

"Ano?" Maia quickly glanced at Chuck.

"Let's have a destination wedding. Or, we can fly to Canada and get married there."

"Paano sina Nanay?"

"We'll have them apply for their passports as well. It's good to have one as an extra ID"

"Teka. Saan tayo kukuha ng pera panggastos? Maliit pa ipon ko."

Chuck just smiled. "When do you want to go?"

"Iniiba mo na naman yung usapan e"

"I'll take care of it"

"Chuuuuuuck!" Maia whined. "Di na tama na ikaw nalang lagi ang gumagastos e. Ang dami mo nang binigay sa akin, sa amin. Magdadalawang taon na tayong magboyfriend pero feeling ko, may tinatago ka pa rin sa akin."

"Are you mad?"

"Hindi naman. Nalilito lang talaga ako"

Chuck took a deep breath and said, "Do you remember the news about a Sir Sigmund Charles?"

Maia tried to recall the story. "Yung prinsipe?"

Chuck nodded and said, "He's my grandfather"

"Weh?! Eh di prinsipe ka rin..."

Chuck was still looking at Maia. With a serious look on his face, he nodded. Maia tilted her head and raised her eyebrow in disbelief.

"Well, not exactly. He didn't pass on the title to his children and grandchildren, so my brother and I don't have any titles."

"Ano?"

"My Papito, Nana's husband, he was a prince. My brother and I were his first grandsons, and he was so proud of us. When he passed away, he left us each with a huge inheritance."