The Box

22. surprises

"Oo. Mga 30 to 35 guests lang"

"...and about 6 of them are the nuns from the orphanage. I don't think we should be asking for a donation from them..."

"Ah. Oo nga. Hindi nga. Makakatanggap din sila ng save the date pero wala sa shoebox. Yung mga makakatanggap ng shoebox eh yung sigurado tayong makaka-donate" Maia assured Chuck.

"...and maybe we can match the boxes we receive..." Chuck suggested.

Maia nodded. "Sa pagkakaalam ko, kung sa direct supplier tayo pupunta, may minimum talaga yung mga orders"

"Makes sense. So, our color scheme will be..."

"Blue at yellow. Favorite colors natin pareho"

Chuck nodded. Observing how Maia was becoming excited to prepare for their wedding made him excited as well.

---

"What time is it?"

"Mag-a-alas singko."

"Call your Nanay and Tatay. Let's have dinner out" Chuck would usually invite Maia's parents out to dinner on weekends. On some weeknight, he volunteered to cook for them. Maia's parents would sometimes tease her that Chuck was better at doing chores.

"Ah, sige"

"Ask them where they'd like to eat, too."

Maia nodded. After talking to her parents, "Chinese nalang daw. Chowking"

Chuck was amused at their restaurant choice. He enjoyed the fast food style restaurant and food but he also wanted to expose them to more sophisticated places. "Okay. We can have Chinese."

"Aalis na tayo?" Maia wondered why Chuck went to the foyer and put on his shoes.

"Ah, yeah. I want to show you something before we pick up your parents"

"CR este washroom lang ako"

Chuck nodded and softly chuckled. He had been teaching Maia some 'universal' English words. She would be needing them when they traveled abroad for their honeymoon.

---

Minutes later, they entered a gated subdivision. "Sino pupuntahan natin dito?" Maia wondered while she looked at the mansions behind tall walls. Maia wondered why they parked inside the garage of the property. Maia recognized Sam's car, which was parked just outside the gate.