Dear Dumpling (Wala na, Finished na; Completed)

Chapter 2: She Said "Yes"

Ito na lang ang sasabihin ko: talagang pinaghandaan ni Gino na makuha ang matamis na oo ng anak natin. Madaming tinanong e. Nagresearch ang binata. Lahat ng mga kapatid ni Burette inusisa. Pati ako hiningan din niya ng abiso. In fairness, magalang siyang bata. Nagpaalam muna siya sa akin kung pwedeng ligawan si Burette, kahit na nasa husto na silang gulang pareho. Akala mo magpopropose na magpakasal e. He set himself up to succeed.

Naalala ko tuloy nung umamin ako sa iyo. Lahat sikreto. Wala akong sinabihan. I set myself up to fail. But I was pleasantly surprised. You said yes. And Burette said to Gino. Both of you gave us a chance. Thank you.

Sige, dumpling, magpapahinga na ako. Good night, love you, and miss you always.

Always yours,

Dad

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Version: 1.1, 3 October 2020

Previous: Version 1.0, 4 January 2020

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English translation:

Dear dumpling,

How are you? Hope you are "good", as you put it. (The nitpick in me would point out that the correct word is "well", i.e. "Hope you are well." Or maybe you're hoping that I am not evil. Hehe.)

Third wheeling today with Burette and Gino. Time really moves quickly, doesn't it? I remember when they first met in elementary/grade school. It seems only yesterday when they met for the first time. Of course, I've told you the story a lot of times now. Once again, I will sound like a broken record. But I can't help it, these lovebirds give me so much glee.

They met when they were eight. Burette had just finished performing her Olympics-winning figure skating routine for her school. Poor Gino was timid as he approached Burette to hand her a bouquet of sunflowers.

I asked him years later, after he and our child had become close friends (but not as close as you and I were, not yet anyway). I asked him why he took on the job, when a classmate could have taken it on instead. He wasn't a class officer. He wasn't an officer in the student government. He wouldn't pass for a politician, nor would I. He wasn't even in the same class as our youngest at that point in time, so they did not know each other personally.

Gino said that the task of handing over the bouquet was passed on to him, since his classmates were shy or felt intimidated. So they drew lots, and luck favored him.

And by luck, I mean bad luck, at first. He clumsily fell on his knees as he approached our youngest.

"Are you alright?" Burette worriedly ran towards him, and reached her hand.

I had to warn our child to be careful, "You're still on skates!"

Gino's face was deep red in embarrassment, with his voice stammering. We helped him get up and clean his wounds.

Once classes began a few days later, Burette and Gino found themselves in the same classroom. The familiarity led them to become friends, and then more than friend.

He's still shameful to discuss what happened that fateful day. But if he didn't take on the task of giving our youngest that bundle of sunshine, would they have recognized each other later, on the first day of classes? Would they have become friends? Fortune favors the brave, a professor we both had once said.

As usual, the happy couple invited me to join them on their anniversary date. I agreed, of course, because being their third wheel will never stop being an honor for me. No child would invite a parent to join her and her significant other. That level of trust simply is unthinkable.

Until now, I'm not used to being invited to — anything. No one invites me to parties, balls, weddings, or simple meals. Not even to online meetups and reunions. I've reverted to being a hermit, just like the days before we ever met.

I'm forever gratified that even as our children bloom and grow, I still get to share their milestones. I wonder if this is because of how I raised them, even if I regularly doubt that I have been a good solo parent.

Of course, there are boundaries. I went home after dinner. It's their celebration, not mine. Let them have their intimacy. (To be clear, they went on to see a movie in theaters. I felt I had to put it out there.)

Burette can fill me in on what I missed tomorrow, if she's open to spill the beans. (Does anyone still say that? How do you do, fellow kids?) Or in simple English: I'll ask our youngest tomorrow what happened with the rest of their date, if she's open to sharing it, of course.

We had FIlipino food, our child's favorite, for dinner. Why? I have no clue. Out of our three children, she's the one who's travelled most, and sampled diverse cuisines, thanks to her battles to give honor to our country. I thought she prefers Thai food most of all, because she loves spicy food. Oh dumpling, if only you could see how much chili she puts in Pad Thai, hehe. But as our child puts it, there's no place, um food, like home.

We had food to share. Nilagang baka (boiled beef and vegetables in soup), bird's nest soup (Is this even Filipino food?), sizzling sisig (usually pork, but we eat chicken now, parts including liver, also spicy), and pancit (noodles with meat and vegetable toppings). Writing this list makes my mouth water. Do I hear my stomach grumbling? I should stop writing about food now, or I'm going to swell up again.

Gino also recounted the story of how he wooed Burette, how he got that sweet "yes". Oh, if only you could see Burette's face. I won't repeat it to you tonight, dumpling. Our child's face would haunt me in my dreams if I did that.

Let me just say this: Gino did the homework for that. He asked a lot of questions: from Burette's siblings, even from me. He sought advice from clueless me. In fairness to him, he was respectful, asking me if he could woo our youngest. It was totally unnecessary: they were of age already, but he did anyway. You'd think he's proposing for her hand in marriage. He set himself up to succeed.

I again remember when I admitted my feelings for you. I kept everything to myself. I set myself up to fail. But I was pleasantly surprised. You said yes, just like how Burette said yes to Gino. Both took a chance. Thank you.

Time to rest now dumpling. Good night, love you, and miss you always.

Always yours,

Dad

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English version 1.0, 6 July 2022