December 18, 2004 was the wedding date of my high school classmate, Richard Ginete. I was lucky it was set on the first day that the office shut down for the holidays. Days before that, I agreed to meet Rollen and the other guys (George, Jet and Ritchie) at the Pension house where we will be spending the night.I took the Cebu-Santander-Dumaguete Ceres route. Still feeling the effects of the bottomless draft beer I imbibed in the Company Christmas party only hours before I was due on the road, I slept for the most part of the Cebu land trip.
Ceres left the South Bus Terminal at 3:00 a.m. It was already light when we reached Santander (which took about 3 hours). I struggled to keep my eyes open when I saw the majestic old houses along the highway in Oslob on my right and the sparkling clear sea water on my left. But sleepy as I was, the next time I knew the barge crew was shaking me awake to collect my fare (Php 35.00 for a 30 min ride that it took to cross the sea separating Santander, Cebu and San Jose, Negros Oriental).
When the bus was back on terra firma, I endeavored to keep myself awake for fear of missing my stop. The konduktor had the driver drop me off at the Bethel Guesthouse. Wow, that was easy.
I met the groom at some beachfront resort. Apparently I was one of the early birds except for the the best man, Toke, who arrived from the US days earlier for the event and Marlon, the groom's older brother whom I almost failed to recognize for all the weight he'd shed from triathlon.
Lunch was uneventful. We (Rollen and family, George and Mabel) ate at Manokan (?) which was just a stone's throw away from the Guest House where I promptly slept as soon as my back hit the downy mattress.
A non too gentle dent on the mattress roused me from a much needed nap. It was Jet, who was intent on my joining the living, with Ritchie on his wake. It was already past four and there was only enough time to prepare for the wedding.
Having practically grown together, I never expected Richard to be so sweet. I got misty-eyed when he articulated his vows to Anne. I guess, I never really got to know my friends enough to see through their juvenile blunders.
The following morning, I barged into the boys' room and demanded breakfast. I learned that they went out for some beers at the boulevard the previous night while I caught up with my much needed sleep.Jet, our guide for this trip, brought us at the local market, just behind this old bellfry where we had stewed fish and rice. Coffee followed at Dunkin Donuts a few blocks away. We had one picture taken with the Silliman U church behind us shortly before we (i reluctantly) left this seaside haven for a long trip (5 hours) home via Mabinay.
