Sunday morning: Lofty Ponderings on Friendship and Loyalty

Last weekend was a blur of psychedelic pink and purple haze, as I plunged myself into a frenzy of errands and rendezvous with the inner circle.

I call it the moment of compensation, as I have been an absentee friend to some of the important allies and faithful comrades.

After my first Mandarin class at the Shangri-La on Saturday morning, Me-ann and Yoj joined me as I revisited memories of college past as I drove to UP Diliman.

Seeing those old, tall acacia trees enveloping the Diliman sky around the Sunken Garden makes me feel… at home.

In the evening, I had to rush back home for a quick shower and dolling up to make it to the 7:30 dinner with Doji at Mezzaluna, Serendra.

[A side note: despite the slew of good restaurants in the area, the difficulty in parking that plays like a grown-up Nickelodeon version of a physical challenge inside my head discourages me to keep on going there for dinners.]

I have not seen Doji for months – as schedule and mood permitted otherwise. He was surprised that I brought him Italian Chardonnay when there wasn’t any occasion. Little did he know that it was my unspoken apology for not texting back or being too lazy to answer the phone when he calls. I know. Guilty as charged.

We shared pan-fried foie gras, gorged into shrimp and salmon for main course and downed a bottle of Looming Room Cabernet Sauvignon. We concluded this indulgence with Sonja’s Peppermint Patty cupcakes. [Thought bubble: may sasarap pa ba?]

I got home at past midnight. Tired as I was, I didn’t have the luxury to sleep off the entire Sunday, as it was already devoted to driving off to Tagaytay with Celia for Sunday brunch.

I was in a wine and foie gras streak, so I ordered foie gras salad and lamb shank. Celia and I shared yet another bottle of Cab Sauv.

A bit giddy with the wine, we scoured for bamboo window blinds and hydrangeas for Celia’s new apartment. We got back to Manila at half past seven.

Fast-forwarding to Thursday, I capped off the week by inviting friends over to the apartment to share some strawberry vodka and Superdry. Che, She and Jonathan came. The girls scoured through my cabinet for clothes and accessories as Jonathan devoured the entire pack of my sugar-free chocolate fudge cookies.

As they bade me goodbye, planted small besos on my cheeks and as I closed the door behind them, I couldn’t help but feel melancholic and moved at the same time.

I was stirred.

I recalled my conversation with Celia. We had the same take on friendship. Friends are family. They are your refuge in moments of sorrow and your pillar of strength when fate deluges you with everything difficult. It’s a commitment and an obligation to protect the friendship, to keep and nurture it. These are the people you want to keep until you are old and wrinkly.

A very important epiphany that hit me, and I dare follow it up courageously with an emo statement:

I may not be wealthy in everything, but this lifetime blessed me with true, loyal friends.

Some friendships date as far back as kindergarten and first grade. Others already withstood a decade of fights, break-ups and personal crises.

I have a list of people who I can call in the middle of the night when I’m desperately seeking for a soothing voice on the other side of the line. Conversely, I feel flattered that friends run to me at five in the morning to ask for rescue. Or just sob their hearts out until they are as hoarse as voices crying from the grave and their eyes are as puffy and as pink as mandarin slices.

Perhaps, this is a small tribute to the loyalty that my friends gave me. Loyalty, love and friendship that humble me and keep me grounded.

Celia and Gemma – you remain the first two people on the list, the two people who will feel as I do. Dance, cry, laugh and fight as hard as I did and as I will.

Ian – my lost brother and 911. I miss you. Despite the circumstances that prevent us from sharing more, you don’t have to say anything to make me understand. I just hope you know you don’t need to.

Nabeth and Me-ann – you literally shared my tears when I thought I lost love again for the nth time. Until this day, I am moved when I remember how you cried for me, how you held my hand and embraced me as your friend. Your empathy is eternally seared in my memory.

Che, Owy, Janneth, She, Marc, Jonathan, Ryan – you are the fondest memories of my youth, my childhood. You are the shards of glass in the mirror that made me who I am and who I still want to be.

Jovan, Yoj, Yasmine, Ariel. For life’s wisdom and insights. Both practical and ephemeral. For the trust and confidence, did I ever express my gratitude?

Romy and Doji - your faith in me made me work harder and survive the fierce world out there. You believed in my dreams. Thank you for the lifetime mentoring.

Arlene – hang in there. There is wisdom in pain and maturity in forgiveness. For yourself and her.

“For friendship builds an eternal web of life and love. A friend is a brother, a sister not of blood but of fate and loyalty cast and sworn into, perhaps during brief moments or a period of a lifetime.”