Atin ko Pong singsing (a novel) part 3

Tiyo Doring impatiently tapped the french crystal wine glass with his fork exclaiming “Saguli, Saguli mo!” (Just a moment!!) “I have an announcement to make, on my travels around Europe, i have seen the wonders of the world, from chauffer driven cars to the magic of modern medicine. I’ve dined in the most expensive restaurants and  . . ” with a quick wink of the eye, ” . . . and on the most expensive and beautiful women the world has to offer!” as dirty chuckles and gasps from the ladies present interspersed with the sound of silver on ceramic. As Dorito continued ” . . but nothing, nothing in this world can compare with the pleasure of being back home, so I am glad to be back, and to see my father Mariano, my brother Tomas, and of course, my mother, Mama? cheers to all of you! and Pepang? Pepang? Nokarin i Pepang (where is Pepang?)”

As he sat on his place on the right of Impong Ano, he was met with applause from the thankful guests at this homecoming. There was Mayor Honorato Sanchez of San Fernando, family friend and always available for consultation to the family. After all, when he had shot his main contender for that post, Pablito Calma, in the back, Impong ano accepted him into the safety of the mansyon providing an all night alibi for his whereabouts. Next to him, Conchita Benitez Yap, eldest daughter of the Immaculada rice millers in Tarlac, reputed to be the richest trader in Tarlac and inveterate Monte player, playing high stakes at their family run brothel in Concepcion. There was Severina Santos, Tomas mother-in-law, unwavering in here full regalia, head held up high and seemingly looking down on everything and everyone, she was after all richer than the Paras clan combined; decked out in here saya, made from hand woven piña (pineapple) all the way from Laguna. It had taken three months just to complete the bolt of cloth and another month and a half to transport it to Pampanga but on Sepia (that was her monicker) it carried the bearing of royalty. Mercedes, or Dedeng was quite unlike her mother, while Sepia had that unmistakeable aire of old old rich, her daughter was sweet, innocent, and constantly smiling at everyone. This what Tomas had gotten into when his father arranged their marriage, and at the time was the most expensive of all marriages. They had imported the best bordeaux, special China from Manila, specifically ordered for throwing out of the window after dinner as this was the custom at the time to honor the couple (or guests for that matter) as a single event worth remembering by never using the same plate again. Never mind that there were actually maids outside with Nets catching and saving what they could from the thrown out China, usually just half of what was thrown out. Obviously inherited from one of the visits the family had made to Greece, and evolved into what they do now, but instead of breaking it in the house, just throw it out the window.

Rosa had been in the kitchen like a whirling dervish as early as 4 a.m. when they had to slaughter the snipes and the chicken, slowly bleeding them carefully and dipping in boiling water to simplify removing the feathers, supervising the cleaning of the pig’s carcass, making sure to keep the crayfish (ulang) alive in a a constant stream of clean water until just before cooking; as well as putting the finishing touches on the lengua con setas, her style, as the ox tongue was not bathed in some rich thick and creamy sauce, but rather a light colored but tasty concoction, almost like a marinade rather than something from a stew. You had to take this dish and let it cool before ladling equal portions of tongue, sausage (andouille, of course!), carrot, potato, leek into an individual size bowl then carefully topping that off with the dough of what would be a flaky pastry, with the crest of the Santos-Paras union artfullyh emblazoned on top of each lengua baked casserole. ‘

As all the revelrie proceeded with all energy, Rosa just sat stoic in the kitchen thinking about where Marciano had gone since as far as she knew he had not been at the stables where he would usually sit down with the other “sota” or stable hands to pass around a bottle of “quatro qantos” paired with whatever libations Rosa had prepared for the feast. THe other boys would not respond, as they really did not know