While I was eating my lunch the other day, I got a phone call on my cellphone. I noticed that its the Davao local number so I thought it was like a doctor or the Globe company for our DSL (our land line is Globe too). But thinking its Sunday so no establishments would be open then.
When I said hello, the lady on the other line then got excited and said my name. So I said yes this is Feyma. She then told me who she was and continued on saying this is Bebe your neighbor from Ridgefield, Washington. It clicked right away to me who she was. I can still remember her voice. Then we talked for a few minutes. She’s wanting me to come and see her right away at the hotel.
She said that she’s in the city for 2 days and will be back to Panabo where her family is really from. She got invited by her college classmates for a fiesta somewhere in Buhangin that night. She even wants me to go with her but I declined. After less than 30 minutes of preparing myself I went to the hotel where she was staying. Wow, we really did miss each other. We talked for a long time. Reminiscing the time when we were still living there. See, her daughter rode at the same school bus as Chris when Chris was in grade school. The daughter still remembers Chris I think. I found out the daughter got married last year.
Feyma with her old friend Bebe
During the time I was in the States, this lady organized parties for all friends. Almost all the ladies happened to be Bisayan speaking. Some Tagalog speaking and from other places in the Philippines. It was really a fun party they always organized. They also come to our parties at our house too. I had friends that I knew when I first came to the States, we usually had a few parties during summer & Christmas time and one of those party would be at our house. I always invited the lady that I met up again yesterday and her group. That really started the blending in of my friends when I first came to the US and the Bisayan friends. Until now some of them still meet up. Some of them had their parents brought in the States from the PI were joining the parties too. I knew and met some of the parents. I found out yesterday some of those parents of our friends already passed away. It’s not really shocking to me on that. The shocking part when hearing that your friends kid or the husband passed away.
I found out yesterday that one of our friends, her son died. He was shot in the head at his house and the shooter is still unknown. I knew that kid when he was young. He’s been to our house for our usual gatherings. His mom sometimes caters food for our parties. I also met the grandma of that kid too. She also came to our house to party. She died a few years ago already. I am more sad of my friend that loses her son at a young age and still don’t know until now who killed him. I know she was really devastated by it. That kid died like 2 years ago, Bebe said that our friend still had lots of down moments. She’s still depressed by it. I think she will be like that for a long time.
I became close to Bebe when at one point I got a job at the place that she was working. One day she came to my house for a party and she told me that her company was looking for a worker and I should apply since that’s the field of the course I graduated from. I told her I would try, don’t know if I would since I had 2 kids. Bob let me try to work there. I kind of liked it since its really my field. Going to work I rode with Bebe since she can just swing me by at my house, and she said it would be good and we can save for gas. I gave her money to compensate though. It was fun, there was Bebe, me and few girls in the car. I just worked there for 2 months. My kids needed me more. My supervisor didn’t like it that I quit. But he understands that I had to be home with my kids.
It was really fun talking to Bebe, it brings back all of the fun memories that we shared on our days in Ridgefield. Bebe told me that every time she passes by at our house, her and her husband talk about us, wondering what life do we have here in the PI. Her hubby said to her that “Bob and Feyma must like living in the Philippines because if not we would had already saw them back here.” Her husband is a school bus driver now and his route and school district he was assigned to was the high school district not far from our house. So he always passes by at the house when driving the bus. Our house was just near the main road . The house of Bebe was just a corner away from the church we went there. I think where we lived there, there were almost like 10 Filipinas living in the neighborhood. One of which was a contestant of Miss Philippines (during Gloria Diaz days), Binibining Pilipinas back in the day. She was married to a minister. I heard a long time ago from another friend that the husband died already.
Bebe will be coming to the our house today. She wants to see the kids and Bob. She’s excited to see my family again. She’s talking about the times when she saw Chris & AJ before in her party or at the parties at our house. She always thought that I had good looking kids. Will see what she will say when she will be seeing them now. It would be a shocker to her how tall the kids are now.
Anyway, good to see you again Bebe Z. I hope to see you and family next time you come here for a visit. I hope Don and Ellen and her hubby will be coming here too at that time. Have fun on your stay here. Have a safe and fun trip back home. Hello to all my friends there as well!
Cheers!