It was already Saturday when he arrived and his mother prepared a sumptuous breakfast with him. His favorite puto or a sticky rice being soaked with coconut milk and steamed with sugar ang ginger was presend on the table. It was best paired with sikwate, a delicious hot chocolate drink made from pure cacao beans that were roasted and grounded to perfection. There was a soup too made from native chicken and he wished that Catherine was with him because it was one of her favorites.

Pablita, his mother, allowed him to eat first before he started to inquire about the woman he dated in Cebu. Claire told her about...