The Young and the Beautiful

Chapter 43

February 1986, Madrid, Spain

The inevitable day of revolution has arrived and the Filipino people succeeded in taking back the country from a fascist dictator. If things will continue to be good, we will fly back to Manila before the year ends.

My children were all dual passport holders like us which meant that they are holding both Filipino and Spanish citizenship. They can stay here, and in Manila wherever they want to. I just hope that they will come back with us.

"Pancho, I can't believe this. My cousin is now the president! She's the first woman president in Asia! I must send her a letter to congratulate her." Camila said. Now I know that I am not the only one excited to go back home and I don't have to do it alone.

The kids decided to stay in Madrid. Charlie said that he cannot leave his job here working as a legal partner in a law firm that sometimes handle pro bono cases of people who they think were victims or were set up. He said that he cannot see other people suffer like how I did when they arrested me in Manila ten years ago. I was sad to leave him there but I knew that I raised a good man. Bela stayed in Paris, she said that she will go to Manila once her big project is all set. Our youngest, Alfonso will stay in the same apartment as Charlie until he finishes university. We all left our home in the suburbs.

The birds all flew out of the nest, and Camila and I were the only people left in our home in Makati. It wasn't as nice as it used to be because I can see my children wherever I look. I can see Alfonso jumping and diving in the pool that was all dirty and drained now. I can see Bela reading a book by the sofa, and I can see Charlie sneaking out by the stairs when he was a teenager.

I came back home to support Andres' decision to reopen our company. This time we put it in the Philippine Stocks Exchange to gather investors and funds to jumpstart our operations.

We just welcomed 1989 and our business is almost back to how it used to be. We're now venturing in the field of low rise to mid-rise condominium development in Metro Manila. We cannot believe that after all these years our investors were still by our sides.

Alfonso surprised me with his good news. He decided to be based here in Manila and work with us. Besides who else in the family will run this in the future? Charlie visited home but will still stay in Madrid as his career in international law started to succeed.

I retired and made my nephew, Andy Jr. as the company president with Alfonso working along his side. Our business now lies in the hands of a young thirty-two-year-old man and my youngest son who had a lot of vision and talent to continue our family legacy.

We're now on our sixties and we think that we won't stop anytime soon. We went to Andres' beach house one summer weekend and I cannot help but look at my beautiful family. I looked at Charlie and his wife, Sofia. Bela and her husband Eric, a son of a retail empire owner, and my youngest Alfonso with his new flame, a Filipina supermodel he met in Barcelona during one of his trips. Well I guess that charm runs in our blood. But I didn't notice that Charlie and Alfonso weren't fond of each other since Charlie arrived here. The boys were putting up a show. Camila and I talked to them and asked them what's the problem. They're like a couple of young boys that they were twenty years ago.

"Papa, mama, yes Alfie and I are not in good terms, that's why he left my apartment last year. We haven't talked to each other since. You should ask him what he did." Charlie said. I looked at Charlie and he looked down.

"Well Alfonso. What did you do there that made your brother furious?" I asked.

"Charlie and I fought a lot there because he's saying that I slack off and just party all the time. I'm sorry but I can't help but enjoy life! I'm not as serious as Charlie but I know my limits. That's something he cannot understand. Until one night, he snapped. He told me that I was just using your money to do things I like, and that I never worked." He replied. So I punched him, I was drunk that night and my girlfriend just dumped me.

"But Alfie, you must also understand that Charlie just wanted you to get serious with your life then. You're in your late twenties and you were acting like a teenager, even when you get here." Camila replied.

"I'm sorry mama, papa, Charlie if I was like a child back then. Now, I understand my mistakes and won't let it happen again." Alfonso replied. I always knew that these boys would fight when they live with each other.

The gap between my two boys was gone as we left them talking to each other like when they were younger. Just a few weeks later, Charlie, and his family went back to Spain again. I wish that they would stay here longer than that.

Not long after that, Alfonso married Carrie, the Filipina supermodel that he was dating and had a son. That's the reason why Alfonso suddenly matured and acted like an adult. Carrie and his son influenced him a lot.