Dream Project

Chapter One

It had been almost a month since their parents' death. Toni was still so depressed.

Their new home had a total lot area of 80 square meters. The total floor area of the house was 68 square meters. The house had two bedrooms and a bathroom/comfort room at a much elevated floor. It had a not so big living room, a not so big kitchen/dining room, a small laundry area/stockroom and a small terrace. Outside the house were a small garden and a carport.

The house was still empty when they came in. They had sat down on the concrete seat at the terrace.

Toni cried. "What will happen to us now, Kuya?"

Lloyd approached to embrace her. "We will survive, Toni. I'll work and you'll continue with your studies. The trucks would come any minute now. We need to arrange furniture and appliances and go shopping for foods and other things we need. You have nothing to worry about. We still have each other."

Two trucks had arrived.

The first truck contained some old belongings, appliances and furniture from their old house – the books; an old wooden table with four wooden chairs all made from irregular shapes of logs; the desktop PC along with accessories and printer/scanner/copier; AV set comprised of 32" flat-screen LCD TV, CD/DVD player, stereo hi-fi component and the cabinet with glass doors; cleaning appliances like, vacuum cleaner and electric floor polisher; and kitchen appliances including electric rice cooker, microwave oven, turbo oven, coffee maker, electric airpot, gas range and blender.

The second truck, a much larger one, was loaded with their new belongings – an oval shaped dining table with eight chairs; a 18 cu. ft. two-door refrigerator; a 5.5 kg fully automatic washing machine; an ironing table, ironing pad and a small flat iron; two single bed frames with cushions; two study tables with cabinets and chair; two bookshelves; a living room set comprised of one long couch, two single couches, one center table and two side tables; three electric stand fans; three wall mirrors; two closets; four chest drawers; and three wall clocks.

The cable man from the telephone company also arrived to install their telephone line. Water and electricity had already been installed a week prior to their arrival.

They ate breakfast first. They had purchased take-home breakfast meals from the fast food restaurant they had driven through before they had finally gone to Gelrose Place.

Afterwards, they started arranging their stuffs. They were done with all the arranging an hour past lunchtime.

They changed into fresh jeans and shirt, went to the mall, ate lunch and shopped.

They went to the supermart of the mall at lower ground floor of the building.

They bought foods – 5 kg of rice; fresh vegetables and fruits; 2 kg pork; 2 kg chicken; 1 kg fresh fish;     ¼ kg pack of sausage; ¼ kg pack of ham; ¼ kg pack of bacon; a dozen white eggs; cans of corned beef; bread, butter and cheddar cheese; cans of soft drinks and fruit juices; milk, coffee, sugar and cream; condiments, spices and seasonings (iodized salt, pepper, paprika, oregano, onions, garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, ketchup, tomato sauce, vinegar, etc.)

They also purchased stuffs for the kitchen – a set of 12 plates, 12 saucers and 12 cups; a set of a glass pitcher with 12 glass tumblers; cutlery set with 12 spoons, 12 forks, 12 knives, 12 teaspoons and six smaller forks; and a set of 6 serving platters of different sizes with 6 serving spoons; non-stick cookware set composed of 24 cm frying pan, 18 cm saucepan with glass cover, 24 cm casserole with glass cover and Teflon flat turner and ladle; metal kitchen utensils including flat turner, ladle, tongs, strainer, grater, can opener, baking fans and knives; plastic kitchen utensils and wares including measuring cups, measuring spoons, containers (for spices), canisters (for sugar, coffee and the likes), rectangular food containers, rectangular microwave oven safe wares and cutting board.