Chapter 54: Elise (i)

“I CAN SEE clearly now the rain has gone… I accept all the things that I cannot change… Gone are the dark clouds, the dawn has come… It’s gonna be a bright, bright sunshiny day…”

I smiled as I listened to Grace VanderWaal's raspy singing voice through my earphones. The lyrics of the song resonated with me as I lay on pillows on the recliner in the backyard of the beach house, feeling the refreshing breeze on my face and smelling the salty sea air. I was home. And I could already feel it healing me. In Manila, I felt safe under the protection of the Verrazzanos and Gian, but being in my own home, feeling the love of my own family, was different.

I wasn’t at The Fritzelise but in a more private part of Puerto Galera, in the beach house where I grew up. This was the property my parents first bought before my father returned to Germany. I had come home unexpectedly because of what happened yesterday, and my heart raced at the memory.

So, there it was. Gian’s mom caught us kissing, and I fainted due to high blood pressure or sensory overload—I wasn’t really sure. I was so embarrassed after I regained consciousness. Before I knew it, I was carted off to the hospital again. According to the doctor, my head wound was healing well, and my blood pressure had returned to normal. They said I was stressed, which was understandable given the emotional zarzuela the last few days.

It would have been okay until he mentioned the trace of alcohol in my bloodwork with a scolding tone. Gian received his share of glares from his mother when she heard what the doctor said. But that wasn’t the worst thing. Madam Soniah called Rosamia Soler, and the two queens of the two houses agreed that I should stay with my mom until I healed and could get back to work.

So here I was in Puerto Galera. The yacht that brought us there was floating in the sea. Gian was swimming with the men – Jason, who came with us, and Itay Jess. Gian didn’t leave with the yacht after we disembarked yesterday. He stood there like a frozen statue during my mother’s meltdown after she finally saw the extent of my injuries. He flinched but didn’t run away every time my mother looked his way. Let’s just say I respected him more than I did the day before.

I was wearing a bustier and high-waisted bottoms as I reclined there. With sunglasses on, I watched the men dive into the water. Sometimes I closed my eyes to enjoy the beach in all its morning glory. I grew up with millions of mornings like this. It never failed to make my worries fade away…

I really, really, missed my beach.

But I knew I wouldn’t be there alone for long, so I wasn’t surprised when I heard noises from the direction of the house – the voices of my mother and Anna. Tootsie Roll, our pet dog, was barking. The Labrador usually stayed at The Fritzelise, but she was pregnant now, so she was here to be better cared for by Aling Celia, our housekeeper. She was due to give birth soon.

I opened my eyes and sat up on the recliner. Anna, looking freshly awake in her rash guard, was planning to swim in the beach. I envied her. I couldn’t swim yet due to my head wound. Anna’s features were a combination of my stepfather and our mother, and she was lovely, quirky, and funny. She hummed to some music on her earphones that I couldn’t identify.

I hid my smile. Anna was tone-deaf but loved to sing regardless of who heard her. As long as she felt the music, she would sing. But when Anna danced to the music, it was a different story. My sister could dance. If she wasn’t serious about her studies (she planned to take Pre-Law after graduating high school), she might have been dragged into dance competitions or acting.

My chest tightened slightly when my gaze shifted to my mother.

My mother, once the Widow Von Schiller but now known as Mrs. Rosamia Soler, retained an ageless allure at forty-five. Initially, I wondered if my perception was biased, given my admiration as a daughter. Yet, it was a sentiment echoed by many who have encountered her. She seemed impervious to the passage of time. Over the years, I had observed how male guests would be ensnared by her presence whenever she entered a room. Despite her diminutive stature, there was an aura of authority about her that transcended her physical stature. It wasn't just elegance; even those accustomed to coarseness found themselves silenced in the face of her wrath.

Gian had once recounted witnessing my mother's fury long ago, during their initial encounter when she was enraged about being kept in the dark about my father's death and the Verrazzanos went with the Von Schillers carrying my father’s ashes in a jar—a memory now lost to me. This familiarity likely contributed to his composure during yesterday's ordeal. He knew the protocol: stand firm, remain motionless, and endure the storm.

But I noted that she did not rant about us being caught making out, or our developing feelings for each other, and only about my being beaten up and my injuries. For some reason, they didn’t seem surprised nor scandalized that we kissed immediately after I found out about Brandon’s duplicity. I had to tell them why I begged Gian to drink that night to share some of the blame and glares.

So… was I the only one clueless here?

My mother arranged medication and smoothies on a tray, tending to my wounds with care as a housemaid brought them over. "Just sit. You don’t have to get up," she insisted.

"Thanks, 'Nay (Inay, mother)," I replied softly as she applied ointment to my injuries. Since our arrival, I did still sense my mother's remaining displeasure of my deliberate concealment of injuries during our call. But had she seen them, she would have undoubtedly hastened to Manila, risking her own well-being to confront the Lopezes about Charis. I wondered if Charis remained insulated from legal ramifications now that my mother knew. She also pressed more information about my break up later, and my mother's recognition of Mrs. Corinthia Schultz puzzled me. She knew the woman by her maiden name.

"I must have recognized Brandon's resemblance to her but couldn't recall it then. Well, he's just as unpleasant as her mother. If I'd known, I'd have chased him away with a machete the moment he set foot here! Nothing good comes out of someone as arrogant as Corinthia!"

I longed to inquire about my mother's history with Mrs. Schultz, but now wasn't the time. Perhaps later.

"Take this antibiotic first," my mother instructed, handing me a capsule and a glass of water.

I obliged, then leaned down to embrace Tootsie, our Labrador, who wagged her tail eagerly.