Marven’s First Novel, chapter03

     When Aldo woke up one morning, as he went to the kitchen to have breakfast, he saw, outside, through the open door, his mother talking to his cousin, Greta, who looked sharp and shiny in a business attire and who was holding in front of her her son, Hans Christian, who appeared to be quiet and unlively. Aldo tried to make something out of this chat, inaudible to his end, as he dipped torn chunks of pandesal into his coffee mixed with creamer and looking listlessly at their scene outside like one who definitely just woke up in the morning until Greta left without her son and his mother cordially led the boy into the house. The latter still appeared to be quiet and unlively. Aldo then asked what that was about, and his mother replied that his cousin requested that her son be accompanied to the health center for a scheduled check-up since she couldn’t do it herself because she has to be somewhere important.

     "The health center? I'm sure she can now afford a better hospital in the city. Why settle for our tiny health center."

     His mother replied, "As you can see, she's very busy. Why go far when one near is available? I think the doctor is her personal acquaintance or friend whose name is Dr. Roberto."

     "Have you met this doctor?"

     "No. But you will. When you do, describe him for me."

     "What?" Aldo almost fell from his chair.

     "You heard me. I have a lot of work here. Don't worry about the dishes. I'll take care of it."

     "I'd look like an idiot there, carrying a child with me at my age."

     “Everybody goes there, young and old. It's for everyone. Just do as I say. Show up in this check-up with Dr. Roberto; tell him Greta sent you because she's busy and unavailable; and show him this paper. I think this will suffice. Again, the person you'll be looking for is Dr. Roberto.”

     “Fine.” Aldo went on sluggishly with dipping pandesal in the coffee and eating it while grimacing and seeming unwilling to move.

     While doing so, his mother caressed the crown of the head of the boy who was very unresponsive to the endearment and baby-talked him mostly about his condition. Then she turned their small TV set on and turned the knob to a channel where there is cartoon in the morning. She watched it with Hans who was still quiet and unlively. Eventually, Hans became deeply immersed in the cartoons as can be seen in his eyes.

     When Aldo finished his breakfast, he stood up and did the necessary preparations for a doctor visit and afterwards looked fresh and nice in a t-shirt, a pair of denim jeans, and a pair of sandals. At about 9 o’clock, Aldo took off and went out with Hans to the health center which is just nearby.

     Upon getting there, Aldo went through all the preliminary transactions at the windows in the lobby using the paper in his hand. After that, he was directed to Dr. Roberto’s clinic. When he, holding his nephew’s hand, reached it, he turned the knob and the first thing that met his view was a neat-looking young woman sitting behind the desk wearing light blue long sleeves slightly larger for her torso and slightly covered her hands. Aldo was genuinely surprised, and his eyes bulged. "What? For real?" he muttered.

     The slight creaking sound of the hinges of the opening door caught the girl’s attention and made her turn her head towards the visitors.

     “Hi. Good morning,” she greeted.

     “We’re looking for Dr. Roberto,” Aldo answered melodiously.

     “Come in,” she said and then looked down.

     Aldo and his nephew whom he still held by the hand came in. Once inside, Aldo approached the desk and presented the magic paper he had brought from home. “Here, miss,” he said.

     The girl took it and read it.

     Out of curiosity, Aldo asked, “Where could Dr. Roberto be, miss? Is he around? We have a scheduled check-up with him.”

     The girl was a little distracted upon hearing a word from his mouth. Still looking at the paper, she replied, “Uh... You’re talking to her, sir.”

     Aldo looked at the name plate on the table and saw that Roberto was a surname of a female first name. Then turning his gaze at her, he said, “You’re Dr. Roberto, miss?” with a look of affected disbelief.

     The girl again flinched. And emerging from the sea of paper, she now looked up at him and said, “Yes, sir. That’s me.”

     "No kidding?"

     "Yes, sir. Why are you like that?"

     Aldo looked away in consternation. He did so a little bit exaggeratedly.

     The girl frowned, looked down, and grimaced as if saying, "What the heck is he doing?" Then she opened the drawer of her desk and fiddled with its contents. It is here that she now hid her smiling face.

     Aldo turned his head back towards her. “How old are you, miss, I mean, doc, if you don’t mind? Forgive me for asking. I'm so stupid.”

     “I don’t mind," she said placing her arms on the desk and looking at him straight. "I’m twenty-nine.”

     Aldo felt somewhat relieved because, at least, she is four years older than him. But never did he imagine Dr. Roberto turning out to be——Excuse me for the word——a chick!

     "So what is it? How can I help you?"

     "Oh. It's not me. It's this child I brought." He showed her Hans.

     Doctor Roberto turned her gaze upon Hans. "Oh," she said, appearing surprised and clueless. She cast her face down towards the paper again. After reading it carefully because she apparently didn't earlier, her face lightened up in realization and said, "Ah." She let her smile linger. Then she returned the paper to Aldo. “Here, sir. Thank you. Well. So it’s you, Hans. I'm sorry if I didn't see you right away. Come sit here close to me. Let’s talk. How's your mom?" She guided the boy to a chair to the right of her desk which is her left. Then turning to Aldo, she said, “Sir, please feel free to sit anywhere.”

     Aldo stepped away and settled at a bench by the wall near the door. There, he sat up straight, crossed his arms, and occasionally shook his legs up and down like a regular macho dad. He busied himself with reading the health-reminder posters on the walls and looking at their accompanying pictures. He also re-explored the human anatomy whose picture is similar to that in one of his old books.

     “Where's your mom? Why is she not with you?” the doctor asked.

     “Mommy went to office,” was the general answer Hans gave, apparently sounding unwell.

     “You mean, Greta, doc?” interrupted Aldo, fearing that Dr. Roberto might still be getting his presence wrong.

     Surprised and turning to Aldo, she said, “Yeah.” Then turning to Hans, she asked the boy loudly, melodiously, and side-eyeing Aldo, “And who is this nice gentleman who went along with you?” 

     “He’s my uncle,” Hans replied in the same tone.

     “I’m Greta’s cousin,” Aldo cut in again, now a little bit irritable. “She asked my mother to accompany Hans here, and my mother instead sent me here with Hans. That's why. Even I don't know what I'm doing here.”

     “Ah,” she said, appearing to his explanation. "I'm sorry, sir, if I offended you."

     "You didn't, miss. Proceed with your operation or whatever that is. I'm going to take a nap here, if you don't mind."

     "Right." Then turning to Hans, she continued asking Hans questions, this time more specifically, about the things that ail him which the boy answered truthfully, at which, she would constantly nod, indicating that she understood perfectly. After this series of questions, she rose up, approached Hans, and examined him using the different tools and equipment in the room, asking him additional questions all the while. It turns out, she was wearing a perfect-fit blue jeans whose upper portion was thoroughly covered by the underside of her shirt. She was also wearing black pointed shoes. When she seemed to be finished, she returned to her chair, asked additional more questions, and then started writing stuff on her notepad. Then she turned her gaze towards where Aldo sat and said, “Would you please come up here, tatay?” Then she looked down.

     Aldo woke up from sleep while crossing his arms and did as told. He settled on the chair at the left and said while still still not facing here "Tatay? Are you serious, doc. I'm his uncle. Didn't you hear? He's my nephew."

     "Oh. Sorry. I forgot." She's pretending, of course.

     "I'm too young to be his father, I think."

     "How old are you, then, if I may ask?"

     "I'm twenty-five."

     Doctor Roberto was taken aback. "Oh. Okay."

     "Yeah. I sometimes get that. I may look old, but I'm still a child at heart."

     "That's not what I meant."

     Aldo shook his head and made his eyes twinkle in a way that gave a look of a ready audience. "Now what is it you're going to say, doctor? I'm listening."

     Startled but shortly afterwards indifferent to the face he was making, Dr. Roberto opened with, “Now listen, sir,” and proceeded to giving him pointers on how to take care of the boy’s body, what situations and foods he is to avoid, and what he is recommended to eat. At first indifferently, eventually she did so leaning her head forward closer and closer to Aldo's until they almost exchanged faces. She looked straight into his eyes and devoured him with a look of wonder everytime she looked up from the paper in front of her to him. Finally, referring with pointed index finger to her scribbles, she explained to him the dosage of some helpful medicines.

     Those fingers looked candle-like. So did her hand look delicate, Aldo thought. He took the moment Dr. Roberto was still speaking to observe her demeanor. I'm sorry again for using the slang, but chick is the word that would immediately come to mind when one sees her for the first time. She is definitely a chick... but one you would respect and listen to. She had a natural grumpy look which, however, diminishes or lightens up the moment she converses with people generally and speaks with some sense in especially. Her skin is naturally clear and appears smooth. Her black hair is not straight and not polished but lackluster or a little bit dry and a little bit wavy, certainly not curly but bouncy and still drops down heavily when long. Despite her unquestionable attractiveness, she continued looking weirdly at Aldo's facial features. Aldo noticed this, of course; and it got him wondering. He frowned at it and gave her a sharp eye as he listened to her. Aldo comitted to memory everything she said so that he can relay it accurately to his mother or to Greta herself.

     In the end, Dr. Roberto handed to him the sheet she just tore from the pad and said sweetly, "That's it. Have a nice day."

     Taking it and rising up, Aldo said, “Thank you, doc. Let’s go, Hans.”

     The boy alighted the chair, went to Aldo, and took his profferred hand.

     “Get well soon, Hans,” Dr. Roberto said. Then she held the edge of her desk and pushed herself back to lean on her chair. She examined the nails of her hands, first clenched and then spread out. Then he took out a round mirror from her drawer and looked at herself in it. She smacked her lips and then arranged her hair. She put her mirror back in the drawer, grimaced, and then smiled sarcastically. When her visitors were already at the door, she said, giggling, "Tell Greta I said hi."

     Surprised, Aldo frowned, turned around, and smiled at her. “Yes. I will. I'll also tell him that you and I are now friends."

     "How are you related again?"

     "Her mother and my mother are sisters.”

     “Ah."

     “Do you two, like, go way back, like old friends?”

     “No. I just met her here.”

     “My mother said that you two are friends, or acquaintances."

     "That's true."

     "Greta actually came to our house early this morning for this. And like I said, it was supposed to be my mother who would accompany Hans here, not me. But as the bum in the house, the lot fell on me. Goodbye.” Aldo turned his back.

     The doctor frowned and said, “Bum?” From this point on, she conversed with Aldo as she looked statically down her desk. “You mean, unemployed, jobless?”

     Aldo turned around again. “Yes. Loafer, freeloader, good-for-nothing, yes. Exactly.”

     “Okay... But hey. Take it easy,” she said gravely.

     “I was actually seeking work for the past few months, everyday the same, with no luck."

     "Who doesn't? Where have you been applying?"

     Aldo related his adventures applying in the known financial centers.

     "Okay. That's nice."

     "Then it looked like I was just wasting my parents' money for fare and food. It seems that I've just made a career out of applying. So I decided to stop before I totally impoverish them. In the meantime, I just stay at home, idling around, making myself as useful as possible in many things, and thinking about my life.”

     "What is your field of interest?"

     "I'm more into art. I don't know if art is also into me."

     "So you applied in companies whose nature of business is art."

     "No. Why would I?"

     “So being in the corporate is what you want. Is that it?"

     "Yes, of course. Just like my former classmates. Because everything can be learned. Right? That's exactly what they did, and they are now earning well."

     "Why don't you start focusing on your field of interest as early as now? Start little, put your heart into it, and see whether that will get you somewhere."

     “That's a good idea. But I've been jobless for too long. I need to save face first and do what normal people do, at least for a while. Good thing I haven't gone totally crazy yet."

     "What about your passion, the purpose for your existence."

     "Passion can be set aside in the meantime to go for money first, which is more important."

     "Of course."

     "If not for myself, then for my parents."

     "Yeah. There's only that."

     "Plus, I consider art as a vocation, not a profession."

     "I agree. Being a doctor doesn't necessarily make me rich, but I love it. And it certainly does more than get me by."

     "Good for you. In art, greatness is underrated. And I'm quite okay with that. That seems to be the way of the world. Let people be what they be."

     "So you're saying you're good in art."

     "No, of course not. Obviously, I'm not. I'm still trying. And I do it hard."

     "Uh-huh?" The doctor chuckled.

     "There's no money in being what I am, so I'd probably die poor if I follow my passion and not be practical."

     "So you can enjoy the prospect of being a poor artist on the side."

     "Exactly."

     "I say you're good at art." She turned her head and looked at him. "Of just anything. Look at you."

     "I should say it is you who are good at what you do, and yet you settle for working in our little community."

     "I'm okay working here. And I think your community has improved a lot compared to a couple of decades ago. Being a doctor is what I really wanted ever since I was in elementary, I think. I held on to it as I went on in life. Now I am one. And I think I'm pretty relatively young to be in the position I am in. So it doesn't matter where I practice. And it also doesn't matter whether it's art or science, whether it's technical or the stuff of softies. You do what you're good at. One is not better than the other. Who knows? By just following your passion, your dream job may just come to you by itself without you even lifting a finger to try to get it. It happens.”

     "It does. Does it?"

     "Yeah. Like magic."

     "Are we still talking about career here?"

     "Yes. Of course. Why?"

     “Nothing.”

     “If I were you, I'd stop cruising. Because time is precious.”

     “That’s what I thought too. Well, I won’t keep you any longer, Dr. Roberto. People out there are waiting to see you. I’m sorry if I bothered you with my nonsense.”

     “It’s not nonsense." She shook her head reassuringly. “Hey. You took much of my time. You know that?”

     "Look, girl. I didn't make you."

     "It's a joke, you dummy."

     Aldo, pulled Hans by the hand and went out and shut the door. Then feeling light with a new perspective, he and his nephew marched across the halls and made their way out of that place and back at home. When he got home, his mother asked:

     "What does Dr. Roberto look like?"

     "Like an angel," he answered. "Dr. Roberto turns a beautiful young woman." Still fresh in his memory, Aldo proceeded to relay to his mother the doctor's orders and explained her prescription. He felt quite confident the way he said it was accurate.

     Hans Christian spent the remainder of the day in the house, and Aldo's mother entertained and took care of him.

     When Greta arrived, she went inside the house, in the living room, and Aldo and his mother explained everything the doctor told him. They discussed it quite extensively and talked about other topics too, causing Greta to linger a little bit.

     "Does she have a boyfriend?" Aldo ventured to ask.

     Greta answered, "Who? Dr. Roberto?"

     "Yes."

     "Probably. Why?"

     "I'm just curious."

     "Is she your type?"

     "Well, she's quite a stunner. What kind of man won't like her?"

     "Let's just assume she has a boyfriend so that you won't get disappointed."

     "Yeah. I think so too. A gorgeous model-like beauty like that won't let herself be without a boyfriend as a shield and fallback. Yeah. A gorgeous model-like beauty like that."

     "Hey, Auntie. I'm planning to throw a party for Hans' birthday in the house. You're invited, of course. Especially you, Aldo, because you've been such a good uncle."

     "Oh, this month. What's his birthdate again?" her aunt asked.

     Greta answered factually.

     "Ah. Sorry. I forgot."

     After a few more minutes talking, Greta left and go home with her son.

tentatively titled, “Motorcycle Parts”

from The Simple Adventures of a Simple Simpleton

by: Marven T. Baldo