October 18, 2024, Manila- The message came, at 7:35 a.m. Essentially, ‘these are my plans for today. Can you meet me at the nearby mall, at 12 or later?’ I could, and would, meet her on the other side of Manila, if that’s what she needed. For that matter, I’d meet her on the other side of the planet. I was at Cash and Carry Mall early.

Dating a lady here sometimes doesn’t seem like dating-because it’s not conventional. K and I spent a lovely day wandering through a rabbit warren of a crafts and housewares arcade. It is chock full of Christmas items, none of which interested her much. We were there to find an unbreakable, or at least a durable, flower vase and some long bamboo branches. My love had all the time and the back and forth that she needed. I was only there to stand beside her and carry the heavy vase. That, and just remind myself how lucky I am to have this time with an angel of a woman.

Once we arrived at her condominium building and unloaded the purchases at the guard post, for her son to carry to her place, it was on to the next mission-which took us to Glorietta Mall, on the south side of Makati. Kathy took care of a personal matter and I bought a pair of quality flip flops, for my visit to Dumaguete, Negros, early next week. Then we walked a bit to the Food Court, and settled on Cafe Dulcinea-eating the churros and chocolate first! Tapas and other treats followed the “dessert first” course.

My present visit here is getting short, and all too soon, it’ll be time to take stock of where we are, in our friendship. Everything I’ve wanted to do here, up to this point, has been done. When I get back from Dumaguete, I will get a better sense of what this visit means, going forward. I will say, though, that I am the luckiest man in the world, for having been able to get to know her better.