Romance of the Four Juans

Track 19

“I feel insulted." HB closes the album. "I admit, I tried once, Uncle. There was only one girl, Julian. I wanted her to be with him from the moment they bonded together and got me in jail. I thought they’d make a good family. My stand became even more solid when Julian gave me some real talk, that Bivi deserves her father. I agreed. Over the years, as I watched Bivi grow up and Kiko dating one girl after the other, I always think back to Julian. How she’ll do just fine, how she’ll be able to replace me as stand-in mother, how she could be there for them in the long run. That’s the main reason why my vote is on her. Her hidden feelings for Kiko only came second. I’m merely suggesting that he take a wife that loves the child more. If he interprets it differently, there’s nothing I can do. Kiko wants to marry for love. Any girl would be lucky because he has a lot to give. I’m concerned because he keeps picking out women who are so much like the mother of his child. Everyone is like a version of Callista. I don’t know if it’s an ideal type or an addiction, but after everything that happened with Calli, I can’t help but voice out my concerns. There is a common denominator among all the girls he dated, uncle. They are unsure about children. Now, he’s in love with Ame, and he’s resolved not to mention that he has a daughter for fear of getting the same reaction as all the others before her. Kiko wants a wife. Would the wife want to be a mother? That is my only concern. But because they’re so in love, I gave up pushing Julian towards him. Still, it’s his loss as well as Bivi’s.”

“Let me meet her, this Julian.”

“There is no reason for you to meet, uncle. You can meet Ame, instead. She’s the one who matters to your son. And Julian is now dating my brother. If everything goes well, she’ll be my sister-in-law, a merit to our family.”

“And our loss, as you said.”

“More to the Luna family, actually. Julian is in the tourism industry, in hotel management to be exact.”

Dante nods. He has gleaned all of HB’s intentions perfectly, how Julian fits into every crevice of Kiko’s life. First and foremost, this Julian was deemed mother material and is already concerned about Bivi’s best interest. Second, she loves Kiko. Third, she has a career in line with the Luna family’s main business, the resort chain. If Julian goes to the helm of the family business, Kiko can do anything he wants career wise. He would not have to give up his passion for film making. Dante shakes his head at his son’s friend. HB has not only considered Bivi, she has also taken into consideration the Luna family’s need for the family business to remain in the family. If Kiko had agreed to his friend’s matchmaking, no one would probably stand in the way. So, the father can only sigh at what could’ve been.

“What about your own marriage? How is it going?”

“Not good.” HB laughs. She exhales, letting her shoulders fall as she opens the third album from the pile. “I thought I’d be a desirable wife candidate because I have inherited a number of real estate properties from several dead relatives, I have a stable income, and I can be considered an orphan, so there would be no in-laws to think about. Apparently, only I, would think that having no parents is a positive thing in a marriage. I was told that the next time I come to visit them, I should bring an elder. They viewed my coming alone to talk about marriage as disrespectful and presumptuous.”

“Bring Dante.” Candy suggests.

“Ahy, I will never. If she really wants to get married, she can marry into my family. Just take one of my boys. An-An is about your age, take him.”

“I prefer older men, uncle.”

“Then consider Huan.”

“Never.” She murmurs. She turns to the photo album again, closing the conversation, and finds a group photo of Huan with two girls. One is Beibei and the other must be the girl they often bring up in conversations relating to Huan’s high school life, the one they call Cho Rong. “I found someone for kuya Huan.” She declares, showing the photo.

As Dante winces, his other friends laugh aloud.

“Cho Rong?” Dante waved his hand in the air. “No. Aso’t pusa iyan sila.”

For HB, the three friends recalled how Song Cho Rong, who has full Korean blood, came to live with them. Some years ago, their Korean friend Song Ju Hwan, the Hwan An-An was named after, filed for bankruptcy, and made the hard decision to split his family until he could recover. The friends in the Philippines decided to host one of the children and send her to school. The middle child, Cho Rong volunteered to come.

Candy’s family was supposed to take her in mainly because she thought her daughter Beibei could use a sister. “But my husband got terribly sick, we took out loans, we even put the house as collateral. My house was not fit to receive any guests. I feared we wouldn’t even salvage the house. So, we passed custody of Cho Rong to Angel and Dante. Rightly so, because when my husband passed, the world just fell apart and Beibei had to care for me until I could get back on my feet.” Candy recalls.

Cho Rong stayed with Dante and Angel even after high school, even when her father asked her to come home. She comforted her foster parents a lot after Huan left in a fit of teenage angst and settled in Korea, where he went for college. For a time, it was like their families exchanged children. Cho Rong’s family in Korea became Huan’s comfort and solace, and Dante and Angel sponsored Cho Rong until she graduated. She finally went back to her home country after getting her degree.

The elders never figured out how or why Huan and Cho Rong’s relationship turned sour. According to them, they were fine at the beginning, the relationship was cordial, respectful. They taught each other how to speak each other’s language. They communicated a lot and stood up for each other. So, how did that friendship turn so sour that they even got into physical fights, pulling each other’s hair, and destroying each other’s things? It’s a mystery that only Huan or Cho Rong can solve.

“Momma!” Bivi ran into HB’s arms, showing her what she found on the patch of clovers surrounding the gazebo. “Look. I found one with four leaves.”

“That’s nice. Keep it well, it brings good luck.”

“Really?” Bivi’s eyes lit up in wonder. “I’m going to show it to babbo.”

She runs back into the house and found the four brothers still huddled up at the music room.

The idea of forming a band excited the younger siblings, even Jigo looked alive at the prospect it. But their excitement took a stumble when they started naming themselves. The names are not even close to good. Everything is a mouthful. Juan Four You is cheesy. Brothers Juan is too telling. They couldn’t give up the name Juan, intent on having it as their brand, the root of their entire story, because it’s a common denominator. They would’ve been stuck with it had it not been for Bivi barging in, an intercession they badly needed.

“It’s a four-leaf clover, babbo! Mama said it brings good luck. I’ll give it to you. I’ll go find another one, and then I’ll give it to my favorite uncle.” Bivi runs, chuckling as she yells “Secret” when asked who her favorite uncle is.

That’s how the name of the band came to be, Four Leaf Clover.