“I have lived in the States for too long. No one speaks Visayan to me. I cannot remember our language,” she said. Now I could see that Noli’s conceit was a family trait.
“Marie, Agustin is asking how you are doing,” said Mr. Gabrena.
“I am okay,” she said curtly.
“So you are Augustine,” Auntie Anne said, anglicizing my name. I felt Nanay stiffen beside me.
“No, not Augustine, but Agustin,” said Nanay firmly. “It is not English. It is a Filipino name.”
“In the U.S., we say Augustine.”
“In the Philippines, we say Agustin,” Nanay insisted firmly.
“Okay. This is Andy,” Auntie Anne said, referring to her son who was almost the same age as my friends and me, and the same height but much heavier than any of us. He was shy and just nodded his head.
“We are going inside now to rest,” said M
