Some of my former Trade Development Publishing (TDP) employees didn’t forget me. I got a call a few weeks ago from Hilda Juico, kinukumusta ako. We haven’t seen each other for many years na daw. That call led me to host a dinner for some of them. They wanted potluck ayaw ko naman. Minsan ko lang naman sila pakainin. One of them, Rose Cabubas Millare is still with me in Makati Ford. I tasked her to remind me the date, and to text me on the day itself. Malilimutan ko talaga yan.
That morning, I got a message from Rose, reminding me of the dinner (October 9)
I went home at 4 pm to prepare for our dinner.
I chose to use the American Beauty dinner plates with pink flowers. Since they’re all female.
Eight ice cream goblets for the seven expected guests plus me.
I didn’t have a matching utensils for the rosy-rosy plates. I picked the ones I bought two years ago in Marseille.
Cleta offered to cook mushroom soup. Okay naman ang lasa, it just needed some extra taste. Maybe more salt and pepper. I didn’t repair it na, hinayaan ko na lang. I was more than happy that she helped me, instead of me getting tired cooking.
Twenty five years later, Lina, Deng, and me. Lina was our pretty, very cute secretary. Now, her children are in college. She sells expensive pots and pans, ano na nga bang tawag dun? prang merong Master yung name. I think those are the ones that cost one hundred thousand a set. I don’t buy expensive caldero, my maids would just intentionally or unintentionally destroy them. Sayang lang.
From TDP, Deng continued working for my brother, till she retired. She married the younger brother of one of Kuya’s trusted officers, Cristy.
Deng and family now live in Antipolo. She was able to buy their own townhouse.
Lina, Deng, Rose, Hilda
Rose handles Makati Ford’s fleet accounts. Hilda and husband Seng, are gainfully employed, I just forgot the names of the their respective employers. She drives everyday to work. Their children graduated from Ateneo and one wants to go to Harvard for MBA. Hilda’s nickname is Gigi. Everyone calls her Gigi except me. I still like to call her Hilda.
This is our former accountant, Agnes. Ngayon mayaman na sya. She and husband put up an employment agency providing manpower such as janitors and messengers to big companies.
Ube roll for dessert
There will be a repeat daw of our get-together, they prefer daw at our house again. It would be a Christmas get-together with more former employees attending, including those who would be coming from abroad,a dn spending
Deng brought some old photos taken at the wedding of Rose to Allan Millare. I got worried when I realized those were Rose’s wedding photos. Baka masira ang gabi nya. Her marriage didn’t end well.
That’s Oyen, the flower girl with a short hair and shorter dress. I didn’t even remember that my daughter was one of the flower girls.
Deng also has this old photo taken at my Kuya Lito’s former office at Suite 901 State Financing Center, in Ortigas Avenue, beside POEA.
from left to right
Agnes, Camille (she’s still with us, at Ford EDSA), Irene (Edmund and I attended her wedding reception at their house in Nueva Ecija), Danilo Herrera. (Danny passed away a few years ago. Up until his sickness, he continued working for my brother. Paminsan-minsan, naaalala nya ako, ipinapagluto nya ako ng gelatin). Napakabait nya. He was from Taguig.
Front row: Deng, Maret and Anggie. l don’t remember who the other guy is.
Maret is from Binangonan, Rizal and is a good friend of my sister Aileen. She and her husband are now based in Saudi Arabia. Marami na rin silang naipon. Their children are now college graduates, if I am not mistaken one is a medical doctor already.
Anggie is living the American Dream in New York. She regularly sends money to her siblings in Binangonan and showers them with padala and pasalubong. She built them a beautiful house in Binangonan. Her parents and one sister are also in NY. I see Anggie once in a while. She also comes to visit my sister a few times a year. She’s like family to us.
Agnes, inside my powder room.
Hi Annie, I only know Danny in the picture – he was a kind person and could be trusted. Sorry to hear that he passed away already, such a short life. I did not know that TDP had so many employees. I remember back then it was like a family affair at work, Mang Roger, Cristy, Jun, Josie, etc. I still kept with me the maiden edition of Buyer’s Guide – thanks so much for giving me that opportunity. Best regards, Rissa