The First Love of Henry that Never Dies

I took Uber from the airport last September 5. The driver is a Filipino guy and to protect his privacy, I shall call him Henry.

The ride cost me about $24 plus tip and more or less you can estimate the distance we traveled.

I easily identified him as a kababayan and that made the two of us comfortable with each other. Syempre kumustahan muna. He is the typical Filipino living abroad that likes to say “buti ka pa nakakabakasyon”. This I find corny because most of them also take regular vacations to the Philippines. And in the case of Henry, he just came back from a one month holiday around the Philippines. See?

Before I reached my destination, I already knew about his love life. His is a perfect example of the corny phrase first love never dies.

Henry and Edna are childhood friends and their families live in the same neighborhood in Guimaras. Henry is close friends with Edna’s two older brothers.
The brothers knew Henry’s feeling towards their sister but they warned Henry not to court her or not to get near her. He obliged and just secretly nurtured his love for Edna. Edna also has affections for Henry but she too was barred from entertaining the thought of having a relationship with Henry. His brothers believed that they know Henry too well and he’s not deserving of her. They only liked him as a friend, kaibigan sa kalokohan.
Time passed. Henry moved to Manila and subsequently his family migrated to California.

Henry got married to a Filipina he met in the US. They have three adult children.

Edna also moved to Manila and after college, went to the US. First in New Jersey then she moved to Vallejo, CA where she settled down with her husband and two children.

Henry has a stable job in a government office in California and does not have any plans of looking for another job. He is counting the days till his retirement.

One day, while walking in the building lobby, Henry and Edna saw each other. It was the first time that they were free to talk, without Edna’s brothers’ interference. Their unrequited young love ignited and since that day, the two have been inseparable. According to Henry, on that first day alone, the two of them already knew that they didn’t want to lose each other again. They hid their affair for a few months but they wanted more than that. They couldn’t wait any longer. They divorced their respective spouses and lived together and got married. Parang unfair naman dun sa mga asawa nila na wala namang ginagawang mali. And unfair sa mga anak nila.

It’s been twenty years and they are still together. Both have retired and are living a relaxed life with their 3 dogs. Henry doesn’t need the money he earns from Uber. They have fully paid their house and they both receive a monthly pension. He told me he only drives Uber so he could go out of the house. His wife has a long list of household chores, panay daw ang utos. She has a check list— clean the car, bathe the dogs, vacuum the carpet, go to the grocery, clean the swimming pool, do the laundry, etc.
A—– “Spoiled, Andres ka pala”.
Henry–“Hindi naman, ang haba lang ng listahan, may check list, ang daming utos. Kaya pag sinabi nya, “Hon, meron tayong pupuntahan” ang sagot ko agad, “ay Hon may nangontrata sa akin sa Uber”.
Kaya ako nag-u- Uber para makalabas ako ng bahay”.

Ayan, first love pala ha.

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One thought on “The First Love of Henry that Never Dies

  1. Akala ko ba first love never dies. Pero kapag inutusan ni Aling Edna kakaripas palabas ng bahay? Si Mang Henry talaga oh! Hahahaha

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