Divinagracia, 1998

It was the day of Esther Samson’s going-away party.

Iñigo Alcantara walked down the long, ornate hallways of the Samson Estate, his feet sliding against the marble floor. Slowly, as if to make space, he made his way through the sprawling mansion as if the elaborate paintings of the Samson family were staring him down.

He was carrying a cake in his arms, a pandan cake he had just finished making in the Samson’s kitchen moments earlier. The strong, sweet smell of pandan wafted in the air, its scent wrapping around Iñigo’s body as if a warm blanket, holding him in a way that relaxed him greatly. He smiled.

He felt especially proud of how this cake turned out. The cake was a prototype of his special recipe, one which he hoped he could bring to the world stage one day as the star dish of his dream café. But for today, he was glad that he would be able to share it with his friends.

As he set the cake down on the table, he admired how it had been decorated with the finest china the Samson family could afford. Iñigo felt a tap on his shoulder; he turned around.

“Kuya Javier,” he said, pulling Javier Samson, Esther’s older brother, into a tight hug.

Javier’s family owned the apartment that Iñigo was renting, much like how the Samson family owned pretty much everything in Divinagracia. Iñigo was well aware that Javier and Esther came from a family with old money, a family which wielded an enormous amount of power in the town. But Javier and Esther never let it get to their heads. Iñigo was glad for that, and for how the two siblings remained close to him, a working class gay man living in a provincial town, far from opportunities to open his dream café and stuck in a traditional mindset

“Thanks for bringing the cake, Iñigo,” Javier said as he patted Iñigo on the back. Iñigo smiled. “It’s Esther’s favourite, so she’ll be bound to miss it when she goes abroad.”

Tomorrow, Esther was due to get on a plane and fly across the ocean to a place called Fraser City to pursue her studies as an international student over there. Four years of separation would be hard on her.

Iñigo smiled softly.

“You’re welcome, Kuya,” Iñigo told him. “And thank you for letting me use your kitchen. You have all the equipment I needed to ensure that the cake’s texture was just right. Do you want to try some?” Iñigo cut Javier a slice and handed it over to him. Javier chuckled and took the plate from Iñigo’s hand.

As Javier took a bite, Iñigo turned around and smiled when he saw his best friend, Kenji Yamashita, run forward to greet him. Iñigo caught a glimpse of Javier narrowing his eyes, though he didn’t say anything.

“Iñigo,” Kenji said as he caught up with him. He had a pensive look on his face.

“Kenji!” Iñigo said, smiling as he hugged Kenji with open arms. “How are you, man?” 

Iñigo enjoyed the presence of his best friend since childhood. He remembered moving into his house growing up and later settling in together in the apartment Javier owned, where they had lived ever since. Living in close proximity to the guy, Iñigo felt his heart beat the more time he spent with him.

Kenji laid his hand atop Iñigo’s arm, as he stood on his tiptoes with great difficulty to whisper into the taller man’s ear, his breath tickling his neck. Iñigo felt the blood rush to his cheeks. He looked over at Javier, who had since walked off without a word.

“Iñigo, let’s talk,” Kenji said firmly as he grabbed Iñigo’s hand, guiding him away from the room of partygoers and into the secluded courtyard of the estate. In the middle stood a mango tree that had just borne fruit. As Iñigo followed Kenji, he felt his cheeks warm up at how long Kenji held onto his hand.

“What’s going on?” Iñigo asked as they stopped underneath the tree. With a serious look on his face, Kenji stared right at Iñigo and picked a mango right off the ground and handed it over to Iñigo, as if it were a bouquet of flowers.

“Iñigo, there’s something important I need to tell you,” Kenji told him, taking a deep breath. Then, as if crashing onto shore, a wave of panic seemed to wash over Kenji, as if he lost the words to say.

But Iñigo was a patient man. He would wait forever to hear what Kenji had to say. With Kenji's hands in his, Iñigo caressed the back of the knuckle with his finger, as if he knew how to calm him down. Soon, as Kenji’s panic dissipated, his breathing grew less hitched. He took a deep breath.

“Will you go…?” Kenji said, his voice getting caught up in his words, and Iñigo rushed over to pat him on the back. As Iñigo wrapped his arm over Kenji’s shoulder, as if to stabilize him, Kenji held onto Iñigo’s T-shirt, clutching the fabric as he pulled Iñigo down until his eyes met his. Iñigo lost himself in Kenji’s auburn eyes as he stared at them deep within. 

Kenji took one more deep breath. “Iñigo, will you go out with me?” he said.

And without hesitation, Iñigo took him in his arms and held onto him tight, almost crushing Kenji in the process. He was overjoyed, feeling as if his heart soared to the moon. “Of course, Kenji, of course!” Kenji smiled back, relieved and in a state of bliss.

As they stayed in each other’s arms, under the branches of the mango tree that stood mightily in the courtyard of the Samson Estate, they held onto each other, as if they had become one. After what felt like forever, they let go. All of a sudden, Iñigo saw a flash from a distance.

Click!

They turned around, only to find Esther waving towards the two guys. Javier stood beside her, leaning against the railing of the veranda with a stoic look on his face, his eyes narrowed, almost as if in dissatisfaction. But when Iñigo caught his eye, Javier quickly brightened up and gave the two of them a restrained wave. Kenji reached out to Iñigo to hold onto his hand, clutching it tight.

“Esther, what are you doing?” Iñigo asked.

A photograph printed out of her camera. Esther took the photo out and closely examined it. She frowned.

“This one doesn’t look as good,” Esther sighed, before she ran down the stairs joining the two of them in the middle of the courtyard. “Let’s take another one, just the two of you!” 

Javier stayed atop the veranda, overlooking the trio as he remained motionless. He continued to stare in Kenji’s direction. Iñigo wondered what was going on in Javier’s mind.

Soon, under the mango tree once more, Kenji stood on his tiptoes, leaning onto a stone-faced Iñigo for support. Iñigo stood straight as Kenji wrapped an arm around his shoulder. As Kenji quickly ruffled his hair, making sure it looked perfect, he planted a peck on Iñigo’s cheek. Iñigo felt himself grow giddy, as he tried to hide his lovestruck smile.

“Let’s take the picture, already!” Esther said as she laughed at the pair. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah!” Iñigo told her. Esther held up her camera.

“Okay, in three, two, one…”

Click!