The 24-Hour Date

A week and a couple of days after my second date with Ramon, I still feel giddy when I think about it. For the most part, it had something to do with achieve a couple of ‘firsts’ milestones. 1) First time I was on a date for 24 hours; 2) first time I went on a date with my mom and my sister in tow; 3) first time I had a really long make out marathon; 4) first time that didn’t lead to shedding any article of clothing from both parties; 5) first time for my mom to see me engage in a PDA-esque mode with anybody.

A few nights before, we were talking over the phone about where to go and we both came up with our possible options. The place he suggested didn’t really pan out for some reason so he’s opted to go with the restaurant that I mentioned – Bellini’s. I told him how wonderful the place and how marvelous the food was and that really got his curiosity. I was surprised myself that he’s not familiar with the place because Bellini’s is all the rage with Italian food aficionados.

It was a Saturday night and we both agreed to rendezvous at Gateway Mall at around 8 pm. I got there an hour early as I came from the office. Cam was supposed to be the lone staff member to show up for work that day and I went to the office just to keep her company. I passed the time by going window shopping for stuff and when I was over at Folded and Hung on the third floor, I received a text message from him saying that he could just pick me up from Gateway and we could go to Bellini’s together. He asked around for anybody who could give him directions to the restaurant but nobody was able to answer his question. I couldn’t blame them because getting to the area where the restaurant is can be a bit tricky if you’re not familiar with the Cubao area.

10 to 15 minutes later, I was on my way down to Bread Talk to meet Ramon. I saw him right away from a distance, kissed him on the cheek and promptly walked a couple of blocks to Marikina Shoe Expo. Bellini’s is located at the heart of the little compound and that gave me a chance to show him some of the stores that I love to look at. It was too bad though that this quaint antique shop was already closed for the day and the everything- anime store did a complete overhaul. They no longer sold anime trinkets and was instead operating as a hangout place for the artsy fartsy crowd and college students.

Ramon was telling me that his stars must’ve been aligned so well that night because everything was running smoothly so far – he found a parking space inside Gateway as soon as he entered the building, he was able to quickly find Bread Talk inside the mall, we were able to spot each other right away and we got seated fast at Bellini’s. The restaurant no longer accepts reservations during Saturday nights because of the sheer number of people who goes there during that time. True enough, people on the waiting list started piling up because Ramon and I got the last available table.

I just love everything about the restaurant – it’s an established hole-in-the-wall mom-and-pop restaurant that serves authentic Italian cuisine with a homey atmosphere. Ramon was amazed at how hands on the owners were and he was even more amazed when I randomly fired off little bits of trivia about the owner and the restaurant – that Roberto used to be a paparazzi (ergo the numerous picture frames adorning the walls) and that the blind musician they hired used to be a street musician who begs for alms.

Much has to be said about the service though because the place was packed and there weren’t enough waiters to wait on all the tables. One particular thing about CA (Culinary Arts) people is that they notice everything from the plating of the dish to the order on which they serve the food. The waiter’s faux pas was that he brought out the entrée before the hors d’oeuvre. Another thing that Ramon noticed was the improper way they stored their wine – upright instead of having them tilted. It was all good though because the position on which the bottles were stored didn’t seem to affect the taste of the wine itself. I normally prefer white wines due to it being light and fruity but I was surprised by how much I liked the Tuscan red that we had. I forgot the name of who made it but I’m definitely going back to buy a bottle of it.

Shortly after we dinner, we walked back to where his car was and we went to my place for a “House” marathon. We were able to watch about 7 or 8 episodes before falling asleep on the couch. I got up much earlier than Ramon and headed over to my parents’ room. I didn’t know that my two sisters slept there and the moment I got in, they started grilling me about my date since they were very much awake by that time.

Somebody asked my sister Angelee (I couldn’t remember if it was my mom or my other sister Louise who posited the question)– “Hindi ka ba na-wi-weirdohan na ang kaklase mo lumalabas kasama ng ate mo (Aren’t you weirded out that your classmate is going out with your sister)?”

Ange said no and added that’s the whole thing’s perfectly fine with her.

I quipped “Ma-weirdohan kayo kung mas bata yan (Be weirded out if I’m going out with somebody younger).”

They snickered at that remark, explained to my mom briefly that he wasn’t able to go home last because we both fell asleep watching “House” knowing how conservative she could get. With that done, I went back to the living room to watch some tv. Ramon woke up a short time after and we spent the rest of the morning in front of the boob tube switching between ETC’s Project Runway and Lifestyle Network’s Iron Chef America.

My mom, on the other hand, was busy making plans for that afternoon. She wanted to go to Alba’s in Eastwood to drop of the downpayment. We were renting the place for a family event on the 14th. The problem was that Alex, my sister Louise’s boyfriend/soon-to-be-husband, wasn’t available because he has to go with his parents in Greenhills. When Ramon got wind of the situation, he was nice enough to offer his help.

My mom, my sister Angelee, Ramon and I got to Eastwood around 1 and headed straight to Alba’s. Angelee, being the one who’s studying to be a chef, was in charge of selecting the menu and double-checking every detail to make sure everything will be in order when the time comes. Once we were done, we walked a couple of blocks to Teriyaki Boy for brunch. My mom, I think, took it as an opportunity to get to know him a little bit better.

We waited for the rain to stop and hopped back to Ramon’s car. We headed over to Megamall because Ange was in search of a digital camera. Ramon being a techie, was able to help my sister come to a decision about what she was going to buy. Ramon and I left Ange and mom inside Canon’s dealership and made our way through Pain and Rehab Clinic to look for a medical chair that Ramon’s mom wanted him to buy for his grandmother. They didn’t have what he was looking for so we just went around the entire mall for a couple of hours while we waited for my mom and my sister to finish shopping for things that they would need.

We met up at Powerbooks and had dinner at Mexicali before Ramon drove us home. Ramon left at around 8 and with his departure, set a new record for me – the longest time I’ve ever been in a date.