The festive dinner has just come to a halt when the Governor gestures to the servants to refill the wine; and bring in the opulent desserts of cakes, cheeses and tarts. The gentlemen's flock had to be segregated as the wives join in their companions on their designated tables for the dinner.
The orchestra begins to amuse the audience with Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz. The symphony; with its dreamy and hallucinatory melodies, enchants and transports the audience into a voyage to depths of despair and hopelessness of an unrequited love; of Hector Berlioz' infatuation with Harriet Smithson; his Ophelia, his Juliet and his Desdemona.
The symphony strikes a chord with Teo immensely, as its misery of unreciprocated affection relates to his fascination with Ana Rosa, his own Harriet. He quietly drowns himself with wine and the music, but he occasionally steals glances at her at the hands of the man that she chose over him, his own Uncle. Whenever he catches him caressing her delicate hands, needles of bitterness would prick his existence which eventually turns into a dagger of acrimony stabbing him through his heart every time she returns the favor and kisses her husband. He has to consciously refill his cup of wine to numb the voices of resentment that has been consuming him.
"Somebody's enjoying his wine so much," Teniente Leon greets as he nudges at Teo
"It's a celebratory night in your honor, Uncle," Teo pauses holding his cup of wine in the air, "besides, the music is quite depressing, and the wine complements it,"
"I have not paid much attention to it, and we have the lovely lady to be blamed," Teniente Leon laughs as he reaches for Ana Rosa's hand
Teo takes air in while watching Ana Rosa's hand accepts the Lieutenant's; and gulps the wine from his silver cup,
"How is the Segnora enjoying the night,?" Teo awkwardly utters
Ana Rosa finally takes a glance at him, then takes it back to stare at her companion;
"It is your Uncle's night, Segnor" she pauses, "If he is having a good time, then I am more than pleased"
Teo initiates a toast and forces a smile as he nods at Ana Rosa and Teniente Leon
"You have made quite a remark about the symphony, Segnor" Ana Rosa enquires while avoiding eye contact with Teo
"Harriet is quite a cruel lady, l must say. Berlioz perfectly captures the feeling of desperation in his work towards an unattainable love. The besotted man wrote her a letter, an impassioned one actually, to which she did not respond to. Determined to win her affection, he bombarded her with messages professing his fascination with her, but she chose to leave Paris without answering any of his letters" Teo proudly narrates
With her usual smirk, Ana Rosa squints at Teo as she responds;
"Men always want what they cannot have," she pauses to trace her necklace with her fingers, "Out of the Musician's obsession with the Thespian came the beautiful symphony, Segnor. A man's desperation birthed a masterpiece,"
When the symphony finally reaches its final movement, Teo clutches his cup tighter, look into it before gulping the last of his wine. With a delighted smile, he closes his eyes and loses himself in the music, receiving a concerned look from both Ana Rosa and Teniente Leon
"This is the part l like the most, everything descending into a rousingly dreadful Dream of A Witches' Sabbath. It is where Harriet's effigy transformed into a harlot and was casted into Hell" he claims proudly
"And I sincerely hope that made you feel warranted, Segnor," Ana Rosa retorts with her head down.
"I totally got lost in your discussion," Teniente Leon laughs, "Young people hailing from the city really have good grasps of music and the arts"
Teo offers a toast to his Uncle and Ana Rosa as he pierces her with a meaningful look; the wine must have been effective in washing all traces of inhibition away from the young man. His empathetic stance begs for her to send him a glance in return; even a glimpse of it could somehow suffice his thirst for her attention; even a glimpse of it could send him to his knees to thank the Heavens for finally touching the woman's heart to submit her to his plea.
When the lady complies to catch Teo's gaze and holds it longer, he hears the beating of his heart right off his ears, thunderous and thrilling, the liquor makes him feel his spirit leaving his body and is transported back to a time when she and Nimfa were staring at the setting sun, across a raucous street in Manila. Ana Rosa nods at him in the same way he remembered Nimfa nodded at him back then.
"To the eminent guests, be prepared to be captivated by the lovely lady from Pasi" the announcer pauses, "Segnora Ana Rosa, Ladies and fine Gentlemen,"
Before Teo gets hold of himself, he inquisitively watches Ana Rosa rising from her seat onto the center stage as the hall is filled with cheers and hand-clapping. She reclines to a brass chair behind a large wooden pedal harp; rests her fingers at the strings which are of steel-wound nylon for the lowest, gut for the middle-lower strings and nylon for the middle and higher strings. The lady then takes air in before she nods at the conductor and smiles softly to signal him to begin.
The orchestra begins with Opus 77's Allegro Brillante, a Harp Concerto in C Major by F. Boieldieu. Ana Rosa mesmerizes her spectators when she begins to pluck the strings of the harp, delicate but precise, her grace transcending from her fingers to the strings, enchanting her audiences with the harp sounding like an angel humming a hymn. As the musical piece transitions to its central movement the Andante Lento, her fingers keeps running through the strings with sharper precision, exquisitely portraying the facets of the painful melancholies of the symphony. She gets lost in the moment, the sadness overcomes her looking like a weeping siren mourning over the tragic loss of her sailor lover. Only her harp is doing the moaning for her. But to the herd of drunken gentlemen watching her, she appears as a luscious plum for their wines, a sylph lost in the sea of lusting faces of the satyrs in need of her entertainment.
The men look past beyond her fingers virtuously plucking the strings; but to her chest despite it hidden in the wooden arch resting on her shoulders. They pay more attention to her dripping sweat than the music the strings create, and worst of all, her beautiful face seem to be more remarkable than the beauty of her gift. All the while, the wives exchanging glances at each other, seem to be in unison in throwing her a look of discern; condemning her more than they celebrate her.
The symphony then shifts to Allegro Agitato, the third movement of the concerto, and the energy of the orchestra increases with the rondo in exuberance. Along with the intensifying progression of the chords, the wines get over flowing like on the Feast Day of Dionysus; the god of winemaking, of fertility, of ritual madness and of ecstasy. Worshipping the god of wines by means of getting intoxicated are his retinue, the satyrs are the gentlemen, and the maenads are the gentlemen's wives; gaping over Ana Rosa, the sacrificial nymph, perspiring, with her skin glowing, and fondling the strings of the wooden harp erected before her. Until the orchestra and the lovely lady reach the concerto's climatic end as she looks up, revealing her flawless long neck, and releases an inaudible whimper.
The concluded exhibition receives a standing ovation from the gentlemen; and their wives oblige to follow. Teniente Leon welcomes Ana Rosa with a warm embrace, with the other gentlemen circling them, waiting for their turn to praise the lady personally. The wives cheer on their table, poised with a forced smile on display. When the gentlemen completed taking their turns in commending the lieutenant and her lady, the conductor leads the orchestra to play waltz which leads to the Baile
The Governor leads his wife, Donya Emilia to the dancefloor. Don Antonio, The Surveyor and his wife comes after, and lastly, Teniente Leon leads Ana Rosa to the center of the floor. The rest of the glorified guests and their companions cram the dancefloor, the men whistling, the ladies giggling audibly.
Padre Felicimo looks pleased with the couples circling the hall, while Fray Luciano is still downing cups of wine with Doctor Farin, consciously ignoring the other friar. At the far side corner of the hall there settles Teo, spirited away by the wine, his coat that used to be polished is disheveled as he downs a cup of wine one after another. Once again, he finds himself struggling to keep his eyes away from Ana Rosa and his Uncle prancing around, looking like the happiest couple on stage.
The Lieutenant Governor walks toward and interrupts Teniente Leon and Ana Rosa as he gently arches his back to ask for the lady's hand for a dance. The lieutenant gracefully oblige and plants a prolonged kiss at her cheeks as he makes his way towards Donya Consuelo to ask the woman's hand in return. The orchestra resumes playing the waltz as Don Antonio leads Ana Rosa for a dance.
"My Segnora looked as lovely as ever. It seems like the air in the province suits you better," the Lieutenant Governor greets while trying to hold Ana Rosa's gaze
She remains silent, her eyes fixed on the Lieutenant Governor's shoes like those are her guide in dancing
"You looked tensed. You were incredible with your harp earlier, where did the confidence and grace go, Segnora?"
"Pardon my clumsiness, Segnor, I did not mean to disrespect but I think I am just tired," she responds with a forced smile
"Sometimes I still wish I was unmarried then. This old man was very unfortunate to have found a precious jewel when his hands are already tied to someone else. Had I been a free man, I would have been the first one to grasp you with both hands," the Lieutenant Governor whispers
Don Antonio senses the uneasiness in Ana Rosa's stance as she remains silent stealing a glance at Teniente Leon, still dancing with Donya Consuelo
"But one man's infortune is another man's luck," Don Antonio pauses, "Your bail costed the lieutenant a fortune. I need not to remind my lady of such," he smiles
Ana Rosa pierces the Lieutenant Governor with a distressed look as she tries to regain her composure and forces another smile with a subtle nod. Secretly, she is struggling to fight off the tears that are building up the corner of her eyes. Hazily, she sees a figure approaching them, from behind the Lieutenant Governor, she sees Teo, with a concerned look, respectfully asks the Lieutenant Governor for her hand.
Before the Lieutenant Governor leaves them, he planted a kiss at her hand and passes it over to Teo. When her hand touches his, he feels a subtle bolt of lightning rushing over him, from her hand to his, and returns from his to her's. With the way she tilts her head, he knows that she feels it too. They dance silently both consciously avoiding to look at each other, as if both are afraid of being the first one to surrender to the familiar feeling that has been haunting them, that their eyes might reveal the longing that they have been suppressing. But both are scared that the longer they suppress their desires, the sooner it is to explode right before them.
Ana Rosa then decides to hold Teo closer, as she remembers her encounter with Don Antonio, the tears that she has been holding off have been reinforced by the suppressed feeling that she knew she had for Teo. When the tears rolls freely on her cheeks, she sees the young man's shoulder inviting her to rest her burden onto it. To Teo's surprise, he finds her resting head on his chest, her hair bun right under his nose, the scent of her perfume rushing towards his nostrils. He knows his heart is beating next to her forehead, with her tears wetting his tie. He feels numb and frozen in time, an overwhelming feeling of unexplainable joy embraces him and he wishes that moment to never end.
"Had I not known that Ana Rosa is your wife, I would have mistaken your nephew to be his husband. They look good together, but are too close for comfort," Donya Consuelo retorts looking over Teo and Ana Rosa.
Teniente Leon leads the woman back to her husband as he excuses himself for a cup of wine. He clasps the silver cup firmly and glances at Teo and Ana Rosa before he gulps his wine calmly.