Yes, the girls were happy for Lorna, but they were so disappointed because that night they will be away, and the next morning will be the marriage of Lorna and Gunther.
"Sorry, I like it very much that you are all here on my wedding day as friends and as family. I am alone, no one at my wedding." Lorna said.
"Lorna, I feel what you felt. Yes, you will marry a man that your parents never knew and seen, you will be married in a strange land, you will be married with no friends or family, you can say, it is all not normal, but look at the bright side of it all. Sooner or later, your family will know Gunther, this strange land will be your home and later being alone will not stay forever. Maybe you can let your parents .." Carla stopped talking to Lorna when they heard a doorbell.
"I will look, maybe that's the person that will pick you up!" and Lorna came out the room to alarmed Gunther who was still in the basement, but Lorna saw him already walking toward the main door to open.
"Tell the girls, the man is here!" Gunther told Lorna. Lorna then entered again the room where the three girls were and told the three that it is time to go. "Remember, I really like it that even once for a while you call me. You have the telephone number of Gunther!"
The three girls, one by one hugged Lorna. They were all sad. The group of six now become three.
"Lorna, be a good girl. You find already a man that will give you and maybe your family a good life." Carla said.
"Good luck and God bless you, Lorna!" Thelma said.
"Lorna be happy! And please make many children with blue eyes and blond hair! I hope I will be a Godmother to one of your children to be!" despite her grieves and sorrows, Luisa words have still the shade of joke or if not, it really showed who she was or what character she had, voicing out her thoughts on a special way that people who did not knew who really she was, will take it as a joke.
Gunther and the man were down in the basement. They talked there for almost about half hour and when they came up toward the girls that were waiting in the living room, Gunther introduced the man. The man early in his thirties, looked a nonchalant someone.
"This is Herman, he's the one who will drive you to Belgium!"
Herman shook hands with the girls and when he shook hands with Lorna, he congratulated her for the wedding that will be tomorrow. "Congratulation and have a happy wedding tomorrow!"
"Thank you! I wished that my friends will be here tomorrow." Lorna answered him.
"That would be nice, but it had something to do with visas. Their visas must be arranged tomorrow as soon as we arrive in Belgium!" Herman understood what Lorna meant.
When the girls were all inside the car, Gunther handed them a big envelop, one envelop to each. "My gift to you. Photo inside for your eyes only unless you show it to someone!"
The three Filipinas understood what Gunther meant. Inside the envelope with an A-4 size was the private photo of them taken by Gunther and he is giving them a copy.
When the car of Herman with the three Filipinas started to run, Lorna stayed standing waving to her friends until the car totally faded out her sight. Gunther put his arms around Lorna's shoulder and spoke. "Don't be sad, Lorna. I promise I will take good care of you and maybe one time we could visit your friends in Belgium, who knew!"
"It would be nice, Gunther. I will be glad to see again my friends before the one year is over, their contract will be finished after one year and maybe they will all comeback to the Philippines." Lorna said.
"I promised you. Now, about us, tomorrow you will be my wife. What I wish from you is that please just love me. Just love me and everything will be alright!"
Lorna just smiled to Gunther and she put her arms around him, and they walked together into the house. A promising sight of two lovers with totally different background, different race, different culture bound only by attraction and love, and maybe both hoping for happiness that would last forever.
Thru the night, while Herman was driving his car, once for a while through the rear mirror, he glances at the girls he is riding with. Thelma was seated in the front seat, Luisa, and Carla at the back side. They were just silent, nobody talked. Herman thought that the three girls slept but nobody were sleeping. Thelma constantly looking at the signboard and so Carla too, even though it was night, but Luisa seemed no interest at all, she had this blank look and Carla felt uncomfortable about it.
"Luisa, what are you thinking?" Carla broke the silence, she asked Luisa. Luisa did not answer her, so Carla shook her slightly. "Luisa, I am talking to you!"
Luisa did not answered Carla but then suddenly, tears in Luisa's cheek rolled down. Carla put her hands around the shoulder of Luisa.
"It's okay! You can cry, let it out! I understand, we understand!" Carla comforted Luisa.
"Why? What happened to her?" Herman asked when he saw that Luisa was crying.
"She received a call from the Philippines this morning. Her father died in an accident!" it was Thelma who replied Herman's question.
"My God, really?" Herman understood now what he noticed and thought a strange behaviour of Luisa. "Luisa, my condolence!"
"She said, thank you." Carla said to Herman the words that Luisa softly uttered that almost only Carla heard it. Herman just nodded and said no more words.
"My father died without seeing or tasted the comfort of life I'd promised him. I had sent money to them, but the debt must be first settled. I felt guilty!" Luisa lamented.
"It's okay to mourn for your father's death but you don't have to feel guilty. It is not your fault that he died. We all must go if it is our time. It's your father time to go and you can't do nothing about it." Carla said.
"I'd promised him the comfort of life. I had not yet fulfilled the promise and he is gone. I love my father. He did all what he can, to support us. He was a good father, when we have not enough food on the table, he does not eat. Only we, his children must eat, then my mother and he as last divided the food that was over. Before, I saw it as normal but now I realized it was not. We are poor, extremely poor!" Luisa painfully recalling in her mind the situation of their family, the extreme poverty, the true meaning of a saying phrase in Filipino 'isang kahig isang tuka' meaning one scratch, one peck or from hand to mouth.
"Not only your family Luisa, my family was also the same, and I think most of the Filipinos, but accept it that yes we are poor, extremely poor with material things or even sometimes food on the table, but we are on the other hand rich in love. Love, Luisa. Remember your father's love and use it or let it be your guide in your life." Carla continued comforting Luisa.
"Herman, is Belgium far away?" Thelma asked Herman very loud to break the sad atmosphere inside the car.
"Well, from Basel to Belgium, I would say approximately 548 kilometers, about five to six hours drive at this speed of 100 kilometers per hour." Herman replied Thelma.
"Very far! May I ask or may I request?" Thelma wanted to request something from Herman.
"Yes."
"Will you please drive a little slowly?" Thelma asked Herman to drive slowly. Herman droves fast and Thelma was not comfortable.
"Okay, I will reduce the speed to 80, good?" Herman laughingly gives Thelma reluctantly her request.
"Thank you!" Thelma thanked Herman and felt comfortable when the speed of the car slowed to 80 from 100.
The girls did not know how long their travel was when they noticed that Herman stopped and parked the car at the parking lane by the highway. They looked at Herman, the girls thought something was wrong with the car.
"Two kilometers more we will pass the border of Switzerland and France." Herman said to the three Filipinas, then he handed them an envelope. "Open the envelope, please! And then be alert when we pass the border."
The three girls opened the envelope, and they were surprised from what the saw. They looked to each other and then looked at Herman. They do not understood why Herman handed them a Flight Ticket back to the Philippines. ****to be continued****Remedios Dorio