How did we met? First, his background...
He was a widower, for 20 years since his wife, a Scottish lady died of brain cancer in Monaco Hospital. Since then he never remarry or have relationship with women,until he met me,(wink!) last 1998 August. He had three children, all of legal ages , two,(son and daughter)now presently living in UK and one daughter in Monaco. He worked in Monaco and rent a studio in Cap d'ail, near Monaco. He was living alone, for twenty years...with his cactus, that he rarely put water with.
Poor cactus!
Lolo Michel is a Jehovah's Witness. He frequented filipino homes in Monaco , Nice to Cannes, studying the Bible to filipino families for ten years!
Thats why we met via: Tok... tok... tok..!
At first, I dont know anything about JW. But as Michel speaks english, offers me magazines in english language
(which is very rare in France,that you can find english literature), then a Bible (my first copy, for free) then he propose a Bible Study, on my free time.
I said yes.
Eventually,I joined their Sunday mass they call it "meeting". He would picked me up by his car.
Wow, may pakotse pa ako, sige sige sige!
He was always decent looking, with his coat and tie during the visits for studying. Kaka impress. He would bring a filipina sister or a french sister, but english speaking JW also. I felt comfortable then. I met around 100 of them,different nationalities, have bbq in the beach,met 119,000 of them last international assembly, year 2000 in Paris,joined parties of JW. I was trained to dress properly, long skirt if possible speaks decently,and act decently.Mama mia, para akong misyonary. And naka Salvatore Ferragamo shoes and clothes ako going to the Kingdom hall meetings.
From SM(salamat madame)... hehe
All my employers nga pala knows I am a JW. They dont bother, they dont mind. My religion is a personal thing, they said.
Until na baptized ang Lola nyo a year after. In Marseille, Oct 31,1999. Si Michel ang nag baptized sa akin, kasi he was an elder. Yun bang nag totalk sa platform. Siya ang nag lublob and nag emerge sa akin sa pool. I was ready to be a Jehovah's Witness, not because of Michel. Its because in the study, I found Bible truths that were not taught to me when I was a Catholic.
Pero di ko na i cover yun, kasi mawawala tayo sa topic, hehe.
During the study, he noticed my intelligence(meron ba ako non?hehe) I asked daw a lot. And I studied na kasi the subject in the book he gave before they arrived. Yung book na "knowledge that leads to everlasting life".Kaya may improvement ang study ko sa kanya with a sister. Lagi kasi sila dalawa kung pumupunta ng bahay.
Then nong mabaptized na ako, Michel would call me to accompany him sa visits with filipino community. He got three filipinas to study and we do it together. Nag seselos pala silang tatlo sa akin. Ay?
Wala pa kami ni Lolo non, boring pa kaming dalawa non sa isat isa. Besides, very much married ang Lola nyo and I was avoided byLolo ,to have any attachements,as far as I know dati, eh kasi elder siya, may katungkulan! Nakupo, tigok siya if he would have a relation to a married woman.
Pero etong tatlong study ni Lolo, di ko alam, may tama pala ke Lolo, haha. Eto comedy:
Pinay 1: Oy, amy mahal mo ba asawa mo sa Pinas?
Sagot ko: Aba oo, ikaw, di ba may asawa ka rin sa Pinas ,mahal mo rin ba?
(loko ka kala mo di ko alam?) balik ko nga tanong nya hehe.Pinay 2: Amy, halika nga
,(pagalit!)Saan ka na nakatira ngayon? wala ka na pala kina( isang Pinay )
"Oh, you would like to know do you ?"Oo! Saan ka nakatira ngayon, you must tell me!
Gulat ako! No siya pulis? Hellooo! Sinagot ko nga:"Im presently living in with Michel, how does it suits you..."
Iniwanan ako,halos padabog, ang bruha, buking may gusto ke Lolo, haha !
Pinay 3: Amy, magmula ngayun ako na uupo sa harap na upuan ng kotse ni Michel.
aba, taray ng pangatlo, kala mo may rights na hawak! Sinagot ko nga si Pinay 3:
"
Oh, sorry, but that seat is mine. Bf ko na si Michel, dont you know?..!"Laban pa siya? hehe...Galit si Pinay 3, inaway ako, tahimik lang ako,rolling my eyes, Michel was quiet,driving, but observant.
Sabi ko:
"and so? Di ba may asawa ka rin sa Pinas? Musta pamilya mo?hehe"Upo pa rin ako sa unahan, tawa ng tawa si Lolo sa sagot ko, kasi purposedly inenglish ko nga, bwehehe.
All three, panay tawag kay Michel,tinataon sa gabi, of course, right timing,hehe,sinusumbong ako. Michel told me off, kasi nga JW daw ako, wag daw ako mang away.
Sabi ko ke Michel: "Look, they started it, very nasty to me, why should I not answer them back. Now, they should be honest, if they like you, i keep off them, leave you to them, after all huh,
I am married Michel, so are they...dont you think????"
ayan, kabago ko, baptized, pero ano ka, lakas loob sagutin ang elder, lol!
1.Minsan sunduin namin sila by car ang tagal tagal :
"what took them long to go down, I cant park long in the street! !" sabi ni Michel.
sagot ko: "
They are still fixing their faces , Michel, hoping there's still something to fix, you see..."hagalpak tawa Lolo, haha.
2. Minsan sa loob ng kotse, they are mean to me like:
"amy, dont speak with michel. We are not enjoying it. "
Or they would say:" Did you pay all your accounts in coming here to France. As a witness,its not a good example to have debts all over the place..."
Or "Lety is looking for you, she said you owe her some months rents..."
Nasty, di ba?
They just want to discredit me to Michel. Mama mia.Sagot ko:
"Its cheaper to be cheerful ,mga bruha kayo! Being cheerful doesnt cost you a wrinkle..." naka ryhme pa yan...
Tawa bigla si Lolo! Galit na naman ang tatlo, haha!
3. Once we play bowling in Nice, sama sila, and Michel and I made an unbelievable strike, nag appear ako kay Michel with high fives, aba, nag wala silang tatlo!
Ngek! Nag walk out, lol!
Paki!
4. Once, study kami sa bahay nila, ni lock kami sa loob, with them, di raw kami lalabas, until di kami mag tapat! aba, mga dictators pa sila ha!
another ngek...
Cheer up ko na lang sarili ko by commenting:
Fort knox, Michel, sorry...Pero ano ka, nung nakalingat sila, takbo ako sa pinto, sabay bukas, labas, takbo. Kasunod ko pala si Michel, haha. Takot paiwan, lol;
Tatlo ba naman kalaban, mga "cruella de villa" pa!
Minsan, tawag ko sa kanila "bunch of bananas". Or di kaya, tatlong Maria sa Monaco, haha.
Ganyan ako non, witness ako ha, pero super kuleet!Lakas makaasar.
And proud ako non, bagong baptized, wala pa humility.
Teka ano yun? Shhh!
Pero di yan ang simula ng "spark" between me and Lolo. Inabot pa ng two years bago ako tuluyan na pinansin ni Lolo. Di ko alam he watched me like hawk na pala in two years na he brought me to Kingdom hall,three times a week. He later told me , he had been asking God na if there is a possibility daw na I will be free sa first marriage ko, he would jump to the opportunity.
I was thinking, if he buried himself more in reading the Bible in those times...
Siguro.
shh, no tell Lolo. Maldita na naman Lola nyo, lol
Yun nga year 2001,may anak na si ex ko with his gf, i filed an annulment of marriage sa QC with first lawyer. Eh iniwan ako ng ist lawyer, nag migrate sa US. Pero nong nalaman ni Michel na I did file, he proposed me marriage. Gulat ako! Why me? I got baggages, tatlo anak sa Pinas!
He said simply: I enjoyed having instant family, my first wife got three also before I married her.
Ngek, ganun? "Besides, you are full of fun, no dull moment, and you make me laugh...since my wife died, I never laughed like this again... "
Ganun, clown pala ako?Oh please...
So I said" I try to get an annulment of my marriage." Gusto ko na rin siya non, kasi when he speaks, he has principles applied always kaya I was hooked. Mama mia! Pero teka, 58 na siya non, ako 36.Buti kompleto pa buhok niya, no white hair,hehe, kaya he looked just like my age lang.
Or nearly, sige na nga...
Cute si Lolo, when he chew his food, his pink cheeks goes up and down, looks like a cherry fruit.Sarap pisilin, grrr!
Kaya when I told him:"I ll be going home sa Pilipinas"
"I'll come with you."
Its costly the plane ticket and 24 hours to arrive there.
"I am ready."
"I might be staying there long,will wait on long process of annulment,
"I have patience. "
"I dont know if I will get the annulment, Michel, so it might be a long wait... "
" With our God's help, nothing is impossible."
Wow, what a faith...Kaya mo yun???
Year 2000 he bought an apartment in Nice and he wanted me to decorate it,and stay with him, and we told our congregation elders about our plans, and they said, we must be out for a while(cannot be a JW anymore, representing our God)
His co elders advised us to settle our affairs properly from the law of the land, and then we can come back.Michel losts his priviledges as an elder... we were no longer Jehovah's Witnesses...Sad, waaah!
I was so sorry for him, thirty years as a Witness and its gone. He consoled me:"If its the will of Jehovah God to give back to me the priviledges to serve Him again ,in the future, it will be. We will not leave Him, we will always be with Him by our actions and prayers. We continue to go to meetings even disfellowshipped...God knows the motivation of our hearts, He will sort out our situation."Iyak ako. May atungal pang kasama. Kasi naman eh, katagal matapos ng annulment...
It was a shocked to all of his french friends, brothers and sisters. His son in UK knew about it and joked at him:
"Dad, what happened? Were you caught having three stewardess in the locker of an airplane?"Some of his relatives were asking themselves, whats wrong with Michel... Just because of a woman, he prefer to lose his eldership, when he can have one as pretty as she anywhere, or even prettier...not married... no baggages...
Of course! Why Asiatic nga naman noh! Dami naman european dyan...But I gave him happiness. I supported him in all his goals, plans, decisions. We blend together. He brought me to romantic places of Italy (Pisa, Florence, Venice, Milan,Torino). We visited Paris Disneyland , Belgium, until Germany, wala ako papel non, haha. We visited Cebu, Bohol, Bagiou, Subic, Boracay and in Manila mostly.
He stayed 45 days in Philippines, we stayed with my children in a penthouse hotel in Cubao.He enjoyed buko, mangoes,seafoods, the filipino people, our native dogs and cats, the rooster crowing in the morning or even lunchtime and he would say: "hello,you just wake up"?
He enjoyed the buko (young coconut) that he bought one bolo (big chopping knife) to open it on his own, better than the filipino vendor,(kuno).
He rides in fx, in jeepneys, even run after them during rush hours Cubao-Antipolo.
He knows Tagalog: "Ma, bayad, cubao, dalawa"... and he would not pass our pamasahe to a passenger next to him. He would transfer seat next to the jeepney driver and give our fare.
Some passengers would take the fare from him, but he said: No, thanks,i give it my self. Imagine the crawling he did in the center of the jeepney...
When I asked him why he doesnt want to pass the payments along, he said: they are not working for me,why I would bother them???!
Ngeeeh...
French si Lolo. Iba kultura. Sa Pinoy, okey lang: "pakiabot nga po bayad."
Sa France, you do that to another, they would say:
"Who are you..?!! ow, ow ,ow! "Basta, how did we met?Tok! tok!tok!One never knows,baka kayo sunod sa yapak ng lola nyo, haha.
