Why Kris And Philip Cried Together

"You kinda broke my heart today!"

With those words coming from a dear friend like Kris Aquino, how could not your heart melt -- and break, too?

That was Kris' reaction to Funfare's boxed story yesterday about Alvin Patrimonio's "real girlfriend," half-Dutch/half-Ilonggo Maila Koelman, 20, based in Bacolod with her rich parents (owner of a recreation complex there).

You see, these past few weeks, there has been a lot of speculations about Kris and Alvin (estranged from wife Cindy Conwi who herself, according to reports, has found her own new happiness) getting back together again after their romance was rudely interrupted by Alvin's (sudden?) marriage.

At last Sunday's PBA show (paying tribute to basketball greats) at the Araneta Coliseum, host Kris publicly expressed her great (and undying?) admiration for Alvin, sounding as if they were already, well, "an item."

Until the Funfare "scoop" broke out.

Anyway, if it's any consolation to Kris, a lot of her friends (this one included) believe that she truly deserves somebody better, somebody who can match not only her looks, her pedigree, her bank account and her fame/popularity but also, more so, her intelligence. Nothing can be more boring than somebody who can manage only monosyllabic answers to questions that require kilometric discussion, di ba?

Oh, well, in love and in war, you win some, lose some. But "losing" shouldn't be a reason for anybody not to fall in love again -- and again.

Anyway, as today's headline says, why did Kris and estranged home companion Phillip Salvador cry together?

No, the crying incident has nothing at all to do with the Funfare "scoop" about Alvin. (In fact, when Phillip was asked about Alvin Patrimonio at yesterday's presscon for his latest movie, Viva Films' Pag Oras Mo, Oras Mo Na, he half-jokingly answered, "Alvin who?")

Last Monday night, Kris and Phillip (who have become better friends now that they're living apart -- and it's not only because of their son Joshua) watched The Story of Us together at the Glorietta Cinema, a movie touted as "a love story that will touch your heart." And touch Kris and Phillip's hearts the movie did -- and how!

Sad movies do make us all cry, don't they? And that's just what Kris and Phillip did, according to Kris' phone account to Funfare -- "We cried together inside the moviehouse."

The Story of Us, starring Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer, is a very real and very humorous examination of a couple's marriage. After 15 years, the couple is wrestling with the universal paradox: Why are the qualities that made them fall in love in the first place now the very things pulling them apart? Emotionally drained from their relationship, husband and wife attempt a trial separation while their children are away at summer camp.

Does the plot sound oh-so-familiar?

Kris and Phillip's blissful togetherness didn't last 15 years (only about five years) but they did separate for exactly the same reason that the movie couple did.

The plot thickens: Will Kris and Phillip fall in love the second time around?

"We're the best of friends now," said Kris (who has been celibate since the break-up), "and we'll keep it that way."

And that's the story of them.

(Postscript: After the movie, where did the un-couple go? Home, of course! His or hers? Laughed Kris, "He went to his home and I went to mine.")

* * *

Martin Nievera can be "faulted" for once being, well, unfaithful but you can't accuse him of not having a big heart.

Here's a story of how Martin showed that big and kind heart to a cancer patient who has since joined Our Creator, told by the husband who is forever grateful for Martin's good deed.

Read on:

Dear Mr. Lo,

I'm not an avid reader of your column although I find your curtain-raisers very much intriguing, interesting and fascinating. I'm very fond of English movies and hardly ever watch a local film. It's my wife and daughters who are very much interested in and concerned about local showbiz.

Last March 30, my wife Aileen died of complications due to her stage 4 cervical cancer condition. She died at her hospital room at St. Luke's Medical Center where she had been confined since March 20. Aileen had long been a fan (I don't know why) of Martin Nievera and was sort of obsessed with meeting him personally as she could not watch his concerts due to funding constraints and lack of interest on my part.

Egay and Michelle Gonzales are close friends from a Bible Study Group and it was they who asked Martin to visit Aileen in response to her long-standing wish. Last March 22, late afternoon, Martin visited my wife in the hospital room. No press, no fanfare. He came in, kissed my wife who was on a wheelchair and shook hands with everybody. He stayed for more than an hour telling stories, cracking jokes and exchanging pleasantries. He sang Be My Lady a cappella as requested by Aileen.

It was the only song my wife could remember at that time. I couldn't blame her since everyone in the room, including my two daughters, were perhaps in a state of shock and surprise being in the presence of a celebrity. With his antics and good-natured humor, Martin brightened up and enlivened an otherwise dreary and gloomy room.

I'm not really fond nor impressed by showbiz people. I always feel they're not real. Seeing Martin personally entertaining my wife in a hospital room opened my eyes to another side of him. He was human, he was real and he had compassion.

At my wife's wake, Martin sent a very beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers. Please print this letter in your column. It is my way of thanking a man who made the remaining days of my wife's life happier and more meaningful.

-- LOUIE CESAR

29 D Tulips Street,

St. Dominic 4 Subd., Tandang Sora, Quezon City