Rendezvous at midnight

Curtain-raisers:

• Yes, it’s true: P and P did go steady but only very briefly and very secretly. P (the guy) mutually decided with P (the gal) to discontinue their romance in deference to his screen sweetheart. It was a choice of career over love.

• Funfare’s California DPA said that she saw Geneva Cruz and KC Montero, with Geneva’s son Heaven, at the Italian restaurant Boudin’s in Stanford, Palo Alto, California. "They were kissing tenderly so I was convinced that, despite their denials, they were really on." That happened during the last Christmas season. KC and Geneva have recently broken up. Sad, isn’t it?

• Funfare’s L.A. DPA said that she saw Pops Fernandez and Martin Nievera, with their son Robin, in a tearful goodbye last month at the L.A. Airport. Pops and Robin were there for a vacation and so was Martin (with his beloved K). The un-couple are friends, that’s why they pay each other friendly visits – for the sake of the kids, you know – everytime they are abroad.

*****

This story is highly-sensitive, so don’t expect any tell-tale clues to the identities of the stars involved. Just pay close attention to any Freudian slips between the lines, okay?

Mr. Big Time is seriously pursuing a very popular movie-TV actress and he’s doing so, well, under cover of darkness. The better to avoid inquisitive eyes, yes! What he does is drop by Miss Big Time’s place in the dead of night – now you know why today’s banner is Rendezvous at midnight – when, they think (wrongly, of course!) that the neighbors are deep into slumberland, forgetting that the walls have ears and the windows have eyes.

They are starting to like each other. While he used to make the women laugh, things have been reversed, with Miss Big Time now the one making him laugh. He enjoys it – being the one laughing at somebody else’s jokes. She’s as free as a bird and, hopefully, he’ll be free soon, too. Who knows, they might find in each other the "perfect partner" they’ve long been looking for. He’s into his mid 40s and she’s into her early 30s. A perfect match, I guess.

But here’s the rub: Everytime Mr. Big Time visits Miss Big Time, he’s accompanied by his bodyguards (a dozen of them?). One midnight, a commotion erupted and, had anyone made a wrong move, it could have degenerated into a shootout.

You see, the armed bodyguards as usual stayed inside the van parked near the gate of the subdivision where Miss Big Time lives. Somebody must have gotten suspicious (kidnappings and robberies are rampant in these islands, remember?) and called the police. Soon, a troop came and tension rose. The armed men inside the van identified themselves as policemen, too, so a shootout was aborted (thank heavens, ’no!).

Moral lesson: Next time Mr. Big Time pays another midnight visit to Miss Big Time, he should let his bodyguards in to avoid a similar incident. That is, unless he and Miss Big Time are doing something more serious than just, well, having a good laugh over her jokes.

(Sssh! Quiet now or you might disturb Miss Big Time’s child’s sweet slumber.)

Jennifer Cuneta steals the show

Something exciting happened last Monday night at Virgin Café (Tomas Morato, Quezon City) where Aster Amoyo hosted a bienvenida dinner for visiting journalist Raoul Tidalgo (entertainment editor and columnist of the New York-based The Filipino Reporter).

There were about 10 of us enjoying a table-ful of native delicacies, namely (aside from Aster), Mario Hernando, Cher Calvin (host of F and Point of View, besides being an ANC newscaster), STAR Assistant Entertainment Editor Maridol Rañoa-Bismark and New York-based singer Jennifer Cuneta who came with her boyfriend Ric Bernabe (goodlooking enough to be in showbiz) and Jennifer’s musical director Frank Lamboy.

A band was performing and during a break, Aster requested Jennifer to render a song or two. The ever game, ever lively and ever vivacious Jennifer said, "Why not?," and proceeded to the Virgin Café stage. And then she launched into a stirring rendition of Hero which she did oh-so-well that she got a round of heartfelt applause not only from our group but also from other Virgin Café patrons. By insistent demand, Jennifer sang one more song, I Will Always Love You, and won us over even more. Bravo, bravo, bravo!

Virgin Café boss Orly Ilacad was so impressed with Jennifer that, if only she could stay longer, he would have booked her for a show right there and then.

Jennifer, a niece of Sharon Cuneta, was here in December last year to launch her album Dreaming of Love (distributed by Star Records). She came back last April 10 to do an album promo tour in Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao and Iloilo. She’s leaving for New York on May 10.

That Virgin Café impromptu two-song mini-"concert" was the exciting thing I was talking about. That was actually a repeat of a similar event at Onstage last week when Jennifer was also invited by Martin Nievera and Ariel Rivera to "jam" with them. Martin, Ariel and company were there to relax, not for a show. Jennifer ended up not only jamming with the two guys but singing two songs solo, I’ll Be There and How Do You Keep the Music Playing.

You and I will be hearing more of Jennifer and her songs, just wait and see. She’ll be back soon – for more.