Sing only happy songs for Dingdong

How lucky can a man get? Just when showbiz marriages are crumbling like a deck of cards (among the latest casualties are Raymond Bagatsing and Lara Fabregas). Dingdong’s two-year-union with Jessa Zaragoza is going great guns. In mid-June, when Jessa gives birth to their firstborn, expect it to even grow stronger, sweeter.

"The song I’m So Happy best describes my feelings now," beams Dingdong, who has another reason to be excited: a concert at Ratsky Morato on Feb. 5, 9 p.m., with Ara Mina as guest.

The concert, produced by DMV Entertainment and YES FM 101.1 is entitled Dingdong Avanzado: Walang Kapalit, and is inspired by the singer-songwriter’s revival hit for Star Records.

So much has happened in-between Walang Kapalit, the concert, and another show held almost a year earlier with Jessa.

Dingdong has stumbled on many pleasant surprises about Jessa, the girl he says "I can no longer live without."

Jessa, 11 years his junior, has mellowed, the doting husband says. Time was when she was one of the most feisty women hereabouts.

"She’d go on talking while I was not yet through with my piece. But now, she’s matured a lot. She’s no longer that way," observes Dingdong.

That headstrong streak still shows, to be sure. But Dingdong manages to temper it.

For Jessa, everything should have its proper time.

"At night, she’d urge me, ‘Hon, that’s enough. Let’s go to sleep’," Dingdong says. But since he knows it’s a sign of love on Jessa’s part, he doesn’t take it against his wife.

"She wants me to be beside her when she goes to sleep," a smiling Dingdong explains. How romantic can anyone get?

This same sweetness drove Jessa to decide against giving birth in the US, where Dingdong has several relatives who can take care of her. Since she wants him to stay longer by her side after she gives birth (Dingdong has to come back to the Philippines sooner or later), Jessa asked her husband to let her bear their firstborn in the Philippines.

"We haven’t decided on a name yet pending the ultrasound result about the baby’s gender," reveals Dingdong. But whatever the baby’s sex is, the couple knows one thing for sure: they want their firstborn’s name to have the letters J (for Jessa) and D (for Dingdong).

No one was more ecstatic than Dingdong when he first saw his baby’s tiny hands move via the ultrasound.

"I was speechless! My hair stood on end and I was teary-eyed. Imagine, I was part of all that," he gushes.

Fatherhood (the full-time kind that is, since Dingdong has a 10-year-old love son by a nonshowbiz girl) is something he has longed for "all my life." This is why Dingdong surprised Jessa last Christmas by taking time out from his busy schedule to buy her a maternity dress.

The excited couple also bought a video about what to expect during pregnancy, and a baby book, to record their newborn’s every move.

The baby, Dingdong reports, was unplanned. They wanted to wait a little longer before having one. But there it was, conceived last year, when Dingdong and Jessa went to San Diego and Japan. Since then, Jessa has been craving for taho and ensaymada. "She has also grown extra fond of Rica Peralejo," the amused husband relates.

How do they keep the fire burning?

First, by keeping an element of surprise. An example is the unexpected Christmas present at a time when Jessa thought Dingdong was too busy to buy her one.

This emphasis on the emotional side of their marriage is also oh-so-important, says Dingdong.

"I learned that from a Christian friend who attended a (marriage encounter) seminar. He told me that for a marriage to thrive, a couple should know their responsibilities," states Dingdong.

"A man for instance, should know his responsibility is much more than just putting food on the table," he goes on.

So he gives Jessa all the emotional support she needs, especially at this crucial time in her life. After all, she has found an ideal wife in her.

"She’s a homemaker, spic and span around the house," he beams.

Far from cramping their style, their 11-year age gap has enhanced their marriage. Dingdong has been there, done that, compared to Jessa. So he gives her advice when she needs it. And Jessa, the eager student, listens.

Figures why Dingdong is more inspired to work harder these days. He has written The Moment, for Jessa’s album. He plans to return to songwriting and is beside himself with joy at hearing how much Dolphy liked his (Dingdong’s) composition, Maghihintay Sa ’Yo. Zsa Zsa Padilla even did a recorded version of the song herself.

Dingdong and Jessa are also planning to return as a working team, and stage a follow-up to last year’s Valentine show. With a baby to cement their bond and make them wiser many times over, Dingdong and Jessa are calculated to mature as performers – be it as a team, or as separate individuals.

As it is, a movie reporter has observed how "Dingdong has more soul in his songs." Dingdong himself affirms this, saying, "Before, the focus was on things personal – on me as a celebrity (those were his Tatlong Beynte Singko days, when he sang about calling one’s crush by dropping three 25 centavo coins in the pay phone). Now, it’s on me as performer; on my repertoire."

Dingdong, the mellowing effect of fatherhood just few months away, is happy to keep it that way.