Demina

I woke up crosswise on my four-poster bed. My intentions were just to lie down, stay awake in front of my TV set while Mai changed Demi’s diaper. I was planning on taking over mommy duties from my daughter who had to fulfill her nightly rituals. Instead, I woke up at 4:15 a.m. wondering where everyone was.

I wasn’t physically exhausted or mentally tired even if I was grandmothering. Before I dozed off at 10 p.m., I tried to distract Demi from her restlessness, which was either due to her tiny teeth persistently inching their way upward and piercing her soft gums, or the ache in her tummy. I rubbed the old reliable Aciete de Manzanilla on her. Ah, what a smile Demi gave me — she’s the only baby I’ve ever cuddled who rushes into anyone’s arms with a wide smile. 

This product of two continents — Asia and Europe — has since December won everyone’s heart: the yayas, aunties, cousins, drivers, and guards. She’s adorable. Isn’t it funny that we don’t feel silly when we’re trying to make children smile? We make the funniest faces just to communicate our desire for approval — even just a smirk from them. It’s pretty much like trying to please a boss when you’re an adult.

Mai and Andrea’s temperaments make Demi the subject of endless kisses, squeezes, a game of hide and seek that elicits giggles. Two parents once separated by seas, with different histories yet of the same dispositions, are carrying on the tradition of both families — parenthood with kindness, discipline and fun.

That gets me thinking: we never know whom our children will marry or if the marriages will work out. We just pray that our children are steadfast in their vows for better and for worse.

What’s on Demi’s menu? Mother’s milk and osterized food, a mixture of baby pastas with virgin olive oil, zucchini and carrots. And at night, every three hours on the dot, mother’s milk. That’s why Demetria Antonia’s thighs are dimpled and fat.

What’s so funny about Demi is that when we buy her a toy, she wants the tag; when we buy her a dress, she eats the buttons; when we buy her shoes, she grabs the box and since she likes the feel of the soft soles on her hand, she puts her feet up to her mouth to bite her shoe soles. When we buy her a blanket she’ll bite the satin border. She’ll latch on to her pillow and put the thickest corners in her mouth. When we make her eat pasta she opens her mouth and grabs her rubberized spoon. She touches anything that sparkles, like my diamond earrings. She pulled one earring off my ear and we couldn’t find the stud. Finally we decided to pry open her palm and there it was!

Mai bought Demi a toy with a string to pull for the music to begin. She eats the bubble at the end of the string. We bought her a teeter but she prefers to calm her gums with my rubber bottle, which once contained holy water from Lourdes.

She knows how to kiss nose-to-nose. She claps when we do. I put her between my legs to keep her still as we watch TV together. Suddenly she leans her head forward and licks the butter cream on my legs. When I carry her she finds my shoulder yummy from the cocoa butter cream on it. Mother connects us all for sure, with our similar experiences.

Us mothers and grandmothers needed a diversion too and The Establishment was the restaurant to go to. Anton San Diego, Ricco and Tina Ocampo hosted a lunch there for Joyce Ma of Hong Kong and Josie Natori of New York. It’s Anton’s restaurant and it has various nooks for gorging on food and relaxing There’s a niche for small gatherings and white huge sofa-chairs, a central area with sofas and dining tables, giving patrons the choice of getting up after a hearty meal and chatting awhile. There’s a cocktail bar for boozers after work, and private rooms on the second floor for parties and conferences. 

At that lunch there were six of us. Ricco recounted he was tired from taking Joyce shopping to buy ceramic white plates for Joyce’s home in Bangkok. It was a joy for us to see that Joyce had regained her strength after a vacation in Italy on the Andriotti farm. A sudden illness overtook her there and she found herself hospitalized in Sienna, Italy. What a scare it was being so far from her native Hong Kong and the comfort of her own doctors. But all is well. Josie was so slim as always, and always bubbly and enthusiastic about everyone and her designs.

Lin Ilusorio, her classmate from Maryknoll, had ordered a silk lounging robe from Josie in New York for Isabel Preysler. On the market the dressing gown cost $2,500. It was sent back by Isabel who wanted an off white, not light beige robe. Lin didn’t want to return it to Josie with its beautiful embroidery in silk thread and huge peonies embroidered in the Philippines. Seeing it was certainly a work of art, Lin gave it to Maimai. 

Soon after, another request from Isabel was called in and again the color wasn’t what she wanted. Josie had the beautiful exotic dressing gown displayed in Saks. One day Brad Pitt called about buying it for Angelina Jolie. It was his Christmas gift for her.

 “Every color of Birkin was available at Hermes in Hong Kong this Christmas,” Linda Ho Maxwell said. “And there wasn’t any waiting time of six months to two years.”

Andrea Zini, my son-in-law, came up with this quip for Tina and Joyce: “You girls are all lucky. I manufacture thousands to sell. You make but a few to market.” 

“In spite of our ugly bags we’re holding tonight,” Joyce chimed in referring to Linda’s and her own tiny bag which were more practical than glamorous. Their bags were sort of battered, having seen better days, but Joyce’s candidness proved that practically and design are factors to be considered — not necessarily brand names. When you’ve reached the top like she has, you can make jokes about yourself.

This babysitter — me — took a break and bought myself another Celestina tote crocodile bag, my sixth from Tina’s collection. Its structure is practical as seen in its inside compartments and elegant on the outside. It’s by a Filipina and I carry it proudly around the world.

For the sake of motherhood, Mai took a leave from designing and bag execution during her pregnancy. It’s a thrill watching her design bags and measuring them on a drawing board, sketching possible materials, choosing silver or gold hardware for the bags, the length of the handle, the number of stitches, the silk or cotton or leather lining. God in his wisdom gives everyone the opportunity to succeed!

We realized we were overstaying at The Establishment. It was time for the airport for Joyce and time to shop for the rest of us. It was time to begin getting creative for the summer merchandise for Tina and Joyce.

For me it was time to return to Demetria Antonia, my Florentine granddaughter who looks so much like her cousin, the gwapo Renzo Jaworski of Polish-Filipino blood. I can’t wait to see Demi go for the pencil I’ll be holding, to touch the necklace on my neck, to look at my face intensely. She makes eyeball to eyeball contact with me. 

I wish she’d remember me six months from today although I doubt it. Her mother will be monopolizing her so Demi will forget us. Her mom won’t be going to Hermes too often with a baby to breastfeed and that would entail too much time away from home. Besides, Mai would rather be with her baby, cleaning up “her mess.”