The Beautiful and the Disaster Part II

The night seemed to be going perfect until DISASTER happened...

While I was drinking me second beer, which turned out to be the last for the night, the handler of candidate #5 approached me:

Mark: "To, marunong ka magDrive?"
Me: "Opo."
Mark: "May motor ka?"
Me: "Opo."
Mark: "Ok lang ba ihatid mo siya (points at contestant #5) sa bahay nila?"
Me: "Ok lang. TagaSaan ba siya?"
Mark: "Sa Odiongan, sa bayan malapit sa RSU (Romblon State University)."
Me: "Ang layo naman. Sino kasama mo?"
Mark: "Ikaw lang. Sino ba pwede mong kasama?"
Me: "Baka si Buen o si Kit pero mukhang nag-eenjoy na sila eh." (More dance na yung dalawa sa gitna ng dancefloor.)
Mark: "Sige ako na lang."

I agreed and asked them to wait outside the plaza while I get the bike parked across the street. I told Buen I'd come back for him as soon as possible.

We hit the road and everything was smooth for a few minutes. Most of the road were cemented and we were running at around 60 tops. Then the handler asked me, "Ikaw ba panganay ni Mam Dhors?" I said yes and our conversation went from there. He said he is from Batiano and is teaching college in RSU. Batiano is the birth place of my mom and is about 3 kilometers away from town where we live. We were having a nice talk until...

The cement road ended and unfortunately, I did not notice it. I was not able to slow down as we hit the dirt road. We swayed for a bit but I was able to control the vehicle after a while until I noticed something was wrong. "Flat ata," I said as I stopped in a dark corner of the road where there were no street lights and the only visible lights were coming from the moon and the vehicle.

Confirmed. We had a flat tire, a really flat tire at that. I tried to test drive it alone but it was really hard to maneuver. Mark decided to text his friend to pick us up. I texted Buen I couldn't go back because of what happened and that he'd have to go home with Kit instead. No reply. I took it as "ok."

After around 20 minutes of waiting, he arrived, our savior. He took the contestant and the Mark with him while I drive the vehicle with the flat tire this time I was going at a speed of 20. They were behind me as was driving at the same speed. Hope came over me when Mark mentioned a vulcanizing shop at the next barangay, Gabawan.

We drove for what I thought were endless minutes until we reached Gabawan. Luck was obviously not our side and the shop was closed.

Next stop was Barangay Dapawan which was about four barangays away. There was a lot of things going on on my mind.

Shit! Magagalit si Papa. Lalo na si Mama kasi di nya ako pinayagan originally eh nung nagpaalam ako. Si Papa lang talaga yung umOkey. Baka di rin ako payagan bumalik mamayang gabi para sa Ms. Gay dahil dito. Di ko ba sasabihin ang nangyari? Paano mamaya pag gising nila at nalaman na flat yung gulong? PaVulcanaize ko kaya at huwag sabihin sa kanila para parang walang nangyari? Paano kung wala nang open? Gisingin ko na lang kaya si Papa at siya na magpaVulcanize?

I was almost already murmuring to myself when the other vehicle drove past me and I heard the driver say, "Sundan mo kami." We were already in Dapawan. We took a left turn and then another right until we reached the VULCANIZING SHOP. It was heaven. I never thought I'd look at a vulcanizing shop in such admiration. The sign said CLOSED.

The driver of the other vehicle shouted but in a controlled manner, "Bes, Bes." There was light. An old man, obviously interrupted from his deep slumber came out of the bamboo-slit gate.

 Rear tire was taken off for some vulcanizing job. The old guy didn't get any help from me as I don't know anything about bikes.

He agreed to help us. I told the driver bring contestant #5 home. Mark agreed to stay with me. The vulcanizer guy started his magic. He first removed the rear tire of the bike, removed the interior and determined how many holes there was. He said there were many and are the result of running on a flat tire. My bad! Later he'd tell me there were actually only two holes, one caused by a nail which penetrated the hard rubber and the other caused by running on a flat tire. I let out a sigh of relief.

I texted Papa immediately. I told him the truth. He asked me if I needed help, I said I was okay. A few minutes later, Papa was there on a bike. He left after being assured that everything was fine. I think it helped that he knew Mark. The driver came back with two burgers and two bottles of water then left. Mark and I continued on with our conversation until the vulcanizer guy was finished.

 My SAVIOR. If you're ever here in Odiongan, Romblon and is in need of any vulcanizing jobs, I suggest you go here. It is located at Barangay Dapawan. Just look for the market place and you'll definitely won't miss it. They also sell over a year old vinegars. Maasin na maasim at really affordable prizes. The also have uling and mini lanterns for sale. Kaya ano pang hinihintay mo, Go Na Here at Elvis Vulcanizing Shop! They've got it all for you! Chos!

40 pesos! That was how much it cost us!

We asked again thinking we heard it wrong but we heard it right. 40 pesos. Mark gave him 50 pesos and I added 20 pesos. Mark was as shocked as me and we shifted our conversation from him being a handler to how much a vulcanizing shop earns in a day. We ended in an agreement that that's the line of business we'd never venture into to. Then a few laughs until we reached his home. I drove back to town and bought myself cigarette from a burger stand near the town plaza on the way home.