Chapter 1
Sylvia when the latter cam to their house to pick her up and her stuff. Lola
Sylvia, as Via would call her, told her favorite grandchild upon
arrival that she was to stay with her for a month during summer vacation
since her dad would be away on a business trip to Chicago.
"Via, this is not shipping you off ok? I'm you grandma remember? Your
dad just wanted someone to look after you while he is in Chicago. And
it happens that Frank trusts me very well with that job." her lola
explained to her.
The truth of the matter was, Via was glad she was staying with her
dad's mom for summer vacation. Lola Sylvia became the maternal figure in
her life while she was growing up since she never knew her real mom.
Rowena de Ocampo left her husband and daughter when Via was only 3. Since
then, her dad busied himself with his real estate firm and entrusted
his daughter to his mother. "Don't you want to stay with me anymore, iha?"
"Of course I do, lola! You have been like my mom already. Maybe I just
miss daddy. It's been a while since we last had a moment alone as
father and daughter. He's always busy with business trips and I always get
shipped off when he has an important one coming." she continued to
ramble on as her grandmother listened while they both settled comfortably
into the backseat of the Ford Lynx.
"Olivia, you know that your dad loves you. He's only doing all of
these to secure a bright future for his only daughter. C'mon, don't be so
hard on your dad ok? I'm sure he'll bring you lots of new stuff when he
comes back." her grandmother had this unusual talent of cheering up
people, and it always never fails to work on Via. "In the meantime, why
don't I treat you to your favorite restaurant for lunch ok? Deal?"
She hesitated at first before saying, "Promise?" Lola Sylvia nodded
and it was more than enough to return Via to her usual mood. Maybe she
was going to enjoy this one month ahead of her after all.
The ride from Lahug to Maria Luisa Subdivision took less than 30
minutes. The family residence was a mansion, so to speak, especially since
her late grandfather left a fortune when he passed away a few years
back. The family business is now being managed by her tito Jake, her dad's
youngest brother. His family lives in the mansion too.
"Hi Via! Am glad that you'll be staying with us for the summer."
greeted her tita Grace, Jake's wife who was a former model during the late
seventies. "I'm sure Ciara would be glad to see you. Would it be ok if
the two of you share a room?"
Ciara was her 16 year old cousin and her bestfriend in the family
circle. Her planned stay at the mansion was kept a secret as a surprise to
her cousins. "Me too, tita Grace. Is Ciara home?" she asked.
"Yeah, she's at her room watching her recent Westlife home video. I
swear, your cousin is so into that group."
Via just smiled, she knew her cousin all too well. Since she
discovered how marvelous Westlife is, Ciara devoted all her time into collecting
Westlife memorabilia and building a huge collection of her own. Via
likes their music too, she's just not like Ciara who could already be
considered a fanatic by mere description.
She was jolted out of her own thoughts by the greeting of a booming
voice from the foyer. "Ate Via! What are you doing here?", the voice
belonged to David, Ciara's younger brother. "I thought you were in Chicago."
"Bad news though, I'll be staying here for a month. So how's that, we
can shoot baskets all day long." she casually quipped to David. He had
been like a brother to her also and they both cherished vacations that
they spent together while they were growing up.
"Cool beans! Does ate Ciara already know about this?", from the looks
of it, David was on his way to another basketball practice again. He
wanted to make it to varsity when he reaches senior year in high school
which is why he practices religiously with his friends.
"Not yet. I still have to surprise her though." she quipped. "Am on my
way to her room now. You practicing with your friends again huh?" Via asked.
"Yup. I have to polish my shooting skills or else coach won't be
impressed when try-outs start next school year." David replied.
"Well good luck ok? But be home for lunch. Lola's treating us out."
"Sure. I'll be here on time. Ciao!"
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At a hotel somewhere in the U.K…
The lads were in a party mood in their hotel room. For some unknown
reason, Anto and the management decided to give the guys a two-month
break from touring. As they feasted on the food they ordered for room
service, Shane, Kian and Nicky were already in the middle of planning a
month long hiatus in the Bahamas. Bryan was still undecided on his own
plans. Mark? We he didn't know what to do either during their break until…
the phone in their hotel room rang. Nicky made a beeline for it and got
to answer the call.
"Nicky here. Mrs. Feehily? Ok, hold on for a moment pls." he covered
the phone with his hand and motioned for Mark to come over. He asked him
who it was, "It's your mom and she has something to tell you."
Mark immediately snatched the phone from his bandmate and had a
heart-to-heart talk with his mom for over 30 minutes. Although the rest of
the guys were curious enough to know what the mother and son were talking
about, they decided to wait by playing strip poker. After the phone-call…
"Great news guys! Mom just gave me a brilliant idea on where we should
spend our vacation." beamed Mark after he was off the phone.
"You're going with us to the Bahamas?" Shane sounded so sure their
plan was the best idea for this vacation. "We can make reservations now."
"Not the Bahamas! I had other things in mind, Filan." Kian sensed that
Mark had this I-have-a-great-idea look in his eyes and he was getting
curious about it, "Spill it now ok, Feehily. You're killing us with
suspense over this planned vacation of yours."
"Ok…ok, I'll say it." four pairs of eyes were now darted in his
direction and Mark had a feeling that the guys would love his proposal. "My
mom has this college friend who wants to invite us for a vacation in her
country. She owns a mansion actually and it's in a very cool
subdivision. Mom said we could even visit the beaches in that place." the lads
still weren't convinced, and so Mark had to add that…"We only pay for our
airfare. Our stay there will be all expenses paid."
"Cool! And where is this place? Is this mansion somewhere in Polynesia
or Micronesia?" joked Bryan.
"It's in the Philippines actually, Cebu City to be exact." he noticed
his mates were still quite unsure, "Do you want to come? I could go
there by myself."
Bryan immediately came to Mark's rescue, "C'mon guys. This will be a
whole new experience for all of us. We're gonna have an Asian vacation
for a change."
"Ok, count me in. I'm coming with you." chirped Nicky. And now the
focus was on Shane and Kian who still had to decide on the issue.
"Ok, we'll come too. But we'd better arrive separately since we don't
want people to recognize us, right? This is supposed to be a vacation."
Shane suggested.
"Good idea. I'll call Mom and tell here to inform aunt Celine to pick
us up in different batches. Who's gonna take the same flight as I am?"
Mark asked, and got an answer from Bryan. The rest of the guys would
take a separate flight going to Cebu City.
As soon as they laid down all their plans, it was time to ask
permission from their respective families. The remaining four dialed home and
asked for permission to go on this trip. Apparently, the families of the
lads trusted each other which is why they readily gave their nod to the
vacation. Now the only thing lacking is a date of departure and plane
tickets to be purchased. The guys agreed to leave by next Tuesday so
that they can have more time to prepare for the trip.
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As expected, Ciara was ecstatic when she saw her favorite cousin. They
have been playmates eversince they were little kids and Ciara always
looked up to Via as her role model. Via chanced upon her cousin watching
a certain video of Westlife. As her tita Grace had said, Ciara is a
fanatic of the group and she's forever crushin' on Bryan McFadden.
"Isn't Bryan a cutie, Via." Ciara was actually after her cousin's
approval for her choice.
"Yeah he is, but I like Mark better. More of like my ideal man
actually." Via casually told her cousin.
"Is that so! Oh my, Via… you're now actually into Westlife huh?" her
cousin was smiling, as if she just scored a major point with Via's
revelation. "Mark a cutie though. So tell me, why do you like him among all
of them?" an interrogation of all sorts was about to follow, Via can sense it.
"I dunno, I just feel drawn to him that's all. And you can stop
interrogating me 'coz you'll never find out anything."
"Then you can just have this Mark picture that I bought." Ciara
offered. "Who knows, this might bring you some luck for the summer, and for
me also." Via gladly took the pic and kept it in her wallet. But she sensed
something in what Ciara just said a while ago, "Am I correct in thinking
that you still have this illusion of meeting Westlife this summer? Do you
know where they are touring right now, huh?"
"I didn't say anything, Via. And besides, news has it that the lads
are on vacation for two months. No details on where they are heading though."
"They might be off to somewhere private but not here in the
Philippines. So you can just forget about that illusion of yours."
"Of course not! Who knows, maybe fate has other plans. We'll never
know." Ciara seemed so assured of what she was saying and Via could only
mutter, "Dream on, Ciara!"
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Bryan was fidgeting in his seat as the flight stewardess announced
they were nearing the airport. In about 20 minutes, their plane will land
in Mactan-Cebu International Airport. Mark was busy reading some John
Grisham novel he recently bought for the trip. Noticing his bandmate's
anxiety, Mark decided to calm him down.
"McFadden, we have been here before remember? During our East meets
Westlife tour in May 2000. Relax, we're not in hostile territory." Mark
assured Bryan that everything will be alright and that aunt Celine is a
trusted family friend of the Feehilys.
Bry managed to calm down and turned to Mark's direction, "Will we meet
a lot of friends here?" This time, Bryan looked like a 5-year old child
eager to meet his playmates.
"Of course we will! Aunt Celine will make sure of that." he remarked.
"We might also meet some pretty residents in the subdivision where we
will be staying. This a whole new place. Girls here are a lot different,
they're unique in their own way." Mark gushed.
"You have this rather unusual smile, Feehily. Mind if you tell me what
you're up to?" Bry asked.
"Nothing. I just have a feeling that it's fate which brought me here
in the first place. Something special seems to be in store for me this
vacation, and I have a strong feeling about it." Mark explained.
Bryan merely shrugged and just grabbed a magazine from his backpack.
Somehow he feels he also shares Mark's sentiments about some hidden
meaning of this trip. Oh well, he has a month to discover what Cebu City
has to offer him in this vacation.
But wait! Why don't you send Mai some feedback?