Dialogues: A Post-Holiday Special, Part II

(A nod to last year's Post-Holiday Special)


Dialogue 1:
Daughter is home for the holidays once again, but this year, the whole affair has a dark note to it. Daughter's Friend died two days before Christmas, and Daughter goes to the wake to pay her respects. After the prayer vigil, Friend's Mom introduces Daughter to Friend's Aunt.

Friend's Aunt: Are you working, or are you still in school?
Daughter: Well, I'm already working, but I do hope to go back to school when the chance comes.
Friend's Aunt: To study what?
Daughter: Creative Writing, most probably.
Friend's Aunt: (peering closely at Daughter) Hija, what's your last name?
Daughter: Paderna.
Friend's Aunt: (putting hand over mouth) Oh! Are you the daughter of Atty. Paderna?
Daughter: Oh, no. He's my uncle, though.
Friend's Aunt: Is he still alive?
Daughter: (taken aback) Uh, yes, he is.
Friend's Aunt: Ah.

Conversation dies.


Dialogue 2:
Mom and Daughter are in a Chinese restaurant, having just ordered the chow and waiting for Dad to park the car. Daughter has bought a copy of Time Magazine, and is leafing through it while Mom watches her.

Mom: What a pretty daughter I have!
Daughter: (looking up) Hmm?
Mom: Pretty, pretty.
Daughter: Wow, really? Thanks, Mom!
Mom: Well, I'm your mother. I'm supposed to say that you're pretty.
Daughter: Oh.


Dialogue 3:
After getting off the phone, Daughter pads over to the kitchen where Dad is attending to the Kare-Kare. Mom is also in the kitchen, helping out.

Daughter: I just got off the phone with Jose. He wishes you both a Happy New Year.
Mom: Oh, how nice of him!
Dad: Okay, wish him a Happy New Year for me, too.
Daughter: (brightening) Really? You mean it?
Dad: And tell him that I told you that if he's just playing games, he better look for someone else.
Mom: (hotly) You're just saying that because you played around, too!!
Dad: You know, that's exactly the kind of attitude that doesn't help anybody!!

Fight ensues. Daughter slinks away.


Dialogue 4:
To make the Kare-Kare, Dad needs to make the beef tender by letting the pieces simmer for around two to four hours. By the fifth hour, however, the beef hasn't yielded, and Dad stomps around the house, frustrated.

Dad: I don't understand it. That beef has already been simmering for hours.
Daughter: It's all right, Dad. We can wait.
Dad: I'm very disappointed.
Daughter: Oh, don't worry about it. I'm sure the Kare-Kare's going to turn out just fine.
Dad: The man who sold me the meat told me the pieces were from a calf. It should be really tender!
Daughter: Maybe it was an athletic calf.
Dad: Haha.
Daughter: Hahaha.


Dialogue 5:
By the eighth hour, the beef isn't ready yet. Dad is clucking his tongue, and the Kare-Kare's been moved from lunch to dinner.

Dad: I shouldn't have blanched the pieces. That could be it.
Daughter: I have a theory.
Dad: What's that?
Daughter: That calf was a triathlete before they butchered it.
Dad: What's a triathlete?
Daughter: --
Dad: Is that a dinosaur from the Jurassic period?
Daughter: It's an athlete who runs, swims, and bikes, all in one race.
Dad: I didn't know that.
Daughter: For sure.


Dialogue 6:
After what feels like a century, the beef is very nearly done. Dad checks on it periodically, a relieved look spreading on his face.

Dad: Okay, forty-five minutes more, and we can sit down for dinner.
Daughter: Excellent!
Dad: I'm sorry it took so long.
Daughter: Oh, it's all right, Dad.
Dad: Maybe I shouldn't have blanched the meat.
Daughter: Well, at least you know better now.
Dad: Yes. Do you mind waiting a little more?
Daughter: Not at all.
Dad: I promise to make it worth the wait.
Daughter: It always is.