Because they really liked each other very much, they would sneak behind their parents' backs just to go out on dates. Nakaw rin ang pagsisimba nila. Boy, after his classes from U.E. (University of the East), would pick up Lita at her school at P.C.C. (Phil. College of Commerce, now P.U.P.) Sometimes, when they were dismissed early from school, lakwatsa muna sila. Minsan namamasyal pa sa Luneta, kahit na walang pera. (Teka muna, that was a line from a Rico J. Puno song pala.) Lita recalls an incident when her Tatay found a picture of her with Boy's arm on her shoulder, taken at Luneta. Her Tatay had the habit of going through Lita's stuff to make sure that his dalaga is not fooling around. And so when Lita came home from school that day, Tatay asked her about the picture and of course she couldn't deny that she had been seeing Boy. She received a slap on the face. But that didn't stop her from seeing him again.
I have often told Ate Lita that I admire her and Kuya Boy for being together for as long as they have. I was really glad that she agreed when I asked her if I could write and publish their story. So here it goes...
Lita and Boy attended the same elementary school in Tondo, Manila. They didn't know each other then. When Lita was in high school, her family moved next door to the Gonzales' (Boy's family). Lita's family opened a sari-sari store where they also sold lutong ulam. The Gonzales' were well-to-do and were very much known in the community. Boy was a handsome young man and was courting pretty girls here and there. He even courted Lita's cousin, Nora. He didn't notice Lita at first, but he was challenged because he thought that Lita was suplada. She wasn't really a snob, though. She was just a shy young lady.
Lita vividly remembers another incident when they were sent home early from school. Instead of going straight home, she went out with Boy. They went to Sta. Cruz. They didn't know that a neighbour saw them there and told her Tatay. When Lita got home, Tatay asked her, "Saan ka galing?' To which Lita replied timidly, "Sa eskwela po." Tatay asked her again, sternly, "Saan ka galing?" "Sa eskwela po," Lita replied. Tatay asked her a third time, now really angry, "Saan ka galing?" Lita answered with fear, "Sa Sta. Cruz po." Tatay got really mad and expressed words of disappointment to his young daughter.
I just have to point out something - to explain why Tatay was this strict. Well, you see, Lita is the sixth of seven children. Her two older sisters got married in their teens. Tatay wanted to make sure that Lita didn't follow in her sisters' footsteps. He wanted her to have an education and a career before she settled down. That was why he was constantly watching her actions, going through her things, to make sure that she was adhering to the rules. And the number one rule was: not to date Boy. He even gave her a curfew from work. Can you believe that? Well, maybe you can, if you lived during those times.
Love is patient and kind. The courtship lasted for years. Their love was even tested when Boy went to work overseas as a seaman for about a year. Lita waited patiently. She received him with open arms when he got off that ship.
Lita and Boy started dating in 1967 without their parents' knowledge. Lita's parents, especially her Tatay, were very strict. During that time, people firmly followed our Filipino customs and traditions and virtues such as prudence and chastity. Lita and Boy exchanged notes through a hired messenger, usually a young boy in the neighbourhood. They arranged dates through messages. They would exchange secret messages through eye contact since they just lived across from each other.
May kasabihan tayo. "Pagkahaba-haba man ng prusisyon, sa simbahan din ang tuloy." They have loved each other for 10 long years. They wanted to make it a commitment. February 1977, Lita and Boy, together with a friend, went to Cavite and were married by a judge. That same day, they went home separately to their own homes without saying a word to their families. They were already of age, 28 and 30, and yet they feared to tell her parents. Their longing to be with each other grew as the days passed. So they decided to elope. Lita was asked to do an errand one day, an errand that would only take a couple of hours to complete. But instead of going home, she and Boy checked in at a hotel. She phoned her Nanay and told her what they had done. They were asked to come home that same night.
There was nothing that the parents could do now. Dahil may isa pa tayong kasabihan. "Kapag nagamit na ang palayok, hindi maaaring hindi ito maulingan." Which means that if a boy brings a lady home (or in this case, a hotel), it means that she has been taken. And so he has to marry her. Arrangements had been made for a December church wedding. In the meantime, Lita came back home. Boy went back home to his parents. Though they were already married legally, they lived separately until they were married at church. On December 1977, they were finally united as man and wife. They had a beautiful wedding ceremony at Sto. Nino Church in Tondo, Manila. The reception was held at the famous Max Restaurant in Quezon City.
