The Waiting The Waiting By Ron Darvin By Ron Darvin
Written as a springboard for discussion of how long-term separation impacts the Written as a springboard for discussion of how long-term separation impacts the lives of migrant families, this short play was first performed at the University of British lives of migrant families, this short play was first performed at the University of British Columbia in ancouver, Canada in !ovember "#$%,&' !o set is re(uired to stage Columbia in ancouver, Canada in !ovember "#$%,&' !o set is re(uired to stage this-play'
play' The The two two characters-)sabel, characters-)sabel, a a *ilipino *ilipino woman woman in in her her early early &#s, &#s, and and +iguel, +iguel, her her %-year
%-year old sold son-face on-face the the audience audience as as they they recite recite their their monologues'monologues' )sabel
)sabel +abuhay+abuhay. . +y +y name name is is )sabel )sabel and and )$m )$m from from the the archiparchipelago elago of of /,%#//,%#/ islands,
islands, high high tide- tide- /%#0 /%#0 low low tide-the tide-the 1hilippines. 1hilippines. )$m )$m 2%' 2%' )3m )3m 4ust 4ust 5idding. 5idding. )$m )$m &%' &%' ) ) 4ust4ust wante
wanted d to to see see if if you$lyou$ll l believbelieve e me' me' Because Because you you 5now5now, , my my friendfriends, s, they they as5 as5 meme 6)sabe
6)sabel, l, what$what$s s your your secret secret for for loo5inloo5ing g so so young7young76 6 8nd 8nd ) ) tell tell them, them, 69ay 69ay na5u,na5u, lnday,
lnday,
t$s all about moisturi:ing. That$s why ) use Dove' ;ou 5now7 t$s all about moisturi:ing. That$s why ) use Dove' ;ou 5now7 $Because you$re more beautiful than you thin5.6$
$Because you$re more beautiful than you thin5.6$ There are many
There are many Doves, but my favorite is Doves, but my favorite is Dove 1omegranate' 8yDove 1omegranate' 8y, it smells, it smells so good. ;o
so good. ;ou 5now in u 5now in +anila ) didn$t even 5now+anila ) didn$t even 5now
what a pomegranate was' The first time ) saw one here in Canada ) said, <h what a pomegranate was' The first time ) saw one here in Canada ) said, <h my. 8ll those seeds. =o hard to
my. 8ll those seeds. =o hard to eat. That$s why ) 4ust put eat. That$s why ) 4ust put itit on my face'
on my face'
=o )$ve been living her
=o )$ve been living here in ancouver for eight years now' *irst two year e in ancouver for eight years now' *irst two year s as live-in care
s as live-in caregiver for the Choi family' 8giver for the Choi family' 8fter stayingfter staying
with the Chois, ) got an open wor5 permit so ) opened the door of my with the Chois, ) got an open wor5 permit so ) opened the door of my life' ) told myself, 6This is it, )sabel. This is your chance
life' ) told myself, 6This is it, )sabel. This is your chance to find
to find
new opportunities.6 8nd you 5now, when ) was young, ) always
new opportunities.6 8nd you 5now, when ) was young, ) always said 6) wansaid 6) wan t to be on
t to be on Broadway.6 >o ) got Broadway.6 >o ) got a 4ob here at a 4ob here at Tim Tim 9orton$s9orton$s near the train station''' on Broadway.
near the train station''' on Broadway.
8fter another two years, ) got my permanent residence, and of course ) 8fter another two years, ) got my permanent residence, and of course ) tr tr
ied to get my family
ied to get my family here right away' But that too5here right away' But that too5 another two years' =o
another two years' =o much paper wor5. 8nd plane tic5ets arenmuch paper wor5. 8nd plane tic5ets aren$t cheap you 5no$t cheap you 5now' )w' ) haven$t gone home to +anila for si? years
haven$t gone home to +anila for si? years '''
''' 8y 8y
but who cares about that city7 They don$t film movies there li5e *ifty = but who cares about that city7 They don$t film movies there li5e *ifty = hades of @rey-unless you$re tal5ing about pollution.
hades of @rey-unless you$re tal5ing about pollution. 8nyway,
8nyway, last yea&, my son +iguel'''+last yea&, my son +iguel'''+iguel moved here to be with me' 9e$s %iguel moved here to be with me' 9e$s % now'
now' 9e 9e was barely seven when ) was barely seven when ) left +anilaleft +anila
but now he$s here' +y son is here' 8nd after all these years of waiting, but now he$s here' +y son is here' 8nd after all these years of waiting, this, this is all that
this, this is all that matters''matters''
+iguel 9ey' =up' +iguel here' Been in ancouver for over a year' W +iguel 9ey' =up' +iguel here' Been in ancouver for over a year' W hat$s that7 <h yeah, ancouver is o5, ) guess' 1retty
hat$s that7 <h yeah, ancouver is o5, ) guess' 1retty different'''well, aery different' =tuff here is cra:y e?pensive li5e different'''well, aery different' =tuff here is cra:y e?pensive li5e
a hundred times more than in +anila' We stay in this basement suite a hundred times more than in +anila' We stay in this basement suite on &2rd and
uite$ when there$s nothing $sweet$ about it' *ree:ing during winter, and ) can$t play my music because +r' Ra4agopal upstairs complains it$s too loud' )t$s nothing li5e the place we had in +anila, where we had
real windows that overloo5ed the street' !ow the street overloo5s as' Basta
ne?t year, )$m turning %A, and ) can$t wait to get a 4ob' )$m gonna g et one at Timmies, earn a shitload of money, and get
out of this dump' ;eah, that$s all that matters'
)sabel =ometimes ) wa5e up in the morning, when it$s still dar5 outs ide' ) loo5 at the white beams of the ceiling, and ) say to
myself, 6Where am )7 9ow did ) get here76 ) feel li5e )$m in that mo vie of eonardo di Caprio' Uhm, what is that7 The one where
you$re in a dream of a dream7''' 8y alam 5o na
. l 5now ) 5now' )nception.
Then ) reali:e, <+@) The dream is real' ) have to get ready for wor5. = o ) ma5e brea5fast for +iguel and me' =pam, fried eggs
,
garlic rice, and lots of banana 5etchup' )$m sure you didn$t 5now you can ma5e 5etchup out of bananas, no7 <nly in the 1hilippines.
Because you 5now all the bananas in the world come from us'
*;), banana 5etchup is not yellow' )t$s red' We ma5e it loo5 li5e tomato 5etchup so that you don$t thin5 we$re weird' ;ou
5now in +anila, =pam is not cheap' We only eat it on =unday, before going to church' !ow ) tell my friends bac5 home ;ou 5no
w
what, lnday7 )n Canada, we eat =pam every day.
8fter coo5ing, ) shower (uic5ly, and by si?, )$m out of the house to get to wor5' +iguel doesn$t wa5e up till eight' 9ay na5u
,
actually ) don$t 5now what time that boy goes to bed' ) have a second 4ob at a groce ry on Broadway, and )$m there until %# pm' By the
time ) get home, +iguel$s in his bedroom with his headphones on' 9e alwa ys says he$s doing his homewor5, but ) thin5 he$s 4us
t
watching videos' But what can ) do7 Teenagers these days'
=ometimes, ) want to go into his room and 4ust as5 him 69ow was your day, ana576 69ow$s school76 8fter a whole day of
spea5ing in nglish 69ow would you li5e your coffee76 6Two cr eams and a sugar, eh76 6Would you li5e a plastic bag76 8fter a whol e
day of all that nonsense, )$d li5e to come home and hear his voice, to spea5 to me in Tagalog' =o that, you 5now, so that ) could be
home again'
+iguel ) got home after school yesterday, and ) was starving' <pened the fridge' Bagels and tuna salad' 8nd leftover =pam'
Ugh, ) hate tuna salad' )$m sic5 of bagels$ ) want rice' 8nd sini
gang' <r adobo' <r 5aldereta' But )nay can only coo5 these dishes on
=unday, her day off' =he$d ma5e a whole pot, and we$d eat it the whole wee5' But today is Thursday, and there$s none left' That$s
what the tuna salad is for'
Bac5 in +anila, when ) lived at my ola$s-my grandmother----
very night we would have at least 2 dishes' +y lola loved to
coo5' +y cousins 4ulian and =usan and uncle 8le? lived there too' E ulian is a year older than me and =usan is ) thin5, eight' 8nyway, Uncle 8le? wor5s at a call center, graveyard shift' 9e$s a customer service representative for Telus' ;ou 5now when you call to
complain about yourcellphone bill and you call Telus, and you thin5 you$re cal ling someone who$s in =urrey or !ew West, but the
truth is you$re tal5ing to my Uncle 8le? in +anila'
They$re trained to spea5 in a Canaaay-deee-an aaacceent li5e 69ow can ) help
you today76 6et me ad4ust that bill for you'6
The other day, he told me that a customer was being friendly and said someth ing about the Canuc5s game the night before, and he
said 6<h yeah, yeah, of course, the Canuc5s.6 +y uncle hasn$t watched a single ho c5ey game in his life. )f he saw e puc5, he$d thin5 it
was a paperweight' Uncle 8le? has dinner with us before he leaves for wor5' )t$d always be so noisy around the dining table' We$d be
tal5ing about our day, 4o5ing around, and lola would 5eep on topping up o ur plate with food'''+ary )$m hungry'
!ow ) go home to our suite and all ) have is tuna salad, and the T' ) don$t 5now any of the neighbors' =o ) spend the rest of
the evening playing @T8' 8nd the best part is that lnay got me these 5ic5ass head phones last Christmas so that +r' Ra4agopal upstairs
would stop complaining about the noise' =o that means ) could play unt il two in the morning-completely undetected. ;up, that$s how
it wor5s' )sabel ;esterday, ) had a really bad episode at wor5' ) had very little sleep the night before because ) did the l aundry and
there was 4ust so much to wash' 8nyways, there was this woman who ordered a do:e n donuts, and ) mi?ed up her order and gave her
scones instead' )f you as5 me, ) was doing her a favor by not giving her those donuts. Really.
8nyway, she had to wal5 bac5 several bloc5s with her little daughter to tell me ) made a mista5e' <f course, ) 5ept on saying
sorry, sorry, sorry' =he wasn$t rude or anything' )n fact, when ) handed her the donuts, she smiled, and ) apologi:ed again' But then
when started to head out, she turned to her daughter and said 6This is why you ha
ve to study hard, my love' Because othenrrise you$ll end up 4ust li5e her'6
) fro:e' 6Eust li5e her'6 The words echoed in my head the whole day, as ) served these sausage biscuits and maple donuts, and
swiped cans of beans and corry and handed out plastic bags' Fust li5e her' What does it mean to be 4ust li5e me7
When ) got home, all ) wanted was to see +iguel, to hear his voice' ) w anted to find in his face some sign that )$ve made the
right choices, you 5now, that )$ve been a good mother7 That ) wasn$t 4us t 64ust li5e her'6 ) 5noc5ed on his door' +iguel7''' 8na57 '''B
ut
he was asleep'
+iguel Couldn$t sleep last night' )t$s e?actly a year today since ) las t saw ltay, my father' ) wonder how he is' )f he thin5s of
me, sometimes' When ) was living with my lola, and lnay was here in Canada, my father wor5ed in Cavite, &# 5ilometers away my lola$s place' 9e had a sales 4ob there, and because traffic is really bad, he rented a room in Cavite, and left me with my lola' 9e would go see me on =aturdays, and sometimes held stay till =unday'
) remember he used to say, Don$t worry, ana5, we$ll see your lnay soon' Eust wait and ne?t thing you 5now, you$ll be playing
in the snow and eating spaghetti and meatballs every day. very night ) would w
ait for the phone to ring, for lnay to call and say, +iguel, come to Canada tomorrow.
But as years went by, and as ) waited for that particular phone call, ) began to see less and less of my father as well' 8t f irst,
he$d say he had to wor5 overtime, that they needed him to wor5 =aturdays' =ometimes it$d be because of the traffic''' But you 5now
even if he didn$t come, ) 5new' ) 5new that 4ust li5e me, he waited for lnay to o'
)sabel Roberto7 ) can$t wait for the time when my blood doesn$t boil ever y time ) thin5 of that
son-of
-a-bitch'''<h )$m sorry.
8m ) allowed to say that here7 But yes, ) guess there$s no better way to ref er to him' <r wait maybe'''uhnr, aGHhIle7 '
Ten years ago, when +iguel was five, ) was teaching nglish at a public high school, and Roberto was a med rep-you 5now, a
salesperson for pharmaceuticals' 9e$d go to doctors and tal5 about this new wonder drug, and how it will cure everything from
migraines to acne7 8nyway, we reali:ed at one point, that no matter how hard we
wor5ed, what we were earning would never be
enough to send +iguel to a good university, or to buy a house'
<ur neighbor 1acing had a cousin who went to Canada through the ive-) n Caregiver 1rogram,-and 1acing told us how their
o ) thought to myself, J
+aybe, ) could do this' ;es, ) loved
teaching but ) want to give my 5id a good future, and in +anila, a teacher s salary will never be enough'
8t first Roberto didn$t li5e the idea' !a5a5ahiya
he would say-it
s embarrassing' What would the neighbors say7 8 teachAr
going abroad to be a caregiver in someone$s house7 ) told him 6Roberto , there
s no space for hiya
here' )f we want to build this family,
we$ll have to let go of shame' We 4ust need to do what must be done'6
+iguel ) 5now ) really should do my homewor5, but who cares about that' ven if you don$t get 8
s, you$re still a winner hire
in Canada diba7 University is 4ust for rich people anyway'
The other day, +s' !elson, that$s my =cience teacher-as5ed me something about the migration of swallows, and ) read about
it and shit, but ) couldn t spea5 up
'''
) guess you could say ) was 4ust 5inda worried, you 5now, that they might laugh again-the way
they did a couple of months bac5 when ) said =hao-ne
-ssy instead of shaughnessy' ) don$t 5now why but ) could never get that r ight'
)sabel ;ou 5now, in shao-ne
-ssy, when ) was wor5ing for the Chois, ) got paid 0 dollars an hour' T hey too5 out 2" each
month for room and board, and that left me with around K##' ) woul d 5eep %# to pay for my phone, my shampoo, and of course m y
Dove 1omegranate, and some money for going out on my duty, off' T he rest ) would send home for +iguel$s school and his living
e?penses'
) was happy to earn more than twice ) was earning in +anila, but of cour se ) was so homesic5' ) missed my family, gossiping
with my friends' ) missed being a teacher' 8t first ) would call Roberto eve ry wee5, on =aturdays when he and +iguel were together,
every other wee5' Then it became once a month'
very night before going to bed, ) would loo5 at our family pi
cture from the last Christmas ) spent in +anila, and thin5 about how happy we were'''
8y, ano ba, )sabel7 What$s a little homesic5ness7 This is for you r family. This'''is for +iguel'
+iguel When my mom finally got the *amily visa for us to come o ver we had to wait another year to get the money ready
for our tic5ets, and stuff' Things were 5inda o5 the-first couple of m onths we were here' verything was so new and different' =now' 1outine' Eapadog'
8s the weather got colder and colder though, temperatures at home got ho tter and hotter' lnay and ltay started fighting' 8
lot' 8nd it was always about money' ) could never hear everything at the start because they used to fight in their room' Then later
th
ey$d fight in the living room-and by then, my headphones were already my best f riend'
<ne morning ) wo5e up and went to get to get some 4uice in the 5itchen and ) saw
that things were missing-the T the
microwave' ) ran to my parents$ room to tell them )nay. ltay. We$ve been robbed. Call K%%. But all ) found was lnay sitting at the
foot
of the bed, crying' The closet was open and my father$s clothes were go ne''') haven$t seen him since'
)sabel The moment ) saw them at the airport ) ran and ) hugged +iguel so tight ) thin5 he couldn$t breathe. ) was afraid
people would call K%% and report me for child abuse.
) hugged Roberto, and then we headed for the =5ytrain with all the luggage and
sat in front' While he and +iguel were
loo5ing outside the window to see what ancouver was li5e, ) remember l oo5ing at my son, then him, this mary my husband' The
mole on his right chee5, his mustache, his pointy ears-) recogni:ed a ll of these'
But then ) reali:ed that there was also a part of him ) didn$t recogni: e anymore' 8nd although ) couldn$t put my finger on it' )
5new something had changed'
+iguel Things change so much here' The weather, the seasons' <ne day you$ re at your lola$s where it$s always sunny and
you have so much fury ne?t thing you$re in a city, trapped in a basement an d it 4ust 5eeps raining' ;our voice changes, your body
changes and you feel 4ust li5e a panca5e at )9<1' ;our whole world, flipped upside down'
;aletown and my personal favorite, +etrotown'
verything was new and e?citing at first' But then things changed when Rober to, no matter how hard he tried, couldn$t find a 4ob' 9e
didn$t want to do something li5e Tim 9ortons' 9e thought it was beneath him ' )$d tell him 6But this is how it wor5s here' ;ou need
Canadian e?perience'6 $!a5a5ahiya,6 he$d say, and we$d always end up fighting' Because of my two 4obs, ) hardly got to see both of them' )$d be so e?h
austed when ) get home' +any times, Roberto would
go five bloc5s away to the house of Li5o, who$s also from the same hometow n' Li5o lived with his wife, two 5ids, his sister
-in
-law, and
a cousin and Roberto would go there practically every day so that they could ta l5 about life bac5 in the 1hilippines, and how everyday
was a fiesta'
Lami naman, the only time we had as a family was my day off on =unday when we went to church' 8nd that$s when l$d pray
to the Blessed irgin +ary to 5noc5 some sense into my husband$s head' <ther wise, )$%% 5noc5 his head with something harder.
8nyway, one night-this was li5e a year ago-he came home drun5' 8s ) led him to bed and drew closer to him, ) smelled
something on his nec5 and it was not the smell of Dove pomegranate. ) 5now every fragrance of shampoo, lotion and laundry soap in
this house and ) 5new this was not one of them' 6Roberto' =abihin mo sa a5 in ang totoo' Tell me the truth'6 9e bro5e down and cried'
9e$d been having an affair with that sister in law of Li5o for the past 2 months.
8t that moment, ) couldn$t thin5 straight' 8fter a these years, wor5ing ther e in Canada, giving up my hiya to care for him, for
our son, this is how he repays me7 J
umayas 5a dito. eave us. Don$t ever come bac5.6 9e too5 his clothes, s ome of our stuff, and
then he left'
+iguel )t$s all her fault. Why ltay left' =he$s always 6Roberto, you have to do this' Roberto, why don$t you do that'6 =he$s the
same way with me, and she drives me nuts. +iguel, study hard' Do the dishes' Eust eat your tuna salad and stop complaining.
)n +anila, ) never had to do the dishes' ola would always ta5e me to school' 9ere, lnay 5eeps on saying 6Tandaan mo ana5,
school is important'6 But she never helps me with my homewor5' =he doesn$t eve
n find the time to attend the, parent-teacher
meetings, and ) feel )$m the only 5id in school whose parents never show up'
t 4ust to be able to attend a meeting at your school76 )t$ s
always about ma5ing money' +ore money' 6)t$s for you, ana5, for your f uture'6 But what about me now7 What about my life now7
=he wants me to study college after, but what use is college anyway7 =he gradua ted from a university in +anila, she was a teacher,
now she ma5es sandwiches and wor5s at a grocery' What$s a degree for7 =chool is such a waste of time'
Basta ne?t year, when l$m %A, )$m gonna find a 4ob and ma5e my own money, so that ) don$t have to hear her say 6+oney
doesn$t grow on trees, +iguel.6 and how she J
sacrificed her life6 for me' But living so far away from me, not being able to see me for
/' *GIM)!@' ;8R=' Tell me'''didn$t she sacrifice me too7 )sabel =a5ripisyo' =acrifice' This is what it$s all about right7 Blessed are the poor for theirs is the 5ingdom of heaven' That$s
what *ather Dela Cru: used to 5eep on telling us at our parish in +alabon when ) was growing up' ) had this image of heaven i n my
head' verything was gold-the walls, the curtains' 8nd there would be f ood everywhere- and snow. The angels would be flying
around, and we$d all be dressed in white'
=o even when my parents couldn$t feed their seven 5ids, and we would go to sleep hungry, ) thought, that$s, o5' )n heaven,
)$ll have all the fried chic5en ) want with all the banana 5etchup money can buy' 8ll ) need is to wait' 8nd so when ) thought of coming
to Canada, ) thought-what$s a few years of sacrifice7 )f ) could do i t for a better life7 *or my son7
The night before ) left for Canada, when +iguel was about to go to bed, ) held him in my arms'
68na5, tomorrow, )nay is going somewhere, o576 6Where )nay76
6To this place called Canada'6 6What will you do there76
6)$m going to find us a new house where everything is gold, with lots of food, and where they have snow.6
6Wow,. ) want to go with you, lnay.6
6!ot yet ana5, ) have to go there first, and then you$ll follow o576 9e no dded, and then fell asleep'
While he lay there, ) loo5ed at my son$s face, his eyes, his chee5s' ) 5new t hat tomorrow, if he saw me crying when ) left, he
would cry too, and ) wouldn$t be able to leave' =o the ne?t day, before he wo5 e up, ) 5issed him on the forehead' 8nd then ) too5 my
bags''') too5 my bags and left' ) was crying all the way to the ai
rport, ) was crying on the plane'''=ometimes, ) feel, ) haven$t stopped crying since'
+iguel =ometimes ) feel this is when ) started remembering things so clearly' That morning lnay left' ) remember wa5ing up,
with the white beams of the ceiling loo5ing down on me' ) remembe red my dream-) was in this beautiful place with biN golden
houses, and snow' 6That must be Canada. That$s where lnay said she was g oing'6 ) was so e?cited. ) ran to the 5itchen to tell her'
6) saw it, lnay. O saw Canada.6 But she wasn$t in the 5itchen, and ins tead, ) found my grandmother' 6Where is lnay, ola7
)
want to go with her to Canadal6 ola bent down and held my hand, 6+iguel, yo ur lnay has left'6
6eft w-here7 8ren$t we going with her76
6!o, Canada, is very far away' This morning, your ltay too5 her to the airport'6
6To the airport7 Why didn$t they ta5e me76 6<h they don$t allow 5ids at the airport.6 6Why didn$t she say goodbye76
6;ou were still asleep and she didn$t want to wa5e yov6
6But when will ) see her76 ) remember the tears were already streami ng down my chee5s' 6) want to see my )nay.6 8nd all
that ola said was, 6=orry +iguel'''you$ll see her'''soon'6 )sabel =or
ry
, ana5, soon' ) promise you' ife will be better' *or you' *or both of us' =oon'
+iguel That time my mother left, when ) was seven , soon
became days, wee5s, months' 8t seven, ) reali:ed a very painful
truth my mother had abandoned me' 8nd as the years went by, and her image began to fade' ) could no longer remember what it was li5e' The way she touched my chee5s' The feel of her hands' =ure, she sent home money, sent me toys, and chocolates' =ure, there were phone calls, and pictures' But you can$t hug a phone call, can you7 8nd a picture can$t tell you that everything will be all right'
)sabel Pfaces +iguelF Eust wait ana5' =oon everything will be all right'
+iguel Pfaces )sabelF lnay, all these years )$ve been waiting' Tell me, please tell me, when does soon begin7
