Mabuhay, Day 5: The Watch

We had just ordered supper at PAUL, a French restaurant, when my girlfriend and her mom stood up and beckoned me to join them. They said they wanted to check something with me. Soon, we were walking into the SM Store.

We were at SM Aura, an upscale mall outside BGC.¹ My girlfriend’s mom and sister had driven into the city that afternoon to spend the night with us before taking us back to their home the next day. After a roundabout Grab ride past the Venice Grand Canal Mall, we walked through SM Aura. Despite the holiday crowds, we found some cute baby clothes and a Filipino-designed shirt for me before stopping at PAUL for supper.

The SM Store reminded me of Hudson’s Bay (RIP), but with a wider selection and a more upscale feel. We walked straight to the watch section. Rows of shiny watches from Seiko, Citizen, Maserati, and others filled the display cases. The selection was slightly overwhelming.

Then my girlfriend and her mom told me they wanted to treat me to a watch.

It was an extravagant surprise. My girlfriend and I have been together for two and a half years, but I had only met her mom and sister in January during my first trip to the Philippines. This was only our second time together, and now they wanted to buy me a watch.

What felt like ten sales associates gathered around us as I looked through the display cases. Eventually, I chose a Maserati watch with a dark blue face and a stainless-steel bracelet.

We returned to PAUL and finished our meal. Then, with the shopping bags and my new watch, we were ready to return to BGC.

Combined with the haircut the previous day and our delicious lunch at DTF, I felt like a new man, ready for the rest of the trip. The haircut and shirt changed how I looked, but the watch was different. I knew that whenever I looked at its dark blue face, I would remember who had given it to me.

1. SM began in Manila in 1958 as ShoeMart, a shoe store founded by Henry Sy Sr. It expanded into a department store and eventually became the nationwide network of SM Supermalls. SM also developed the Mall of Asia, which opened in 2006 as the Philippines’ largest mall and one of the largest in the world—though not the world’s largest. SM Prime: It all started with shoes ↩