The New Yorker in Tondo
In New York
KIKAY
(Kikay is reading a letter from her Mother with Honey and Arlene ) Dear Kikay, I miss you na,
and super like to be see of your view. Because it’s very sad here in Tondo, please go home na,
coz I am very lonely. Love, Your mommy dear, Atang.
I told her to call herself Mrs. Mendoza! Oh well, I needed to go back to Tondo!
MARISSA
(Enters) Tondo? Why are you going there? (Going to a book shelf and scribble one thick book)
ARIANNE
(Enters) Too bad, I’m gonna miss you, Darling!
KIKAY
I know, imagine dati, I’m just a newbie who wants to study Hair Culture and Beauty Science,
Then, now, I’m going back na…
JAMIE
Whaaat? Who’s going back to their stupid country?
KIKAY
Me…
JAMIE
You? OMG! It’s super stupidity!
KIKAY
I know.. And surely, I’ll be the hottest girl there…
ARIANNE
Isn’t Tondo too hot for you?
MARISSA
Hey Francesca, Look at this! This says, Tondo is established with a church, but the church is
famous for its bangketa or a cheaper bazaar.
ARLENE
Hmm… It is very unusual for you to go there…
KIKAY
I know, And I don’t think you could survive…
HONEY
So, is this a goodbye for the OFW’ees?
KIKAY
JAMIE
No, I’m not gonna stay there, as if. I don’t like it there.
But before you go, let’s have a bye bye bye….
HONEY
Bye Bye Party!
MARISSA
Of course, what were we gonna do here? Stay and bathe in tears?
KIKAY
You really love me guys!
ARLENE
And we love you, too, right, guys?
ARIANNE
So, let’s start the party? (Pushes Casette Button ; Plays HOT N’ COLD by Katy Perry)
The song continues and Lights Dim, then on again…
The song becames louder and plays for 15 seconds. The stage is still empty until Mrs. Mendoza comes in, dress in
leggings and off shoulder dress, high heels and a crazy hair cut. She carries a big bag full of make ups and stuffs.
MRS. M
(Shouting by window) Aling Ising, Aling Ising, maawa naman kayo sa mga kapitbahay ninyo!
Nagmula sa alas sinco ng umaga hanggang hatinggabi wala na kayong tinugotg kung hindi iyang
demonyong plakang iyan!...Maski naman gaano kaganda niyang damuhong Hot N’ Cold na iyan
ay pinagsasawaan din… Aling Ising! Huuuy! Aba, mga bingi yata ito a… Tama na iyang Hot N’
Cold na iyan… kung hindi babasagin ko sa mga mukha ninyo iyan. Mariosep! (Stops music)
(A knock is heard) (As she walks toward the door) Visitors. always visitors, nothing but visitors
all day long. Naku, I’m beginning to feel like a society mah-tron.
(She opens door. Tony steps in, carrying a bouqet. Tony is 26, dressed to kill, and is suave type.
Right now, however, he is feeling a trifle nervous. He starts slightly on seeing Mrs. Mendoza.)
MRS. M
Tony! I thought you were in the province.
TONY
(Staring) But is that you, Aling Atang?
MRS. M
(Laughing) Of course, it’s I , foolish boy. Who did you think it was... Carmen Rosales?
TONY
You... you don’t look like Aling Atang.
MRS. M
(Shyly touching her hair) I had my haircut. Do I look so horrible?
TONY
Oh, no,no... you look just wonderful, aling atang. For a moment I thought you were your own
daughter. I thought you were Kikay.
MRS. M
(Playfully slapping his cheek) Oh, you are so palikero as ever, tony. But come in, come. (She
moves toward furniture and Tony follows.) Here, have a seat. How is your mother?
TONY
(As he sits down, still holding bouqet) Oh, poor mother is terribly homesick for Tondo, Aling
Atang. She wants to come back here at once.
MRS. M
(Standing beside his chair, putting an apron) How long have you been away?
TONY
Only Three months.
MRS. M
Only three months? Three months is too long for Tondenia to be away from Tondo. Aie, my poor
kumare, how bored she must be out there!
TONY
Well, Aling Atang, you know how it is for us engineers. We must go where our job calls us. But
as soon as I have finished with that bridge in Bulacan, mother and I are going back to Tondo.
MRS. M
Yes, you must bring her back as soon as possible. We miss her whenever we play panguinge.
TONY
(Laughing) That is what she misses of all.
MRS. M
Now I understand what she feels! Your mother can never, neve rbecome a provinciana, Tony.
Once a Tondenia, always a Tondenia, I always say. (She pauses, struck by thought) But I wonder
if that’s true after all. Look at my Kikay ; she was there in America for a whole year, and she says
that she never felt homesick at all!
TONY
(Becoming to look nervous again) When... when did Kikay arrive, Aling Atang?
MRS. M
Last Monday.
TONY
I didn’t know she had come until I read about it in the newspapers.
MRS. M
(Plaintively) That girl only arrived last Monday and look what has happened to me! When she
first saw me, she was furious. She said that I needed a complete overhauling. She dragged me off
to the beauty parlor, and look what she has done to me! My hair was cut, eyebrows shaved, nails
manicured. And when I’m going to the market, I used lipstick! All my kumare are laughing.
People think I’m a...a...what you call that again? ... loose woman. And at my age too! But what
can I do. You know how impossible it is to argue with Kikay. And she says that I must learn how
to look and act like an Americana because I have a daughter who has been to America. Dios mio,
do I look like an American?
TONY
(Too worried to pay much attention) You look just wonderful Aling Atang. And... and where is
she now?
MRS. M
(Who’s rather engrossed in her troubles too) Who?
TONY
Kikay? Is she at home?
MRS. M
Of course, she is at home! She’s still sleeping.
TONY
(Glancing at his watch) Still sleeping!
MRS. M
She says that in New York people do not wake up before Twelve o’clock noon.
TONY
(Glancing at his watch once more) It’s only Ten O’clock now!
MRS. M
Besides, she has been very, very busy. Uy, the life of that giurl since she came home! Welcome
parties here and welcome parties there, and visitors all day long! That girl has been spinning
around like top!
TONY
(Rising disconsolately) Well, will you just tell her I called... to welcome her home. Oh, and will
you please give her these flowers?
MRS. M
(Taking flowers) But surely, you’re not going yet, Tony?
TONY
I want to see Kikay, Aling Atang, but if she doesn’t get up until twelve noon...
MRS. M
(Firmly) She’s going to get up right now and see you, Tony. Why, you and she grew up together!
Sit right down again, Tony... I will go and wake her up.
TONY
Oh, please don’t bother, Aling Atang. I can come back some other time.
MRS. M
(Moving Away) You wait right there, Tony. She’ll be simply delighted to see her old childhood
friend. And she’ll want to thank you in person for these flowers. How beautiful they are Tony...
How expensive they must be!
TONY
(Sitting down again) Oh, they’re nothing at all, Aling Atang.
MRS. M
(Pausing already at center doorway) Oh, Tony...
TONY
Yes, Aling Atang?
MRS. M
You must not call me “Aling Atang”
TONY
Why not?
MRS. M
Kikay doesn’t like it. She says I must tell people to call me Mrs. Mendoza. She says it is more
civilized form of address. So... especially in front of Kikay... you must call me, Mrs. Mendoza.
TONY
Yes, Aling...I mean, yes, Mrs. Mendoza.
MRS. M
(Turning to go) Well, wait just a minute and I’ll call Kikay.
TONY
(To himself as he sits down) Hah!
MRS. M
(Turning again) Oh and Tony...
TONY
(Jumping up again) Yes, Aling... I mean, yes, Mrs. Mendoza?
MRS. M
You must not call Kikay “Kikay”
TONY
(Blankly) And what shall I call her?
MRS. M
You must call her Francesca.
TONY
Francisca?
MRS. M
Not Francisca... Fran-Ces-Ca.
TONY
But why Francesca?
MRS. M
She says that in New York , she says that’s the way they pronounce he name, it sounds like “chichi” so Italian, be sure to call her Francesca and not Kikay. Oh, how she hates that name!
TONY
(Limply sitting down again) Yes, Mrs. Mendoza
MRS. M
(Turning to go again) Now, wait right here while I call Francesca…. (Someone’s knocking at the
door. She turns around again.) AIE DIOSMIO!!!
TONY
(Jumping up once again)Never mind Mrs. Mendoza, I’ll answer it. (He goes to open the door.)
MRS. M
(as she exits) Just tell them to wait, Tony.
Tony opens door and Totoy steps in. Totoy is the same age as Tony. Both boys do their secret
handshake.)
TOTOY
(Arms extending to hug Tony) Tony!
TONY
Totoy! (Then they pund each other in the bellies)
TOTOY
You old son of your father!
TONY
You big carabao!
TOTOY
Mayroon ba tayo dyan?
TONY
You ask me that… and you look like a walking goldmine! How many depots have you been
looting, huh!!??
TOTOY
Hey hey!! More slowly there.. It is you the police are looking for.
TONY
Impossible! I’m a reformed character!
TOTOY
(As, arms around each other’s shoulders, they march across the room.) Make way for the Tondo
boys... Bang! Bang!
TONY
(Pushing Totoy away and producing a package of cigarettes) Good to see you old pal.. Here, have
a smoke.
TOTOY
I thought you were in Bulacan, partner.
TONY
I am. I just came to say hello to Kikay.
TOTOY
Tony. I’ve been hearing the most frightful things about that girl.
TONY
(Sinking into chair) So have I.
TOTOY
(Sitting down, too) People say she has gone crazy.
TONY
No, she has only gone New York .
TOTOY
What was she doing in New York anyway?
TONY
Oh, studying.
TOTOY
Studying what?
TONY
Hair culture and Beauty Science. She got a diploma.
TOTOY
Imagine that! Our dear old Kikay!
TONY
Pardon me, she's not Kikay anymore,.. She's Fran-CeS-ca..
TOTOY
Fran-CeS-ca??
TONY
Miss Tondo has become Miss New York. Our dear Kikay is now an American.
TOTOY
Don’t make me laugh! Why I knew that girl when she’s still selling rice cakes.. (Stands up and
Imitates a girl Puto Vendor) Puto kayo dyan!! Bili na kayo ng puto mga suki!!
TONY
(Laughing) Remember when we pushed her into the canal?
TOTOY
She chased us around the streets.
TONY
She was dripping with mud!
TOTOY
Naku! How that girl could fight!
TONY
(Fondly) Dear Old Kikay!
(Knocking at door.) Totoy goes to open it. Enters Nena. Nena is a pretty young lady of 24)
NENA
Why, it’s Totoy!
TOTOY
Nena, my own.
NENA
(Brushing him aside as she walks into the room) And Tony, too.. What’s all this? A Canto Boy
Reunion ?
TONY
(following behind her) We have come to greet the Lady from New York .
NENA
So have I. Is she at home?
TONY
Aling Atang is trying to wake her up.
NENA
MRS. M
To wake her up?! Is she still sleeping??
(Appearing) No, she’s awake already. She's dressing. Good morning Nena and Totoy. (Totoy and
Nena are staring speechless. Mrs. Mendoza is carrying a vase in which she has arranged Tony’s
flowers. She self-conciously walks into room and sets the vase on the table amidst a silence
broken only by Totoy’s helpless whistle)
MRS. M
(Having set vase at the table) Well, Totoy? Nena? Why are you staring me like that?
NENA
Is that you Aling Atang?
TOTOY
Naka! It is Aling Atang! (He collapses into chair)
TONY
To inform you, she now prefers to be called Mrs. Mendoza.
MRS.M
Oh, Tony! It is not I but Kikay who prefers it. She was delighted with these flowers. Nena, If you
don’t stop gazing at me like that I will pinch you hard!
NENA
When we were children you always used to do that to us...
MRS. M
TOTOY
And I can do it yet, aba, kasi... you were always naughty when you were children, all of you...
especially this one... (indicating totoy)... this botarete ... (totoy laughs)... Always going into our
backyard to steal our mangoes.
Is that Mango tree still there, aling Atang?
MRS. M
Natural!
TOTOY
Come on Nena, Let’s steal some Mangoes...
MRS. M
Oy, oy no stealing of mangoes! Besides, if you do, I’ll chase you like I used to do... and I’ll take
your pants off...
TOTOY
Aba, I’m big now, baka magulat po kayo... and besides, I wear suspenders..hehe...
MRS. M
Oy, oy halika nga. You come with me to the kitchen.
TOTOY
To take my pants off?
MRS. M
NENA
Talagang salbahe ito, ah! I want you to help me prepare something.
Oh never mind, Aling Atang, don’t prepare anything for us.
MRS. M
Oh, It is Just some orange juice. You see, Kikay ... I mean Fran-Ces-ca, always tell me that in
New York they don’t eat breakfast they just drink Orange juice so... come on, Totoy.
TOTOY
Arya, Kumara!
NENA
(Exits Mrs. Mendoza and Totoy ; Tony and Nena are silent for a moment.) Well, Tony?
TONY
You shouldn’t have come today, Nena
NENA
Oh, why not?
TONY
I haven’t talked with Kikay Yet.
NENA
You haven’t talked with Kikay Yet? But I thought you were coming here to tell her everything
last night!
TONY
I lost my nerve, I didn’t come last night.
NENA
Oh tony, Tony!
TONY
(Irritated, Imitating her tone) Oh, Tony, tony ... use your head, Nena. Whoever heard of a man
breaking off his engagement just like that! It’s not easy!
NENA
Are you inlove with Kikay or with me?
TONY
Of course I’m in love with you. I’m engaged to you.
NENA
Yes, and you’re engaged to Kikay too.
TONY
But that was a year ago.
NENA
Oh, you wolf!
TONY
Nena, Nena you know I love only you!
NENA
How could you have the nerve to propose to me when you were still engaged to
Kikay!
TONY
I wish I had never told you that. This is what I get for being honest.
NENA
Honest! You call yourself honest! Getting me to fall in love with you when you still belonged to
Kikay!
TONY
I... I thought I didn’t belong to her anymore. It was only a secret engagement anyway.
NENA
Secret!
TONY
I proposed to her just before she left for America...
NENA
O...?
TONY
And she said we must keep our engagement a secret until she come back. But when she had been
there a couple of months she stopped answering my letters...
NENA
Good...!
TONY
So I considered my self a freeman again.
NENA
That’s why you proposed to me?
TONY
No!... I mean... Yes.
NENA
And then asked me to keep our engagement a secret also!
TONY
Because right afterwards, I found out that Kikay was coming back.
NENA
Well, I’m tired of being secretly engaged to you; what fun is it being engaged if you cannot ...
kuan ... tell everybody.
TONY
Just give me a chance to talk to Kikay and explain everything to her. Then you and I will
announce our engagement.
NENA
Well, you’d better hurry. I’m getting impatient.
TONY
The trouble is, how can I talk to Kikay now?
NENA
Why not?
TONY
Well, you are here... and Totoy is here. You don’t expect me to talk about it infront of everybody,
do you?
NENA
You want me and Totoy to leave?
TONY
No, just give me a chance to be alone with Kikay for a moment.
NENA
Okay, I’ll take care of Totoy.
TONY
That’s good.
NENA
You just leave it to me. But settle this now and forever ha? (Totoy enters with glasses on a tray)
TOTOY
Puto kayo diyan... Bili na kayo ng puto...
(Mrs. Mendoza enters)
MRS. M
Drink you orange juice and I’ll see if Kikay is ready. Listen, everybody... here comes Kikay... But
remember she prefers to be called Fran-Ces-ca!
(Kikay Appears, garved in a trailing gown trimmed with fur at the neck and hemline. From one
hand she dangles a large silk handkerchief which she keeps waving about as she walks and talks.
In the other hand she carries a cigarette. Kikay’s manner and appearance are... to use a hollywood
expression – “Chi-chi like mad.”)
KIKAY
(Having paused a long moment in the doorway, hands uplifted in surprise and delight.)
Oh, hello, hello... you darling, darling people!
(She glides into the room. Everybody is too astonished to move.) Nena, My dear, but how cute
you’ve become! (Kisses Nena) And Tony, dear boy, how are you... (gives her hand to Tony) And
Totoy, why you look like a Tondo superproduction Totoy, how does one say in Tagalog—In
Technicolor! Halika dito. But sit down everybody... Do sit down and let me look at you!
Oh, Mumsy, Mumsy!
MRS. M
Oy, what’s the matter now?
KIKAY
But how many times must I tell you, Mumsy dearest, never, never to serve fruit juice in water
glasses!
MRS. M
Tsk, tsk, never mind. Water glasses or beverage glasses all the same, pareho!
KIKAY
Oh my poor li’l mumsy... She is so clumsy, no? But never mind, Dearest, don’t break your heart
about it. Here, sit down.
MRS. M
No, It’s time to go to market, aba!
KIKAY
Oh really mumsy, don’t forget my celery. (to visitors) I can’t live without celery!
MRS. M
Well, if you people excuse me... Tony, remember me to your mother, hane, and let me know the
pozo negro you are building in Pampanga is finished.
TONY
Bridge, Aling Atang, In Bulacan.
MRS. M
Ay, bredge nga naman! Oo, in Bulacan.
KIKAY
And remember, Mumsy, oy... a little bloom on the lips, a little bloom on the cheeks.
MRS. M
What, Kikay?
KIKAY
Again Mumsy?
MRS. M
Eh, Fran-Ces-Ca do I have to paint myself again?
KIKAY
(Laughing) But how dreadfully she puts it! Oh, Mumsy, Mumsy ... What am I going to do with
you?
MRS. M
(As she exits) I don’t know to you! You are the one... (Exit)
KIKAY
(Still laughing) Poor Mumsy, she’s quite a problem (Waving her cigarette) Oh, does anybody
have a light?
TOTOY
Here, I’ve got a lighter.
KIKAY
Merci, Totoy.
TOTOY
Ha?
KIKAY
I said Merci. That means Thank you... in French.
TOTOY
Merci.
NENA
Oh, Tell us about New York, Kikay.
KIKAY
(fervently) Ah New York, New York.
TONY
How long did you stay there?
KIKAY
(In a trance) 10 months, 4 days, 7 hours and 21 minutes!
TOTOY
Bilang na bilang, ano?
KIKAY
(With emotion checking her voice) Yes, I feel as if I were still there, as though I had never left it,
as though I had lived there all my life. But I look around me... ( looks at guest )... and I realize
that no, I’m not there... I’m not in New York ... I’m right here in Tondo...
TOTOY
Anong Tan-Doe?
NENA
Tondo, buang!
KIKAY
I’m home, they tell me. But this cannot be home, because my heart aches with homesickness. I
feel like an exile. My spirit aches for its true home across the sea. Ah, New York, New York. My
own dear New York. Listen! It’s springtime there now. Oh, we have a funny custom. When
spring comes around each year, we new Yorkers, we make a sort of pilgrimage to an old tree
growing down the Battery. Oh! We New Yorkers call it “Our Tree” – In a way, that tree is our
own symbol for New York.
(She is silent for a moment. Her visitors glance uneasily at each other. Kikay laughs and makes an
apologetic gesture.) But please forgive me! Here I am going sentimental and just mooning away
over things you have no idea about. No, you can’t understand this emotion I feel for our own dear
New York...
NENA
Oh, but I do understand perfectly. I feel that way too, about our tree.
KIKAY
(Blankly) What tree?
NENA
Our mango tree, Kikay. Have you forgotten about it? Why you and I used to go climbing up there
everyday and gorging ourselves on green mangoes. How our stomachs ached afterwards. And
then these bad boys would come and start shaking the branches until we fell down. (laughs)
TOTOY
(laughing) Aling Atang once caught me climbing that tree and she grabbed my pants... and off
they came!
TONY
(Laughing) I was up there in that tree at that time and I laughed so hard I fell down!
NENA
(laughing) Yes, and Aling Atang chased you all around the yard with her broom, and when she
caught you... bang! She got you on the head with the broom and how you screamed!
TOTOY
But me, I could not come down the tree at all because I did not have my pants on! (laugh)
NENA
And Kikay and Me ... we were rolling on the ground, simply hysterical with laughter. And Totoy,
you kept shouting: “Ang salawal ko! Ang salawal ko!”
(They are all shaking with laughter except Kikay who is staring blankly at all this.)
KIKAY
But wait a minute, wait a minute... what is this tree you’re talking about?
NENA
Our mango tree, Kikay. The mango tree there in the backyard.
KIKAY
(flatly) Oh, that tree.
TONY
What’s the matter Kikay, don’t you feel the same emotion for that tree as you do for the one in
New York?
KIKAY
(Tartly) Of Course Not!
TONY
Why not?
KIKAY
They... they’re completely different! I don’t feel any emotion for this silly old mango tree... It
doesn’t awaken any emotion for me at all!
NENA
Well, it does for me. And such happy, happy memories. I really must run out to the backyard to
say hello to it. (Immitating Kikay’s tone and manner) You know, Kikay, over here in Tondo, we
have a funny custom. We make a sort of pilgrimage to a silly old mango tree growing in the
backyard. And for us, here in Tondo, that tree is our tree. In a way, It is a symbol...
KIKAY
TOTOY
Don’t be silly, Nena.
Anong sili?
KIKAY
(In amused despair) Oh, you people can’t understand at all.
TONY
Probably, we’ve never been to New York.
KIKAY
(Earnestly) Exactly! Our tree in New York, doesn’t stand for Kidstuff and childhood foolishness!
It stands for a vivacious, more streamlined, a more daring way of life! In short, it stand for higher
and finer things! Oh, how I miss the Manhattan skyline, the Coney Island in summer. The
Madison Square Garden, the Bronx Zoo, The fifth avenue and for all the darling dens in
Greenwich village. Oh, its impossible for you to see.
TONY
I still prefer a tree that grows in Tondo.
TOTOY
And I second the motion.
NENA
So do I.
KIKAY
(Tolerantly) Oh you funny, funny children.
NENA
(Kikay Manner) Well, I really must go and say hello to our tree. You don’t mind Kikay, do you?
KIKAY
Of course not, child. Do go.
NENA
Totoy, will you come with me?
TOTOY
To the ends of the earth!
NENA
(Kikay manner) No, darling ... just to our sear little backyard.
TOTOY
(Acting up too) Oh, the backyards of Tondo, the barung-barong of Maypaho, the street of
Sibukong ... !
NENA
Listen, idiot, are you coming with me or not?
TOTOY
Anywhere, dream girl!
(Exit Nena and Totoy)
KIKAY
Well! Apparently, our Totoy still has a... terrific crush on Nena. (pause) Do wake up Tony... what
are you looking so miserable about?
TONY
(Gathering courage) Kikay ... I don’t know how to begin...
KIKAY
Just call me Fran-Ces-Ca... that’s good beginning.
TONY
There is something I must tell you… something very important.
KIKAY
Oh, Tony, can’t we just forget all about it?
TONY
Forget??
KIKAY
That’s the New York way, Tony. Forget, nothing must ever too serious; nothing must drag on too
long. Tonight, give all your heart, tomorrow, forget. And when you meet again, smile, shake
hands… just good sports..
TONY
What are you talking about?
KIKAY
Tony, I was only a child at that time.
TONY
When?
KIKAY
When you and I got engaged. I’ve changed so much since then, Tony.
TONY
That was only a year ago.
KIKAY
To me, it seems a century. So much had happened to me. More can happen to you in just one year
in New York .
TONY
Listen, I don’t want to talk about New York … I want to talk about our engagement.
KIKAY
And that’s what we cannot do Tony. Not anymore.
TONY
Why not?
KIKAY
Tony, you got engaged to a girl named Kikay. Well, that girl doesn’t exist anymore. She's dead.
The person you see before you is Francesca. Don’t you see, Tony, I’m a stranger to you. I hate to
hurt you, but surely you see that there can be no more talk of an engagement between us. And as
for marriage...(laughs) .... It would be a stark miscegenation. Imagine, a New Yorker, marrying a
Tondo Boy!!! It's so insane!!
TONY
(Blazing) Now wait a minute...
KIKAY
(Very Tolerantly) I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you Tony. But I wanted you to realize how ridiculous it
could be to think that I could still be engaged to you.
TONY
I’m not going to stand here and be insulted!
KIKAY
Hush, tony, Hush! Don’t shout! Don’t lose your temper... it’s so uncivilized. People in New York
don’t lose their temper. Not people of the Haute made anyway.
TONY
What do you want me to do... smile and say thank you for insulting me?
KIKAY
Yes, Tony, Be a Sport! Let’s smile and shake hands and just be friends. Be brave Tony... forget,
the New york Way. Find another girl... any girl you’ll find find... someone more proper for you.
More like a loser.
TONY
If you weren’t a woman I’d...I’d...!
(Totoy and nena Appear)
TOTOY
Hold it, tony... You must never, never hit a woman!
NENA
What’s all this? Ano ba to?
KIKAY
Nothing, nothing at all.
TOTOY
What were you two quarelling about?
KIKAY
We were not quarelling. Tony and I just decided to be good friends and nothing more.
NENA
Tony, is this true?
TONY
(shouting) Yes!
NENA
Oh good! Now we can tell them.
KIKAY
Tell us what?
TOTOY
What’s going on here anyway?
NENA
Tony and I are engaged.
KIKAY AND
TOTOY
NENA
Engaged?
KIKAY
A month! (fiercely to Tony) why you... you!
TONY
I did try to tell you Kikay... I was trying to tell you...
KIKAY
You... You... you double-crosses! Two timer loser!
NENA
Aba, careful there... your speaking to my fiance...
KIKAY
He’s not your fiance!
NENA
Oh, no?... why not?
KIKAY
Because he was still engaged to me when he got engaged to you!
NENA
Well, he's not engaged to you anymore, you just said it yourself.
KIKAY
Ah, but I didn’t know about all this..
TONY
Now remember, Kikay… it's so uncivilized to lose one’s temper, People in New York don’t lose
their temper.
KIKAY
I’ve never felt so humiliated in all my life!! You beast, I’ll teach you!!
NENA
I told you to leave him alone! He’s my fiance!
KIKAY
And I tell you he's not!! He's engaged to me until I release him… and I haven’t release him yet.
NENA
You ought to be ashamed of yourself... laos ka na!
KIKAY
You ought to be ashamed of yourself... you’re... you... you steal my boyfriend!
NENA
What? What did you say!!??
TONY
Totoy, pull them apart!
KIKAY
(to Totoy) You keep out of this or I’ll knock your head off!
Yes, we’ve been secretly engaged for a month.
TOTOY
Naku lumabas din ang pagka Tondo!
NENA
Walanghiya ka. Kapal mukha!
KIKAY
Walanghiya pala!
NENA
Oh, you will ha? (pause) Here, take that! (slap)
KIKAY
(Screams and faints)
TONY
(furious) How dare you hit her!
NENA
And why not? She hit me first!
TONY
Look what you’ve done to her!
NENA
Are you trying to defend her? You never defended me!
TONY
Shut up!
NENA
Oh, I hate you, I hate you!! (sobs)
TONY
Shut up! Kung hindi ay babasagin ko yang mukha mo!
TOTOY
Pare, don’t talk to Nena that way.
TONY
You keep out of this!
NENA
He’s more of a gentleman than you are, he defends me!
TOTOY
(To tony) Take your hands off her!
TONY
I told you to keep out of this!
TOTOY
(spanks Tony on the face sends Tony sprawling. Meanwhile, Kikay woke up.)
NENA
Oh, Totoy, you hit him for me. You saved my life. You’re my hero!
KIKAY
Totoy, how dare you hit him! (rushed to Tony) Tony... Tony.. Open your eyes! (Tony opens
mouth) No, no, no, not your mouth, your eyes!
TONY
Where am I?
NENA
Totoy, take me away from here.
TOTOY
Are you still engaged to him?
NENA
I hate him! I never want to see him again in my life!
TOTOY
Good! Come on, let’s go!
TONY
Hey!
NENA
Don’t you speak to me, you salawahan!
TONY
I wasn’t talking to you!
TOTOY
Don’t speak to me either. You have insulted the woman I love.
NENA
Oh, Totoy... why... you never tell me.
TOTOY
(shyly) Well... now you know how, and I’m telling you. Ano, pwede ba tayo?
NENA
TONY
NENA AND
TOTOY
Basta ikaw Totoy, Vibs lang tayo.
Congratulations!
Tse!
(Exit Nena and Totoy)
TONY
(to Kikay) Now, what you need is a good spanking.
KIKAY
TONY
Don’t you come near to me, you... you canto boy!
Don’t worry, I wouldn’t touch you with a 10 foot pole.
KIKAY
And I wouldn’t touch you with a 20 foot pole.
TONY
Just one year in New York and you forget all your friends.
KIKAY
Just one year that I’m in New York … and what did you do? But when we got engaged, you
swore to be true, you promised to wait for me. And I believe you!! (cry) Oh, you’re a fickle,
fickle..
TONY
What are you crying about? Be brave... forget... that’s the New York way.
KIKAY
Oh, Tony, Please... please! Salawahan! Taksil! Mandedenggoy ka!
TONY
Besides, we don’t speak the same language. Marriage between would be a stark misce... misce...
KIKAY
Miscegenation.
TONY
Iyan na nga, imagine a New Yorker, marrying a Tondo boy!
KIKAY
Oh, Tony, I’ve been such a fool. I’m so sorry Tony.
TONY
Well, I’m not. I’m glad to found out what kind of person you are!
KIKAY
Oh, Tony you’re wrong...wrong...! I’m not that kind of person at all.
TONY
Oh, person is just a relative term, huh?
KIKAY
Yes, Tony... that francesca saying all those silly things. But Francesca exists no more. Tony, no
more. The girl standing before you is kikay.
TONY
In that silly dress?
KIKAY
Oh, this? this is just a gift-wrapping. But deep down inside me I’m just a Tondo girl inlove with a
Tondo boy.
TONY
Oh...?
KIKAY
It’s true Tony. I’m kikay... remember me? I’ve come back.
TONY
If, I remember, I was engaged to girl named Kikay.
KIKAY
And yes, you’re still engaged to her, Tony.
TONY
Welcome home, darling.
(Offstage, Mrs. Mendoza is heard calling “Francesca, Francesca” Tony and Kikay then burst into
laughter.)
MRS. M
(Enter) Francesca... Oh Tony, you’re still here pala.
TONY
Opo Aling Atang
MRS. M
Francesca, I’m sorry I couldn’t find the celery you wanted.
KIKAY
Oh, never mind Inay. Just give me the Old good Kangkong and some talbos ng Kamote and I’ll
be happy.
MRS. M
But you said you can’t live without celery, hija?
TONY
That was Francesca, Aling atang. Now, we’ve changed the program. The girl infront of you is not
Francesca.
MRS. M
Eh Who? Eh who?
TONY
It is Kikay.
MRS. M
But Kikay is Francesca. (Looks at her)
KIKAY
I’m not Francesca, Inay, I’m Kikay.
MRS. M
Ay salamat. Eh di I can play pangguigue again... and I can call you Kikay once more.
KIKAY
Yes, Inay.
MRS. M
No more, United Stitch ?
KIKAY
No more, Inay.
MRS. M
(Goes to Francesca) And I can take off this girdle alreidi?
KIKAY
Yes, Of course (laughs).
MRS. M
Ayos! So you can ask your mother Tony to come right away to Tondo as soon as you finish the
cemetery you are building in Batangas.
KIKAY
What cemetery Inay?
MRS. M
The one that Tony is building in Zamboanga.
TONY
It’s not a cemetery Aling Atang. It’s a bridge.
MRS. M
In Bulacan, oh kita mo yan. And it has no name yet, ano Tony. Why don’t you call it Francesca?
Just for old time sake. (exit laughing) Francesca!
KIKAY
Ang inay naman!
Music: Let the Love Begin
KIKAY
That music, Tony. I remember the first nightclub I went to in New York... they were playing that
peace and I dreamed...
TONY
Kikay, pag sinabi mong New york, babatukan kita...
KIKAY
I dreamt of you. I dreamed we were dancing on and on... And I told you, I love you.
TONY
Sweetheart, I love you too.
Music: Let The Love Begin Fades and Hot N’ Cold was played so loud
MRS. M
(Enters Angry and Bursting) Aling Isiiiing! Talaga bang pinepeste niyo ako at niyang Hot N’
Cold na ‘yan! Tugtugin niyo ulit yan at babasagin ko ang plaka niyo! Ang ingay niyo talaga!
Katandang tao iyan ang pinakikinggan! (Tony and Kikay Laughing)
VOICE
Kayo ang tumigil diyan! Basagin niyo plato namin at babasagin ko mukha ninyo!
Lights Off