THE HOUSEKEEPER WAS FORBIDDEN TO EAT AT THE TABLE WITH THEM, BUT THEY WERE THE ONES WHO FELL OUT OF THE CHAIR WHEN THE LAWYER ARRIVED AND READ WHO REALLY INHERITED EVERYTHING
Don Artemio, the owner of the largest furniture company in the province, had just finished the funeral. Inside his mansion, his two children are having dinner: Stella (the eldest socialite) and Ricky (the youngest sports car enthusiast).
Nanay Ising, the 65-year-old housekeeper who served Don Artemio for forty years, served the meal. He took care of Don when he suffered a stroke and was bedridden for five years.
Tired of tending the hill, Mama Ising would have sat at the end of the long dining table to sip at least a little rice.
“Hep!” shouted Stella, slicing the steak. “Where are you going to sit, Yaya?”
“I wish I could have eaten something, Stella. “I’m hungry,” the old man replied softly.
“Excuse me,” irap ni Ricky. “Family dinner ito. This is for the heirs. Doon ka kumain sa dirty kitchen. Alam mo naman ang lugar mo, ‘di ba? Katulong ka lang.”
“Yes,” Stella added. “We can smell the smell of your clothes. “You were out with the driver.”
My mother was stunned. He held back the tears. She was the one who changed diapers for Stella when she was a baby. He was the one who taught Ricky to ride a bike. But now that Don is gone, he is treated like a reader.
Mother Ising silently picked up her plate and ate by the sink in the kitchen, listening to the siblings’ laughter in the dining room, talking about what they were going to buy with the heir.
Maya-maya, dumating si Attorney Galvez, ang family lawyer.
“Good evening,” the lawyer greeted. “I am here to read Don Artemio’s Last Will and Testament. He wanted to read it immediately after the funeral.”
Stella and Ricky were discouraged.
“At last!” said Stella. “Attorney, sit down. Yes! “Give me some water!”
Mother Ising stood up to get some water, but the lawyer stopped her.
“No, Mom. Sit here,” Attorney Galvez said, pointing to a chair at the dining table—the chair he had been denied earlier.
“Attorney, why is she sitting there?” reklamo ni Ricky. “This is a private matter.”
“He needs to sit here. “He is in the will,” replied the lawyer earnestly.
The brothers were silent, looking at each other. Perhaps their father would just leave a little bonus for the nanny.
The Attorney opened the brown envelope.
“To my daughter, Stella…” Basa NG Lawyer.
Stella smiled.
“… I leave you my collection of antique paintings and jewelry worth 5 Million Pesos.”
“5 Million? Not bad,” bulong ni Stella.
“To my son, Ricky…”
Ricky nodded his head.
“… I leave you my fleet of luxury cars and my golf membership shares worth 5 Million Pesos.”
“Yes! Ferrari!” sigaw ni Ricky.
“And now…” The lawyer took a deep breath. “For the Main Estate—the Mansion, the 50 Hectares Hacienda, the Makati Building, and the Bank Account containing 100 Million Pesos…”
The brothers’ eyes widened. This is it. That is the jackpot.
“I give ALL of this…”
Stella and Ricky’s world came to a halt.
“… to the only person who didn’t leave me when I stinked, when I couldn’t stand, and when I was trying to eat while my kids were in Europe on vacation.”
The lawyer looked at his mother.
“I give it my all because… NARCISA ‘EMING’ REYES.”
CLANG!
Stella’s face was shattered. Ricky almost fell out of his seat.
“What?!” they shouted together.
“Is this a joke?!” shouted Ricky. “A helper?! Is Daddy crazy?!”
“Your father is in the right mind,” replied the Attorney. “He said to it: ‘The family is not measured by blood, but by nurture. My children are just waiting for me to die to get my wealth. My father took care of me so that I could live.’”
Mother Ising cried. “Uh-huh… I can’t accept that. It’s too much. I just want to serve you.”
“It’s yours, mother,” smiled the lawyer. “You’re the new owner of this mansion.”
The lawyer turned to Stella and Ricky who were pale and trembling with anger and embarrassment.
“And according to the clause of the will,” the Attorney added. “Mother Ising has the right to decide who can live in this mansion from tomorrow.”
The brothers looked at Mother Ising—the woman they had kicked off the table earlier.
My mother is now living in the capital.
Stella walked over to Mother Ising, her voice suddenly shaking. “Y-Yaya Ising… You know it’s just a joke, don’t you? We love you…”
Her mother looked at them. There was no anger in the old man’s eyes, but there was the dignity he had long hidden.
“I’m not going to let you go,” Mother Ising said calmly.
The brothers breathed a sigh of relief.
“But,” said Mother Ising. “From tomorrow onwards, you will clean the house, cook, and do the laundry. I will teach you how to be a man. If you don’t want to, the door will be open. You can leave.”
Stella and Ricky had no choice but to bow. The table they had stolen, now belonged to the man they had treated as slaves.
They learned in the most painful way that true wealth is not in the last name, but in the heart of the heart.