CHAPTER 8

Lea didn't want her friends to find out that she was looking for someone in Myrtle Beach. Knowing how their minds work, she foresaw that they wouldn't allow her. It was crystal clear to her that what they came for in Myrtle was the thrill of the adventures that Myrtle has to offer, from the exceptional beach to the different theme parks and as music aficionadas, the South Carolina Music Festival.

Nothing should come in between their adventure, not even their work or family. To ensure the sacredness of their purpose, they even made a pact that it would just be fun and nothing else.

Searching for a person is definitely not on their list of fun stuff. Yet it's on top of the priority list of Lea, her secret agenda on why she suggested Myrtle Beach in the first place. She would do anything just to fulfill her plan of search.

In order to do her search, she had to lie to her friends by asking permission over breakfast if she could meet a person, someone who is important to her, who currently lives in Myrtle Beach. Trying to sale her pitch, she stressed that it was once in a lifetime opportunity she shouldn't miss even if she had to pay double as penalty.

Although it was a lame excuse, Lea was confident that her friends wouldn't doubt her. She may not be an expert in lying but her reason, she thought, contained truth. It may only be a half-truth but still contained truth in it. Lea would really be meeting someone but there's a catch, she must search first that someone before she could even meet that person.

It may be an obsession to some especially to her friends but to Lea, it was something she had to do whatever it would take her to track the person's identity.

With the blessing of her friends, Lea went to the center without any doubt that she would be able to find the information she was looking for despite the lack of trails on the person's identity. Furthermore, Myrtle Beach is much smaller than New York or Los Angeles to a person with such incredible talent. She was confident that sooner or later, the things she was looking for would be unraveled as she takes actions to look for that person.

Who could it be that Lea, a totally angelic in looks and in deeds would keep a secret from her long time friends? Who could it be that she was willing to lie and make effort just to see such person?

Lea had made a vow before that if ever her most important day would come, like what she had attended seven years ago; it had to be the same person who made it before. Unfortunately when she asked the Management of the hotel in New York about the name of the person who made it, they told her that they weren't allowed to divulge the information of one of their former employees.

With the help of her cousin in New York, Lea was able to gain some leads on who it was. Chef Padroncino and Myrtle Beach. Chef Padroncino is not the name of the person she was looking for but the pen name used before by employees of the hotel referring to the person she was looking for. Myrtle Beach, on the other hand, was the current location of that person.

It wasn't hard to know the meaning of the title given to the person whom she was after. Padroncino is an Italian word, which could be roughly translated as 'young master.' Taking into account the title, Lea made a conclusion that the person was a young male chef who lives now in Myrtle Beach. With what she currently had as information, she was hopeful that she wouldn't have hard time in her search. She could narrow down her search and would be able to look for the man she was looking for soon.

After visiting the South Carolina Hall of Fame, which was located in Myrtle Beach Convention Center, following the suggestion of the staff of the Palace, Lea didn't know where to head next. She had high hopes that she would at least gain another lead at the SC Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, it didn't have any person with such expertise on their list. Most of the names in their list were deceased personalities who excelled or contributed in the fields either on science, on commerce or on education. Not a single name was in the field of culinary.

Disappointed on result of her search, she recalled the suggestion of Mavis on meeting her friend at the St. Andrews Catholic Church. Nothing to do for the day, she decided to pray at the said church, hoping that the heaven would listen to her prayer of meeting the person she was looking for.

Lea wasn't religious at all even though she was baptized as Catholic. She grew up in a family who was working twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week with no time at all to take a break and say a little prayer. It was only her grandmother who taught her at the very young age, the so-called Catholic faith. It was only for some years though since her grandmother died when Lea was still young.

With all the vacations she had gone to, Lea always made sure that she visited some churches especially those with rich history and timeless architectural design, from the unfinished church in Spain, Sagrada Familia Church to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. She never favored any particular church to enter while on vacation as long as it's magnificent in her eyes and is famous, she would make a point of visiting that church.

St. Andrews Catholic Church, however, isn't as grandeur as the churches from their previous vacations. It was just a simple church offering a delightful mix of Romanesque and neo-Gothic styles with a kiss of modern architecture as the inside of the church was just newly renovated capturing the trend of returning to tradition, born of a deep desire to re-establish continuity and stability with the present church life. Some of its defining features are the classic façade and the expansive stained glass windows, which captured the two biblical icons, 'calling of Sts. Andrew, Peter, James and John;' and the 'bringing Christ to our Atlantic shores.'

Despite its simplicity and being surrounded by resorts, Lea could feel the sense of sacredness upon entering the church. It was a feast in her eyes and in her soul. She could feel the liveliness of the empty church as the rays of the sun illuminated the place through the eight stained glass windows. She may not be awed by the grandeur of materials used to construct the church but she also felt the energy of faith left behind on the pews.

She sat on the pew nearest to the door, just wanting to imbibe the silence and serenity of the holy ground. But her moment of tranquility was cut short when she felt someone was staring at her. She turned around and saw that it was Mavis. She noticed that he was alone.

Mavis flashed a brief smile, without hesitation, walked toward her and took a seat beside her. Neither of them said anything for a moment.

The silence was only broken when she heard Mavis whisper, "We used to go here."

Lea glanced at Mavis not knowing how to reply. Her mind was still occupied on what she would to next to find the person she was searching.

"Before my mother passed away," he added.

His words stung her. She, instantly, remembered what Shira narrated to them regarding the death of Mavis' mother. She knew it wasn't simple, for reasons she understood, and wanted to avoid it.

Lea's charged silence passed when she eventually cleared her throat, "She's always with you, watching over you as your guardian angel," she said.

She didn't know if Mavis understood what she just said. But when Mavis smiled, Lea motioned to the crucified Christ at the sanctuary, "That man has assured your mother a place in heaven in order for her to watch you grow into a great son," she elaborated.

The hardship that Mavis was going through wasn't new to Lea. She may not have lost any important person in her life lately but there was a similar case in the past that she would never forget. When Lea was still young, her grandmother died. It brought a big crack on Lea's gentle heart. Through the years, the memory remained fresh in her. Her grandmother died in front of her. With just a matter of seconds from seeing her grandmother smiling to her grandmother collapsing that would eventually lead her to death. It was a sudden lost that she hadn't overcome yet even as a young woman.

It was one of the many reasons why Lea took up psychology as a degree despite the clamor of her parents for her to get a degree in business management in order to take over of their family business. She wanted healing in her heart. She thought that having a degree in psychology would help her stitch her heart. Yet she realized that it wasn't the case. Like anything that's broken, she may have glued it back but there were still moments when she would recall and dream about the incident. It kept on haunting her time and time again.

Lea had never opened it up to anyone, not to her parents and not even to her friends. It was exactly the conversation she'd hoped to avoid growing up. Yet here she was, caught by the trap of conversation and nowhere to hide anymore. For the sake of the little kid beside her, she understood the need to console him yet she could find the words to say.

"Why are you crying?" Mavis asked, noticing that tears started to drop from Lea's eyes.

Lea immediately grabbed a hankie from her bag and wiped her eyes.

"I'm not crying. Something just irritated my eyes. Maybe it was a dust." Lea excused. "By the way where's your dad. Don't tell me that you went here alone?" she asked.

"Of course not! My dad is outside. He's talking with someone." Mavis explained.

"Oh, I see!"

At the same moment, Father Salvador, the parish priest of St. Andrews Church, caught up with Landon. He was the type of priest who knew every parishioner he has since there are only a few of them. Most of the churchgoers were really vacationers at Myrtle Beach.

"It's been a while since the last time I saw you, Mr. Bolton." Father Salvador said.

"It has, Father. You know how it is. Today is the season where most of the hotels in Myrtle are fully booked." Landon explained.

It was only an excuse though. The truth was that Landon couldn't find the energy to go to the church since the Funeral Mass for Theresa. St. Andrews Church was dear to Landon's heart. It was the Church where he and Theresa exchanged their vows of love. Father Salvador was even the one who witnessed their sacred unity together with some close friends and relatives.

"By the way, I was planning to call you about something."

"What is it Father?"

"Well, the parish pastoral council would like to coordinate with your organization, Sea Heaven?"

"Oh! That would be great then. I would just ask Nathalie to come and give you a visit to finalize some concerns."

Nathalie is the current administrator of Sea Heaven, the non-profit organization started by Landon and Theresa to help the people from Myrtle in need for medical assistance. Since Landon and Theresa were focused in the management of the Palace, they have hired Natalie as the administrator after being impressed with her dedication on working for them.

"Praise God for creating a person like you," Father Salvador exulted.

"Hey Dad, can she come with us for lunch?" Mavis shouted as he and Lea came out of church.

Lea was taken aback by what she heard. Sure, kids were blunt on what they have in mind but she was still shock by what she heard. Mavis didn't even ask her if she wanted to have lunch with them while they were inside the church.

"It would be an honor. But we would just have to eat in a restaurant," Landon turned his attention from Mavis to Father Salvador, "Would you join us as well, Father?" he invited.

"Thank you but I still have some things to do." Father Salvador declined.

"Oh! Let me not hold on you any longer then."

As Father Salvador said his goodbye and walked inside the church, Lea and Mavis just caught up with Landon.

"Could you join us for lunch?" Landon formally asked Lea.

Lea wanted to decline. It was an awkward situation bumping into them for several times and now, she was offered to dine with them for lunch but no words were coming out from her mouth. It was as if part of her was curious on the father and son relationship.

"Please say yes!" Mavis begged.

When she noticed that both Landon and Mavis were positively waiting for her answer, she was forced to nod as she saw the sparkle in Mavis' eyes. The father and son have been helpful to her and her friends since their arrival in Myrtle Beach. A lunch wouldn't hurt her. Besides, she has nowhere to go except to go back to the hotel and rest.

"What would you like then?" Landon asked.

"Any would do," Lea calmly responded.

"Giant Crab!" Mavis cheerfully suggested.

Landon looked at Lea, "Is seafood okay with you? It's just a few minutes from here," he asked.

Lea simply nodded.

"Yes!" Mavis happily shouted. "They have the best crab in town."

Landon smiled. "Let me just get the car." Landon excused himself as their car was parked near House of Flowers.

"I'm sure you would like the place," Mavis guaranteed.

Lea showed a little beam to Mavis. "If you say so."