Gabby at KC nag-bonding

It was an unexpected call from FLT Films matriarch Rose Flaminiano whom everybody calls “mommy.” Last Tues­­day ‘yon just as I was about to leave for Bacoor.  Mommy rose want­ed us to meet.

She settled for a next day meet­ing, around 4 p.m. somewhere  in Quezon City. I thought the idea was cool. Came the following day, wala akong natatang­gap na tawag mula kay Mommy Rose if our meeting would push through  until I received a call from her: alas-otso na raw ng gabi, not later than that, at a venue I hardly knew. Even her instruc­tions kung saan ang lugar na ‘yon were vague, also my fault, sorry, I wasn’t born a geographer.

Finally, natunton ko rin ang lugar: a four-storey building sa kanto ng Scout Lozano and Reyes Sts., what a circuitous journey! And what an astonishing discovery!

Buong akala ko kasi, it was a supposedly private meeting. Presscon pala ‘yon at the third floor where any moment (pardon, Mommy Rose), anyone of us would faint, and worse, slip into coma due to heat stroke!

Excuse ko na lang ‘yung magyosi sa ibaba. I was going up and down the building to get a whiff of air due to lack of oxygen. Bale ba, matagal na kaming naghihintay sa pagdating ni Gabby Concepcion, na ayon kay Mommy Rose, was already on his way to the venue pero naharang daw ng mga fans who had their pictures taken with him.

Meron ding nagsasabi that Gabby’s late arrival was because he and daughter KC had earlier bonding moments.

Three tables away, Mommy Rose—clad in her housedress and unmade-up— was reciting a litany kung gaano siya kaimbiyerna sa mga picture-takers without whose fan mentality chorva would not have caused her alaga to say hello to a group of seemingly impatient reporters. May iba na nga who left.

Nakonek ko tuloy ang eksenang ‘yon sa press launch, isang araw lang ang pagitan nu’ng kay Gabby. Similar elements seemed to have converged: there was early press attendance, matagal naghintay ang press much to their discomfort, and to top it all, both events were held at the poolside.

But unlike the Gabby presscon, there was no mass walk-out. At sa kabila ng sobrang init sa venue na hindi kinaya ng mga bentilador at their airiest power, there was the still-refreshing Gabby in his coolest amidst the hottest issue he now faces. More of this in my column  tomorrow.

* * *

([email protected])