
Mac-mac, a long-time buddy and the only one among my friends who consistently calls me ‘Teh (Ate, or older sis), invites me over to this little-known burger place along one of the quieter streets tucked along busy Morato in Quezon City. Masarap ang burger dun, pati na yung pasta. Winner, teh!, he beams. I know Mac-mac as an artiste, and a little bit anti-mainstream so I got interested. Plus of course I was hungry. Picked him up in nearby Timog Avenue and in moments, we were there. Franz Burger. Yes the food was good enough, I even took some photos because I thought the place was great for EBs (eye-ball, blind, first-time meetups for online buds) as it was very discreet and private yet with a little bit of spunk and character.
In this surprisingly cozy ambiance, Mac-mac blurts out, may kuwento ako ‘teh. I’m reserving it for this kind of moments, sabi niya. Aba, I thought to myself, may bagong chika ang lola ko. So while gobbling up chunks of my delectable bacon mushroom cheeseburger, I was eagerly listening to Mac-mac’s anti-mainstream tale… a taste of being a gay matrona, all at a youngish age of 27. Keribelles? Then read on.


The Start
Mac-mac arrived home finding his housemates and several others in the common area of their apartment. Inuman itu. Naturally, he joined the fun session, and that’s where he met Joey (not his real name), a straight guy. He’s 19 years old, slightly stocky, but has tons of sex appeal, according to Mac-mac. While he found Joey pretty attractive and interesting, Mac-mac my friend did not really mind the guy, as he (Joey) was straight. The inuman went on and ended, and the whole group decided to just sleep over, with Joey dozing off beside Mac-mac. No, nothing happened that night, Joey still behaved. And so did Mac-mac.
Familiarity breeds contempt
The familiarity that developed during the inuman session first showed its fangs the morning after. Mac-mac was playful and so while still in bed he was kidding around with everyone. Including Joey. That was their first physical contact — with Mac-mac hugging teddy bear Joey, playfully. And Joey was cool with it. After breakfast the gang decided to gallivant in Trinoma. Anti-mainstream Mac-mac declined saying he’d rather stay home and rest some more. Everyone else, including Joey, left for Trinoma. Moments after the group left, Mac-mac received a text message. “Sumama lang ako sa kanila kunwari, pero hintayin mo ako diyan. Babalik ako. Gimik tayong dalawa.” It was from Joey.
Gimik and the Kiss
Mac-mac knew there was something going on. But he suspended his disbelief and pretended everything was all for jovial friendship eklavu. Joey and Mac-mac went bonding even after that first gimik moment they had sans their other kainuman. In a short span of time Mac-mac felt good about the budding “buddy” relationship. There were kilig moments too, Mac-mac related. One time he woke up after a late afternoon siesta in the apartment with a sweet smack in his lips. It was Joey, naglalambing. Another time, Joey surprised Mac-mac with a stem of rose. Slowly Mac-mac was liking what was developing.
Favors
It went on for sometime until Joey seemed to feel more comfortable spilling his personal issues with Mac-mac. It was when Joey was applying to be a crew at a fastfood chain and needed some money to tide him over for his application requirements. Mac-mac the friendly one went naturally to the rescue. That favor was to be followed by several other “requests” from Joey. Mac-mac has become Joey’s go-to Momma.
Friends to the rescue
Friends started to remind Mac-mac about his trysts with Joey. Apparently Joey was not tight-lipped to their friends about the whole thing. Mac-mac was surprised that their friends knew what was going on. They were unanimous in advising Mac-mac to cut the relationship. At first he was justifying it by thinking the money he gives is benefitting the guy in good ways — he was able to fulfill his job requirements and thus, “may work na siya ngayon,” Mac-mac proudly beams. Until a friend told him, “nag-a-addict yan.” That was Mac-mac’s wake up call. He suddenly realized how Joey was actually asking for more than just his survival needs. “Hinihiram niya yung iPod ko one time,” Mac-mac recalls. It dawned on him that Joey was hungry to live a life of luxury that he couldn’t afford with his own means. Kaya kumuha ng Momma.
Subok lang.
From then on, Mac-mac did not entertain Joey’s advances anymore. Subok lang sa pagiging matrona, he says. At least alam ko na how it feels even at this young age. Charge to experience.
Towards the end of Mac-mac’s sharing, I was conscious not to give the impression that I was judging him. In fact I was amused with his story. I learned something from his experience. The guy was open to experience life even to the point of wallowing on something most people frown at. What’s great about Mac-mac is that he’s also open to adjust and change his ways once he realizes there is a better way to go. Conventional wisdom does not laud the Mac-macs of this world — and in this aspect I differ. The Mac-macs of this world may not be popular but they are the ones who I can say, next to experience, are the best teachers.
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