You know how letters can sometimes move you to tears.
You know, simple missives from a dear friend from way back. Sometimes the letter doesn't have to be from someone you personally know, but if it's humorous, heartfelt, and written with genuine affection, it just hits you right there where it matters most.
This is the story behind the series of e-mails exchanged in the making of this story -- the tale of the two Misses Cs.
An electronic note from Missy Cuneta:
"She is probably the bestest friend I've ever had. We've been apart for about fifteen years now, but nothing has changed," Missy states, to introduce her US-based pal. "Her name is Aileen Curatolo-Egan."
Missy, by the way, is Aileen's pet name for Megastar Sharon Cuneta. Missy, as in Miss C. or Miss Cuneta. Sharon, in turn, fondly calls Aileen "Lynnie" and "Lovey". "But I use 'Lovey' most often."
They met at St. Paul Manila, when they were but teeners on their first year of high school.
"Her family owned a tuna canning company, Judric Tuna, then," Mega-Missy recalls. "They had a house in United ParaÒaque, which I got to visit a few times. I also got to see their canning factory!"
Later, Lynnie C. moved to DasmariÒas Village in Makati--specifically, to Acacia Street, just a few blocks away from Paraiso Street, where Missy C. lived, of course.
"For best friends, that was heaven," Missy enthuses. "But I was never allowed to sleep over any of my friends'; my friends always slept over at my house. Still we got to spend a lot of time together because aside from school, we were also neighbors!"
Teenaged memories were somehow made more vivid -- the varied sights, sounds, scents, even flavors, more exquisite, when shared with a dear friend.
"One of the nicest things I remember is when Aileen and I would go to the (then new) CafÈ Adriatico in Malate, after school in the afternoons. Soooo often, we spent our entire allowance!"
Like the elegant ladies who do lunch, the dynamic duo would troop from St. Paul to neighboring Remedios Circle, where they enjoyed their afternoon, after-school merienda (snack) in style.
"I would have hot chocolate and grilled cheese sandwich (I wasn't a coffee drinker yet), and she'd have hot tea and tuna sandwich," Missy warmly remembers. "We'd just sit there and listen to the classical music playing in the background (we felt like grownups then!). And talk about our crushes, dreams and stuff!"
In May 1984, the bestest of buddies had to bid each other adieu, temporarily of course. "She has always been an American citizen," Missy looks back, "and so when their company closed shop and she graduated from high school, her family moved to Boston, Massachusetts. Her mom and two younger sisters later moved to California. She now lives in San Diego, with her husband Chris and her daughter (and my godchild) Kaitlyn. She now works as a payoff manager in a housing/mortgage company."
Although oceans (and time zones) apart, Missy, now known as Miss Mega, always made it a point to visit Lovey whenever she was in that part of the globe. (To enhance the "international" slant of this story: there is not a single drop of Filipino blood flowing in Aileen's veins. Sharon's US-based pal is of pure Chinese descent.)
Whenever Miss Mega had concerts in Southern California, Lovey would, no fail, drive up from San Diego, "with her daughter (and my godchild) Kaitlyn--and with Chris's blessings," Missy relates. "And whenever she'd have to go back to San Diego, I'd always, no fail, cry. I miss her all the time. In fact, I e-mail her to tell her just that all the time."
Let's hear it from Lovey Curatolo herself.
Lovey waxes nostalgic conjuring up memories of their teenaged years in St. Paul, their salad days in CafÈ Adriatico.
"I met Missy way back in 1979," Lovey writes in her electronic missive. "I've known her for twenty years!"
You could say that they were destined to become bosom buddies, by virtue of their family names. "We were classmates on our freshman year and we sat right next to each other because of our last names," Aileen recounts. "My maiden name is Curatolo and, of course, hers is Cuneta. She sat at the end of the row, and I was next to her."
In more ways than one, Missy C. lived up to Lovey C.'s first impression: "She has always been down-to-earth. Innocent. Always cheerful, she has a face that lights up a room," Aileen beams.
The Sharon, Aileen knows is basically the same gal she met two decades ago: "The real Sharon--away from the cameras, the limelight--has a great sense of humor. She's very loving, loyal, and beyond generous to those she loves. She's also very religious."
Missy's most endearing trait, Lovey singles out, is her being "very, very malambing (caring, charming)! Sharon is warm, sweet and sensitive!"
The girlhood stuff they loved doing in '79, they still relish in '99, Aileen acknowledges.
"Believe it or not, we still enjoy some of the same things: hang around our rooms to chitchat, watch TV, movies," Aileen enumerates their fave pastimes. "Hang out at CafÈ Adriatico after school, where Sharon would order hot chocolate and grilled cheese sandwich, and I, tea and tuna sandwich. Whenever we're together we still go out and eat a lot. But not just CafÈ Adriatico anymore! And of course, whenever possible, we go malling!"
Like Shawie's other Mega-Friends, Aileen attests that Missy consistently (and conscientiously) makes her pals feel extra-special. "She remembers what we like," Aileen avers. "She's not only generous with gifts on certain special occasions, but she makes it a point to put a lot of thought into each gift."
When did Lovey C. realize that her bestest buddy has ceased being plain ole Missy and has become the Philippines' one and only Miss Megastar?
"That is a question difficult for me to answer because she has never been more than just my best friend Sharon," Aileen responds. "Even before the term 'megastar' was coined, I remember thinking that she had already made it big because whenever we went out to have lunch, people would actually approach her for an autograph. And, of course, we could never shop in peace in Manila."
Once, Lovey's poor finger was even caught in the slammed door of a limousine ostensibly speeding away from a mob, during Miss Mega's SRO Los Angeles Shrine concert in 1988.
Ah, the things Lovey C. would do for Missy C.
Still, Aileen insists that her friend has remained basically the same through the years. "She hardly changed at all," Aileen affirms. "The only changes are the same changes we all undergo as we grow up and mature. Notice that I'm trying to avoid the word 'old'!" Aileen jests.
The bestest of friends couldn't stay apart for long.
A year after Lovey migrated to Boston, she flew back to Manila and stayed with Missy for a month (in May 1985). Sharon also visited and stayed with Aileen in Boston for about a week in July 1984 before the former got married and had daughter KC.
"I again visited Manila in 1986 and stayed for about another month," Aileen reminisces. "After that, I regularly saw her whenever she was in the United States. I have made it to almost all of her USA concerts."
Whenever Lovey and Missy met up in the States, it was "shop-till-we-drop" time.
"We also love cooking, watching movies over and over again," Aileen again lists their favorite things. "Generally catching up on our lives and, of course, eating!"
Thus, Shawie's concert-tour visits were often fun-filled and unforgettable reunions.
When Shawie, Kiko and KC moved to Boston for one whole year in '97-'98, the "bestest of pals", needless to say, had a ball!
Prior to the Pangilinans' US sojourn, Aileen the Bostonian was able to counsel her buddy on "basic" tips that proved to be a valuable addition to Kiko's already well-researched guidelines: "I informed her beforehand that winters in Boston were incredibly cold, that she should be prepared. I also told her that she'd surely love the quaint shops and cool malls. I lived in Boston for five years and graduated from Regis College, an all-women, Catholic institution. In fact, my in-laws and friends still live there, so I consider Boston as my 'second home,' " Aileen remarks. "So when I visited Missy in Massachusetts, we had a great time."
Sharon and Aileen even met up with fellow Paulinian Lorraine Mendoza-Recto, to traipse down memory lane and tape a segment of the Megastar's A Place Called Home TV special--where Aileen and Lorraine showed the public boxful of little notes, cards and letters they've collected and received through the years from their not-so-common common pal.
Shooting was a riot, Aileen swears. "We laughed so much, like schoolgirls. It was embarrassing!"
Sharon Cuneta-Pangilinan, circa '97-'98, was a revelation for Aileen Curatolo-Egan. "She is more mature, more self-assured," Aileen says proudly of her bestest buddy. "She knows very well what is important to her."
In her heart of hearts, Aileen only has the most noble of intentions for Sharon--not just Miss Mega, but her Mega-Friend: "Career-wise, I would like her to do whatever makes her happy. Be it just to make movies, record albums, do TV, shoot commercials, whatever! As we all know, she has been and is highly successful in all fields. After all, she is the Megastar."
As far as her personal life is concerned . . . "I know how difficult it must be to stop when you're on top. But I hope that she will one day find the time to fulfill her own personal goals. Such as going back to college, that is, if she still wants to. It's because she has always been an excellent, grade 'A' student. And, of course, I hope that she will soon have the baby she and her family want so much."
She adds, just another wish, a more self-centered request, she herself admits. "And of course, selfishly, I want her to move to the United States, preferably, to San Diego!"
A P.S. from Sharon, ahem, Missy:
"When we were in Boston, Aileen and her family dropped by for a one-day visit, because they had to get back home right away," Shawie recalls that momentous occasion. "So we all made small talk in our home and then had dinner in an old, famous steak house (Ken's Steakhouse) they used to frequent when they lived there. Then we went back to our house before we called it a night (which was late that night)."
Whenever Missy and Lovey get together, expect them to indulge in a non-stop talkathon, gabfest galore.
"Girl-talk! Haha! Mostly in Los Angeles," Missy reiterates. "By the way, she also came home with me when I returned in November '97 to promote Nang Iniwan Mo Ako. That was her first visit in the Philippines in ages! She stayed with me the whole time. Then we flew back to Los Angeles together."
When they reached the Los Angeles International Airport, the bestest of pals again had to say goodbye to each other. "We had to take separate flights when we got there--she to San Diego and me to Boston. That was why, again, I cried buckets!"
A P.S. from Aileen, ahem, Lovey:
"When we went to see Sharon and family in Boston, my husband Chris gave them this piece of advice: 'to accept and bring home to Manila the good things they experienced in Boston, but to keep their own family values intact.' My husband is really a wonderful man, but I was surprised that he was able to open up to Sharon and family that night. I think it's because he liked Sharon right away. He, of course, had heard so much about her from me over the years, but that was the first time he met Sharon and he instantly liked her," Lovey declares gleefully.
Sharon also visited the Egans in San Diego when she was in the West Coast and the Egans, in turn, drove up to Los Angeles to catch her Shrine Mega Concert.
"He really had not been exposed to Sha as the 'megastar,' " Lovey continues. "He had always known her as just my friend. The LA concert was the first time my husband and daughter saw Sharon perform onstage, and let me tell yah, they were very impressed."
Lovey's hubby, in fact, exclaimed: "Wow, she's really very good!"
"To which, of course, I said: 'she sure is!' " Proudly, needless to say. "My seven-year-old daughter, for her part, now wants to become a movie star and singer, just like her Ninang (Godmother) Sharon."
Lovey also recalls her Manila homecoming in November 1997 as "super fun."
"We were in Manila for a week, one whole week to ourselves," Lovey is ecstatic. "Our husbands and daughters were back in the States."
The trip, timed with the whirlwind promo of Nang Iniwan Mo Ako, was a blast for Lovey because they were able to hang out all over Mega-Manila and she was able to see for herself "how much of a super, superstar" her bestest buddy had become in the Philippines. On a personal note, the '97 trip was also a time to play catch-up, to throw a pajama party for the grown-up girls. "We spent the nights in her room, chatting before going to sleep!"
Just like the old days.
"I could talk endlessly about our friendship," Lovey concedes. "We have a real, rare friendship that most people are not fortunate enough to find in a lifetime. She knows she can trust me explicitly and vice versa. We could even go for months without talking, but when we finally get the chance, we just pick up where we left off . . . "
It was as if they never said goodbye and cried buckets at the airport . . .
Filipino fans recognize Miss Mega in the malls. Inevitably, they ask for their idol's autograph. "Nakakatuwa. There was one Pinoy fan who even asked Sharon to sign at the back of her checkbook. Kasi nataranta, do'n na siya nagpa-sign."