“Mader” Ricky Reyes, who brands himself as GRR – Ganda Ricky Reyes – is wearing a choker of rubies framed with diamonds around his throat and a single star, also ruby, on his left ear. Unlike most days and nights when he’s in black, dazzling with a ton of sparkling-white bling-blings, tonight he’s wearing a blood-red T-shirt with a neckline plunging to his waistline.

The red, it must be a concession to the Christmas season – this is a Christmas party, after all – and Ricky has invited just enough people to sit around the longest dining table in Quezon City. A trio of chandeliers hangs above our heads; another one lights up the grand staircase.

Among Mader’s guests are Anita, jewelry maker and designer, who has her own “block of jade” from which to cut the stones for her creations; an accountant whose accounting firm services at least 500 companies big and small; and Cherry Caballero to sing for us when she’s not playing the piano as an accompanist to instant guest singers like newscaster Ali Sotto.

Tonight’s feast is also a first: Dinner is coming out of the private kitchen of GRR. No professional caterer is doing the work but Ricky’s own kitchen staff, and the menu is all-native, hurray. Lemonade with ginger and ice. Batchoy, a soup with pork. Mixed green salad, “bopis” (ground pork), fish (galunggong) lumpia, fried prawn, roast chicken. Two kinds of dessert, plus cookies and candy with a minty after-taste.

But wait, where’s Cris Aquino, Mader’s partner for almost 50 years now? Oh, here he comes, home after three Christmas parties in three different venues! Where Mader collects diamonds and rubies, Cris collects cars, vintage and next year’s model. After all these years, Cris is still shy talking to professional busybodies like me, and I thoroughly understand.

If Mader is a popular figure with media people, exchanging stories and “news” pound for pound, paragraph per paragraph, Cris prefers to stay out of such conversations and mingle with the other guests. As you can see, the two make such a perfectly balanced pair!

After all is said and done, Mader dear, I shall wait for another invitation from you for Feb. 14, 2026. Next year – it will be here sooner than we think!