"In typical Filipino fashion, my aunt expressed her love not through words of encouragement or affectionate embraces, but through food."
This quote speaks to Filipino culture and the way that Filipino people—and Lila Macapagal's family more specifically—express their love. Instead of outward, overt gestures of love, Lila says that Filipino people express their love through food. They cook food. They buy food. They gift food to show other people their love. In other words, food plays an integral role in Filipino culture and in interpersonal dynamics for Filipino people.
"So even though I was an only child, I had enough godmothers, cousins, aunties, and uncles to populate a small village."
This quote likewise reflects Filipino culture and how Filipino people viewed their families and support systems. In the United States, many people only view their families and support systems as parents and siblings (and perhaps grandparents). In Filipino culture and in the Philippines, family is considered to encompass godmothers, cousins, aunts, and uncles. Their support system, as the quote says, could "populate a small village." That bodes well for Lila, who enlists the help of her extended family to help solve the murder of her ex-boyfriend and absolve her of any guilt for his death.
"My mind swirled with questions at this revelation. Was the person who stabbed Mr. Long the same one who poisoned Derek?"
This is the moment at which Lila discovers who poisoned Derek, her ex-boyfriend. At the same point she realizes how poisoned and ultimately killed Derek, Lila starts to question who killed Mr. Long, who she was also familiar with. This quote also shows how inquisitive and incredibly intelligent Lila is. She searches for the truth above all else.
