alam kong hindi magiging ordinaryo ang araw na ito. pag dating ko sa office, nilitanya agad ni marie lahat ng shedules and meetings ko for the day. cake and food testing, gown fitting for the bridesmaids and discussion with Manila Hotel for the venue and motiff-setup. hmm..just as ordinary as any day. email naman ang binuksan ko, just the same stuff. invitation from Cosmo mag to feature my latest wedding event, pre-wedding dinner nung college friend ko etc. la parin, then there it was. an unfamiliar email address. eto na nga, when i found out who it was from, my heart skipped a beat. it was from randy lema, my old high-school-sweetheart-that-never-was. sigh. old memories came back rushing in.
"marie, kindly cancel all my meetings after 3pm. i will be meeting an important client today."
lunchtime..and so it was.
ika-limang check ko na ito ng relo ko, a little past eight. and i already had 5 trips to the ladies' room. putik, ang tagal. but didn't he just called earlier to say that he will be late? oo nga pala. super traffic daw. i am feeling nervous right now, but it is an understatement. it is way beyond being nervous. sobra. hmm..bakit nga ba ako nandito ngayon? teka, ano nga ba nangyari sa amin dati?
landslide of past events.
3rd year high school sya noon at 1st year naman ako. una ko syang nakita nung flag ceremony pa lang. bakit hindi e, matangkad sya, maganda ang tindig at mukhang bugnutin. parang walang pakielam, at mukhang shy, but our eyes met in a split second. he's cute, sabi ko kay au, ang unang friend ko in high school. little did i know na there's more to him that meets the eye. parang transformers lang.
di ko na alam ang mga nangyari basta ang alam ko, we're secretly dating each other. secret kasi ayaw ni papa, dahil bukod sa bata pa ako, anak ka ng kalaban nya sa pulitika, ng taong tumalo sa kanya sa brgy captain elections. natatawa tuloy ako ngayon, at tumingin na naman ung waiter na kanina pa hinihintay ang order ko.
"miss, can i take your order?", aniya.
"not yet, i'm still waiting for somebody", sagot ko naman. umorder na lang ako ulit ng ika-4 na mango juice at tumayo papuntang ladies' room, my 6th since i got here.
asan ka na ba kasi? un na nga, naalala ko pa nga, nung intrams natin at magkalaban ung levels natin, hindi ko alam kung kanino ako magchi-cheer, haha. tapos ung paboritong kong turon, laging kang may bigay sa akin. tinutukso tuloy ako akong mukhang saba. pero lahat nito secret lang, ung mga kapatid ko malakas ang radar at baka magsumbong kay papa.
"wait lang maru, i'm very near na." text message nya. napangiti akong muli.
di ko na rin natatandaan kung pano natapos ang lahat. basta nung nag-college ka na, umalis ka para mag-aral. hindi pa uso nun ang cellphone o pager kaya di ko alam kung ano number mo. sabi mo, pag-aaralin ka ng tiyahin mo sa cebu. malayo ba un, tanong ko. hindi mo rin alam, pero ang alam mo, iba na ang lenggwahe. hindi na ko nagtanong pang muli, naghahalo na ung sipon, uhog, luha at sama ng loob. di na ko makapagsalita. sabi mo na lang, uuwi ka rin pag bakasyon ninyo. 3 taon kong hinintay un, baka kasi sumali ka sa paliga ng basketball ng barangay. nada sa loob ng taon. balita ko lagi kang nagsa-summer para makatapos agad ng engineering. Akala ko uuwi ka at magbakasakaling sasali ka ulit sa paliga ng basketball ng barangay. bigo pa rin ako. sabi ko na lang sa sarili ko, baka nag-iipon ka para sa kasal natin. naalala ko kasi sabi mo noon, babalik kang mayaman at magtatapat na kay papa. Hihi, natatawa na naman ako.
lumipas ang mga taong sa maynila na rin ako nag-aral at nakapagtapos. modesty aside, I am now one of the top-rated wedding planners in the city. at the age of 28, i consider myself self-accomplished. i also managed to forget you for the time being, and its not like I don’t have good relationships up in my sleeves. but you know what happens to “career women”, right? I’ll have some, and then lose some. i’m currently dating one of the foreigner chefs of amici di don bosco, not seriously, though. pero i'll dump if only you say so...i will say yes if want me back..
reality bites…the hardest
i stood up and went in the ladies’ for the last time. crisp, white long-sleeved polo: check. light green striped seersucker jacket:check. black armani pants: check. put in a little of lip gloss and blush. tama na, i looked good na, at baka isipin pa nya na masyado kong ina-anticipate ang date na ito, kung date ngang matatawag ito.
when I went out, i saw you standing and talking to the waiter who was pestering me a while back. god, you looked good even from afar. you obviously had gained in some weight, pero I’m sure its from the muscles and not from fat. you also aged gracefully and wisely. malayong-malayo sa randy na nakilala ko nung high school na laging may dalang bola at tahimik kahit lahit ng tili at sigawan ng mga babae ay para sa iyo. and you still made my heart skip a beat. aatakihin pa ata ako.
“musta ka na? “mabuti, ikaw?
“mabuti rin.” , silence. yikes, this is getting awkward. relax, sabi ko sa sarili ko breathe in…breathe out. let everything flow. while I let him talk about something, nabubuo na sa isip ko ang mga susunod na eksena. you will hold my hand, taking in deep breaths and say, maru, I still love you and I always will…I have never gotten over you…
“i came across your website and quite frankly, i was impressed..”
…and ’m sorry for leaving like that in the past, and I promise you that it will never happen again. and I will say, rands, you will always be my only true love, i’ve put everything in the past now…
“so we are thinking about hiring you..”
“yes, I will!” biglang sabi ko pa.
“talaga, so you will do it?! thank God. i was thinking na because of our bitter past you won’t even accept my dinner invitation…”
teka, nabibingi ba ako? anong pinagsasabi nya? asan na ung will you marry? we will live happily ever after. hindi mo pa nga nilalabas ung engagement ring natin a!
“i’m pretty sure that you and Jackie will tick, she simply adores your passion for details and I want to give her everything, just to make her happy. so can I get your…”
sandali, she has a name?! JACKIE?!
Aatakihin ata ako.
hindi ko na matandaan kung paano natapos o hindi natapos and usapang yun. ang alam ko lang ay nakatayo ako ngayon at nagaabang ng masasakyan. it’s almost 10pm and still i haven’t flagged a single cab yet. fuck! i was building our family already in my head. two kids raised in a good neighborhood in serendra, you will still be an engineer-consultant and i will be a doting full-time mother and wife to them. see, I’m even willing to sacrifice my own career for you!
what did I do to deserve this?
“san po ang punta ninyo, ma’am?”, tanong ng mamang taxi driver.
nakakabinging katahimikan
saan ka na nga ba pupunta, maruja?
"saan ka ngayon pupunta, maruja?" is a work of fiction, and as such the usual disclaimer text that 'any resemblance between the characters herein and real persons living or otherwise is purely coincidental' applies. pramis
