Chapter 7


    “YOU ARE very fortunate, Mr. McClennan. Not only is your girlfriend beautiful, she is so good with the


    kids, too. She would be a wonderful wife.”


    “I know,” Hindi lumilingon sa kausap na sagot ni no habang nananatiling nakamasid kay rice na


    pinalibutan ng mga batang babae na kasalukuyan nitong tinuturuan kung paano makad na gaya ng


    sa isang modelo. Kahit ang mga batanglaki ay huminto sa palaro at may kinang ang mga matang


    nakatitig nang din sa dga.


    Ang mga batang naroon ay anak ng mga empleyado sa kanng kompanya. Kasalukuyan sng nasa


    bagong tayong resort ng kanng pamilya. Sa susunod na linggo ay magbubukas na ang resort sa


    publiko. Ngayong araw ay binasbasan iyon ng pari kaya inimbitahan n ang mga mlapit na


    kaibigan at empleyado para makisaya sa kanng magkakapatid. Hinayaan nng isama ng mga ito


    ang kani-kanng pamilya para makapag-enjoy din ang mga bata.


    Pagkatapos ng kainan, agad nang pinalibutan si rice ng mga babae,lo na ng mga teenager. Even


    the employees’ housewives approached her. All were eager to have her autograph and their pictures


    taken along with her. And she was patient. Pinagbigyan nito anghat ng mga tagahanga nito. Hindi


    naw ang ngiti sa mgabi nito habang kausap ang mga iyon. Kahit ang mga tauhan nnglaki ay


    nakip din. Pagkatapos niyon, nakiparo pa ang dga sa mga bata. It was obvious that she was


    very fond with the kids seeing how she couldugh while listening to their stories and watching them


    imitate her signature walk. Kanina ay tinuruan pa nito ang mga bata ng tamang pag-pose sa camera.


    no was d to see rice having fun, too. They had been officially together for more than two


    weeks now. Pero may mga oras pa ding pakiramdam niya ay may mataas at makapal na pader na


    nakapagitan sa kan. Sometimes, she would appear so distant. May mga gabing nahuhuli niya itong


    nakating sangit na para bang napaklim ng iniisip habang may lungkot na nakarehistro sa mga


    mata. He knew that rice had not gotten over with what happened to her family and he was


    desperate to help her but she was not seeking for his help. She refused to talk about it and he also


    refused to keep pushing his luck for fear of losing her.


    There were moments when no would feel like he was walking on eggshells around her. But he was


    notining. He was willing to deal with anything as long as he could be with her. Nakahanda din


    siyang maghintay hanggang sa dumating ang araw na kusa nang mag-open-up ang dga. Heck.


    Hindi niya inakng darating siya sa ganitong punto ng buhay niya na dadagain ang dibdib niya nang


    dahil sa isang babae, na matatakot siya nang ganoon katindi na maw ito sa buhay niya.


    “Miss rice!”


    Napukaw ng isang batanglaki ang atensiyon ni no nang patakbo itong lumapit sa girlfriend niya.


    May hawak itong pinitas na makuky na bk na hinihingal pang inabot nito sa dga. The


    starstruck little boy looked like he was about eight to nine years old.


    “These are for you.” Narinig niyang sinabi ng bata.


    Matamis na ngumiti si rice at tinanggap ang mga bk kasabay nang marahan na paggulo sa


    buhok ng bata. “You are so sweet. Thank you, young man.”


    The little boy’s eyes shone. “I like you. Wait for me, Miss rice. Don’t marry my father’s boss. I am


    going to grow up really quickly and marry you one day. I promise I will be richer than him when I grow


    up.”


    Nagtawanan ang mga nakapaligid sa mga ito na para bang naghihintay din ng isasagot ni rice.


    Nang hindi na mapign ang sarili, tinapik niya ang balikat ng empleyado na kausap bago ito


    tinalikuran. Humakbang siya ppit sa sentro ng atensiyon nang mga oras na iyon. Inalis niya ang


    kamay ng batanglaki na mahigpit na nakahawak sa kamay ng girlfriend niya saka binuhat ang bata


    pabalik sa nagmamasid na mga kro nito sa isang tabi.


    “You are a bad kid, do you know that? Kakaribalin mo pa ako.” Kunwari ay nakasimangot na sita niya


    sa bata.


    Nam ang mga pisngi ng bata. Siniko siya ni rice sa tagiliran nang tumabi siya rito at inakbayan


    ito. “Stop that, no. He’s just a kid.”


    He shrugged. “I know. But what can I do? I told you I’m territorial.” Nilingon niya ang bata. “Don’t steal


    my woman away from me, kiddo. You can’t marry her. I won’t allow it. But if you promise to be a good


    boy, if you promise to study hard,” Kumindat siya. “Then you can marry our future daughter instead.”


    Napasinghap ang mga naroon bago mkas na naghiyawan at nagpkpakan.


    “Did you just propose to our supermodel here, Boss?” Anang secretary niyang si Leo.


    “I think I just did.” Pilyong ngumiti si no kasabay ng pagharap kay rice na nalaki ang mga


    mata habang nakatingin sa kanya. She looked so adorable that he was tempted to kiss her right there


    and then. “Why do you look so surprised? The moment that I realized I love you was the same moment


    when I began thinking about settling down. I don’t have the ring with me now but I’m serious about you,


    rice. And for the sake of the brokenhearted little boy, we have to hurry in making our first baby.”


    Tinampal ng dga ang kanyang dibdib. “You’re making fun of me again.”


    Sumeryoso na siya. “I’m not.”


    “But we just started dating and-“


    “Calm down.” Idinaan ni no sa tawa ang nerbiyos na naramdaman. “You don’t have to answer right


    away. The babies can wait.” Bing kambiyo niya sa pag-alang bi siyang tanggihan ng dga.


    Hinagkan niya ang noo nito saka bumulong sa tainga nito. “Right now, I just want you to know that


    there is no other woman that I would want to marry aside from you, baby, so please… please


    reconsider.”


    “WHO would have thought that a day like this would happen, Boss? Hindi namin inakng


    magseseryoso ka sa isang babae. Nala n’yo pa ba nang ng beses na may halos magkakasunod


    na sumugod na mga babae sa office? They were all demanding to see you, Boss. You were in the


    middle of a meeting then. Ang dami ng empleyadong humarang sa mga babae pero natagn pa rin


    bago namin s napapayag na umalis. But Agatha stayed, she was crying so much.”


    “Who’s Agatha?”


    Nasamid si no nang marinig ang boses ni rice. Pagkatapos ibaba ang hawak na beer sa mesa


    ay nagmamadaling sinipa niya sa lim ng mesa ang paa ngsing nang si Leo para patigilin ito sa


    pagsasalita. Natahimik naman ang mga tauhan niya sa mesa, ang iba ay mabilis na nag-excuse na


    habang ang n naman ay bing nagkaroon ng kanya-kanyang pinagkaabhan. Some of them


    were suddenly looking at the roof as if they found something interesting there, habang ang n naman


    ay nagkunwaring busy sa pagkain. Damn.


    “Bakit kayo natahimik? Who is this Agatha?”


    Tumikhim siya. “Ah-“


    “Si Agatha ang ex-girlfriend ni Boss, Ma’am rice. They dated for three months. Ak nga namin,


    siya na ang magpapatino kay Boss dahil siya ang pinakamatagal na naka-date niya. She came crying


    to the office saying that she’s pregnant.” Sinipa niya uli ang matabil na secretary niya. Mas mkas na


    sa pagkakataong iyon. “Aray naman, Boss! Bakit ba kayo naninipa? Totoo namang-”


    Mabilis na dumukot si no ng tinapay sa mesa at sinalpak sa bibig ni Leo bago siya tumayo. Bi,


    ginusto niyang magsisi na hinayaan niyang magpaksing ang secretary niya. Kaninang na w


    pang ispiritu ng k sa sistema nito ay todo build up ito sa kanya kay rice. no even told him that


    he would give him a raise for that. Pero ngayon ay ito pa mismo ang nag sa kanya.


    Nang akmang aalisin ni Leo ang tinapay ay ngumiti siya pero iba na ang ibinabadya ng kanyang mga


    mata. Natatarantang inakbayan na ito ng mga katabi nito sa mesa. “If you don’t stop talking, I couldn’t


    guarantee that you’d still have a job to go back to tomorrow, Leo.” Para namang nahimasmasan na


    namu ito. Tumayo siya at tinapik ito sa balikat. “But of course, I’m just kidding.”


    Npitan ni no ang nakakunot noo nang si rice saka hinapit sa baywang bago iginiya pbas ng


    restaurant ng resort. Nakad s sa dmpasigan. Tumikhim siya kasabay ng pagbasag sa


    namuong katahimikan sa pagitan n. Thest thing he wanted to talk about was his past gilfriends.


    Hindi na maganda ang record niya sa paningin ng dga dahil sa pagiging yboy niya noon. Ayaw


    niyang dagdagan pa iyon. “Baby, isn’t the sky lovely tonight?”


    “It is.”


    “There are so many stars-“


    “Right.” Napatango-tangong sagot ni rice bago huminto sa palakad. “So you dated Agatha for


    three months? We’ve only been dating for more than two weeks. I thought you said I was the only


    woman you were serious about? Did you propose to her, too?”


    Pinahid ni no ang namuong butil-butil na pawis sa kanyang noo. Mahangin sa paligid pero


    pinagpapawisan pa rin siya. He swore, in the future, he would never allow Leo to drink again in his


    party. He would ban the liquor in the next gathering. Napalunok siya nang wng anumang emosyon


    na makita m sa mga mata ni rice. Never in his life did he feel this nervous. Damn Leo. And damn


    that liquor.


    “You got it wrong. What Martha and I had was a thing in the past. Sikat siyang artista dito sa ‘Pinas. We


    that her schedule was always full at that time. Pero bihira kaming magkita noon. And she wasn’t


    pregnant or anything. She lied about her pregnancy because she wanted to make me marry her.”


    “Poor girl.”


    “She wanted to make me marry her to pay her millions of debts. She’s a gambler and her creditors


    were chasing her. I think that was the only why Margarita approached me. I’ve changed, rice. It was


    true that I never dated anyone again after I saw you in Nevada. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Kung


    napaagang ang dating mo kanina, maririnig mo ang ibang sinabi ni Leo. He was talking about how


    serious I was in our rtionship.”


    rice remained silent. “If you still don’t believe me, we can talk to her tomorrow. No, scratch that.


    Let’s talk to Martina now. I don’t have her number but maybe Leo or my assistant knows about it. Wait


    here. I’ll go and call them now-“


    “You don’t have to.”


    “Does that mean you believe me?”


    Nasorpresa si no nang bing tumawa si rice. She wasughing loudly that other passerbys


    stopped on their track and just watched her in awe. She was wearing an off-shoulder yellow sundress


    that night which she paired with ts. Pero imposible pa ring hindi huminto sandali ang mga nakakakita


    rito,lo na tuwing ngumingiti ito. She dressed so simply and yet she looked so ethereal. And now that


    she wasughing, it brought a whole new experience to him and to her audience. It brought warmth in


    his chest. He would give anything to see herugh like this again. Kasalukuyang pinalaruan ng


    hangin ang damit at buhok ng dga na para bang nasa isang pictorial pa rin. The night, the sky, and


    the sea all served as her background. She was lovely. She was adorable. And she was his.


    “You looked so tensed, no. Did you even realize that you got Agatha’s name wrong so many times?”


    Natatawa pa ring sinabi ni rice.


    Napapahiyang nahaplos niya ang kanyang noo. “Really? I didn’t notice. If Leo didn’t mention her, I


    don’t think I’d remember her. Come to think of it. I don’t even remember her face now.”


    Muling tumawa ang dga. “It’s just me. You don’t have to get so worked up exining, no.


    Besides, she’s a part of your past now.”


    “That’s exactly the reason why I got so worked up exining. Because it’s you, rice. I didn’t want


    you to misunderstand.”


    “I won’t. I believe you. I was just teasing you earlier.”


    N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    Relieved nang ngumiti si no. “Thank you.”


    Hinaplos ng dga ang kanyang mga pisngi. “You are so silly. But I love you.”


    Natla siya. It was the first time she said those words. Sa loob ng ng linggo, he was always the one


    to tell her he loves her. She would just smile to show her appreciation. That’s why hearing those words


    tonight felt like there was a giant rock that was lifted off his chest. “And I love you, too. I love you so


    much.” Emosyonal niya nang sinabi kasabay nang pagkabig sa baywang nito at mab na paghalik sa


    mgabi nito.


    Maybe he would still give Leo a raise, after all.