Illicit Affair

iii. helena

Jill fulfilled her promise of sending me pictures and video clips of my little Calvin. And like what she said over the phone, my nephew isn't so little anymore. How did he grow up that fast? I caught myself smiling with Calvin's beaming picture. He looks like the male and younger version of Jill, except from his brown eyes and thick curly hair that he inherited from his father. My favorite video is when Calvin was wildly chasing their puppies at home, and the puppies ran as if they didn't want to be touched by my nephew.

I didn't notice that it's already half-past ten in the evening. Tomorrow will be my last day of stay in my parents' house. I have to admit that being here for almost a week helped me to forget Helena even for a time being. But of course, there were still moments during the day when her thoughts slipped into my mind. And I was pretty sure that my mom noticed those sudden blank stares at nothingness. I still haven't made up my mind on how to admit to them. Maybe they don't have to know. For now.

I left two messages to her, asking if we can talk but she didn't respond. But I knew that she saw my messages. How would I get her to talk to me again? Kristoff advised that I should chase and court her again. I'm not sure about that anymore. Part of me knows that Kristoff is right, but the other part says that it's not what I'm supposed to. But when I rack my brain on what I am supposed to do, I couldn't find any. Perhaps, Kristoff is right after all. Yet how?

Helena and I met at a bar, on Valentine's Day. Weird, I know. My colleagues and I were all single at that time, which I wasn't so worried about because I was happy being single, and focused on my career. For some reason, Innah succumbed to the sadness of being single on Valentine's day. So she forced all of her single friends in our department to tag along with her on the nearest bar.

"It's Valentine's Day, bitches! Let's fiddle some spindle and whack some crack!" We all laughed. Often times, we wonder if Innah is actually gay in a lady's body. She's one of the funniest persons in the office. Later that evening, off we went to N.E.O.. Honestly, it was my first time to be inside a bar. It was a little crowded, but overall, it has cozy and inviting vibes. Indistinct chatters, shrilly laughters, and loud party music dominated the air. We were seated at a pub table near the buff bartender with a huge serpent tattoo around his neck.

"Girls and dudes gonna have fun tonight!" Innah chanted and we all screamed. Her round eyeglasses glistened like the stained glass lamps above us. We sang that in chorus after some time until the ladies decided we should take some pictures. Innah, Danny, Xedric, Margarette, Allie, Diana, Nikko, Bryan and I were altogether. We all tried N.E.O.'s famous Margarita and Mojito. It's strong for my taste but I liked the Margarita.

Through Innah's lead, each one of us took a turn to say why that particular Valentine's Day sucked. Honestly, I couldn't think of anything because I didn't care much about Valentine. For me, it's just another day. But I didn't want to be called KJ so I thought hard why it sucked. I couldn't even remember what my friends said. I already finished my second Margarita when it's my turn to share. My body felt warm and cozy and I felt weird in a way that everything seemed to be 20 times exciting. Probably, I experienced 'The Buzz' at that time.

"This Valentine's Day sucks," I slurred a bit. "I didn't have someone to kiss under the mistletoe." We all laughed.

"I think Paolo is already drunk," Xedric chortled.

"I'm not," I denied though there's already a hard straight line inside my head. They were all laughing when an unfamiliar voice called Innah.

"Helena?!" she shrieked in delight. "OMG! OMG! OMG!" Innah stood abruptly and jumped up and down like an ecstatic girl. "OMG! It's been ages!" She hugged the new human being who stood tall and slender, and we were all staring at her. "OMG! I'm so sorry, Dixie Chicks and Dudes." We all glanced at one another. When we became the Dixie Chicks and Dudes? "This is Helena. She's one of my best pals during college." And Innah introduced Helena to all of us.