Reminiscence

Chapter 35 - For Life

Corrine's Point of View
It's been a week since we came back from Quezon and as expected, since nagkabalikan na kami, mas lalong napapalapit sa'kin si Theo. Malamang. He would text me from time to time at mas napapadalas ang dalaw sa resto, which I find sweet naman.

Gaya ngayong hapon, kakakatok lang ni Candy. Nasa labas daw si Theo. I closed the folder I am reading at saka tumayo. Tumingin muna ako sa salamin at nag-ayos ng konti.

Hindi ako nagpapaganda ha, gusto ko lang maging presentable.

Weh, di nga?

I went out of my office at nakita ko siyang nagtetelepono, iniintay ako. "Theo," I waved as I approached him.

"Hello," he greeted me with a kiss on my cheek. He then guided me towards my spot tapos pinaghila ako ng upuan.

"Kanina ka pa?" I asked as soon as we got settled in our seats kasi napansin kong may pagkain na.

"Hindi naman. Inintay ko lang dumating yung order ko bago kita pinatawag kasi alam kong busy ka sa trabaho," he wiggled his eyebrows and started to put food on my plate.

I smiled instantly when I heard him, sweet naman. Kinilig ako slight ehe.

"Thank you," I told him tapos nginitian niya ko. We said a short prayer and began eating.

I saw familiar faces come inside the resto kaya tinawag ko sila agad, "Albert, Eula, what a surprise!" I approached them with a quick hug.

Sumunod naman si Theo. "General!" Albert greeted Theo and he did the same.

"Sabi ko naman sa'yo, Theo nalang. Don't call me 'General.' Wala naman tayo sa kampo, at hindi naman kita sundalo," he said, chuckling.

"What brings you here? Come join us," pagyaya ko sa kanila. "Dito na kayo sa table namin maupo. Tamang tama. I baked your favorite blueberry cheesecake, Eula," masayang sabi ko at ipinaghila naman ako ni Theo ng upuan, sa tabi na niya ako habang yung mag-asawa, magkatabi rin sa harap namin. May tinawag akong staff para makaorder na sila.

Pagkatapos nila, humarap naman silang dalawa sa'min, nakangiti. Kinabahan tuloy ako bigla.

"Corrine, Theo, may sasabihin kami sainyo and we won't take 'no' for an answer," Eula started.

"Ano ba 'yan? Kinakabahan naman ako tuloy. Don't tell me buntis ka ulit at kukunin mo ako na ninang at si Theo naman ninong?" I joked tapos nakita ko namang namula si Eula sa sinabi ko. Pero seryoso, baka magpacater ulit for an event?

"Grabe ka naman, Marse!! Hahaha, wala pang isang taon si Alexander! Ano ba!" Eula laughed. Pati na rin ang dalawang kasama namin.

"I have extra two tickets bound for Amanpulo, and an extra VIP room. So me and Eula are inviting you to join us. That would be next week," Albert told us. Nasa kalagitnaan palang siya ng sinasabi niya, hindi ko na maprocess.

"Amanpulo?? No. Nakakahiya, Albert. Thanks but no thanks," sagot ko agad. Naappreciate ko yung gesture pero it's too much.

"Please, Corrine," Albert said with a charming smile na hindi naman gagana sa'kin dahil may asawa ako. "I owe you and Theo a lot for helping me when I need it the most. This is the least I can do for you, guys," he continued.

Sasagot sana ako pero naunahan ako ni Eula, "Please, Corrine. Pumayag ka na. I really want to have more bonding moments with you. Sumama na kayo ni Theo sa amin, please," Eula pleaded. Okay, pahirapan naman humindi.

Sasagot ulit ako pero naunahan na naman ako. This time, si Theo. He held my hand on my lap and looked at me, "I will be in one of our military camps in Palawan next week. So I can follow in Amanpulo after kung sasama si Corrine."