Eighteen

Chapter 02

Hide left for the restroom. Derek and Aleah went away to talk with some strangers they wanted to turn into friends. Si Jayden naman hindi ko mahagilap kung saan kaya ako lang ang mag-isa sa lamesa. Inaya naman ako nina Derek na sumama sa kanila, pero sa tagal kong suot ang mataas na takong ng sapatos ko, pati ang enerhiya kong makisalamuha sa ibang tao, naapektuhan na ng pagod.

As time went by, I was starting to notice some eyes throwing glances in my way. This was a party, so it was natural that certain people would walk straight to random strangers and strike up a conversation with them - their party-goer instincts maybe. I didn't want to assume, but I didn't want to end up in a situation like that if it turned out to be the case, so I stood up from my chair and went to where I could waste my time eating food.

In the middle of turning my back against the crowd in an effort to make myself less likely to be regarded by those around me, I heard a voice call my name. Hindi lang basta kung kaninong boses dahil kilala ko kung sino ang may-ari no'n. Umikot ako at nakitang papalapit sa'kin ang isang babaeng kanina lang tinititigan ko mula sa malayo. Gusto ko nang umuwi, pero sabi ni Catherine kalimutan lang ang lahat, 'wag lang ang batiin ang babaeng ito.

"Tita . . . hello," I greeted the woman placidly. She had a big smile on her face as if she was seeing a friend lost in time, in the most unlikely circumstance.

"Camille, dear, I missed you so much," she told me, sounding like a swan from swan lake.

"Me, too, tita Rosalie. How have you been? Pasensya po kung hindi ko kayo nalapitan kaagad. I found it hard walking in my heels," I confessed. She laughed at this, her laugh a refined vibration of her chest clad in a silver tube dress, which also made her appear like she had her own limelight. "Oh, how was Italy?" I recounted. Catherine had told me about this and the specific city they had traveled to - tita and tito - but I'd forgotten the name. She had told me it had been a business trip, but she had also told me that it had only been an excuse made by their parents to have the time of their lives away from their children.

"I fell in love again." She sighed dreamily. I could see that. She was casting shadows over anyone she would bump into. It must not have been only the place she had fallen in love with, but also the person she had spent her time with. "Ang ganda mo, hija. You never settle with the description 'beautiful' do you? You are brimming with class tonight, and I don't think I'm the only one who sees that." Her lips pulled into a teasing smile, and I couldn't help but laugh a little.

She was really Catherine's mother.

"Incidentally, hija, have you met my son? I do remember a time long ago that the two of you met each other, pero hindi naman ata kayo nag-usap noon," she thought to herself.

"The 'Anais' one?"

"Yes, him. Halika at ipapakilala kita ulit sa kanya. He might look suplado at first glance, but he's mabait." She smiled innocently, and I just let her pull me into her stride toward their table not so far whence I'd been monopolizing the whole food corner.

They came into my view - Anais, Dominic, and, surprisingly, Hide. This must be why she had taken too long to come back. Kanina ko pa sinusulayapan ang lamesa namin, hinihintay siya. Anais was standing straight, a ghost of a smile inked on his face, presumably because of Hide's dialogue; she was the only one opening and closing her mouth, talking on end. Dominic was attentively standing in front of her, by his side stood Anais, whose eyes moved away from the conversation, clashing with mine at some point. Like the situation with the sushi earlier, not one of us took it upon ourselves to look away, so we stared at each other just like that until we stopped in front of them, with me finally averting my eyes.

"Nandito ka pala, Hide. Hinanap din kita kanina," ani tita at nakipagbeso sa kaibigan ko. Naiwan akong nakatayo lang sa may gilid, nakatingin nang tuwid.