Author's Note: Sorry to have kept you all waiting. I hope you enjoy reading this :)
****************
“Sabi ni Mommy hotdog at itlog lang ang kaya kong iluto. Hindi n’ya alam marunong na rin akong magluto ng adobo,” she said with a smile.
It has been 30 minutes after Mommy Divine and Daddy Delfin left for Pampanga. Right after they left, she and Gerald did some tidying up in the living room.
“Are you sure gusto mong magluto pa? We can always eat out or have food delivered,” he said.
“Aminin mo. Wala ka lang bilib sa akin eh,” she said pretending to be offended.
“Hindi sa gano’n Babe. Ayaw ko lang mapagod ka pa. Pero kung d’yan ka magiging masaya, kahit sunog pa ‘yan eh kakainin ko ‘yan,” he assured.
“Hmmm… totoo?”
“Opo.”
“Gusto ko lang naman na pagsilbihan ka eh. Pambawi ko na rin sa nangyari kahapon.”
“Babe, forget about last night. Nakabawi ka na kanina, okay na ‘yun,” he said as he hugged her.
“Basta I will cook for you.”
And so she did. She prepared all ingredients, cooked the adobo and rice and set the table. And the whole time he was just there watching and talking to her.
“Dinner’s ready Babe,” she said.
He sat down as she placed food on his plate. Then she sat down as well and got food for herself. Suddenly Gerald started coughing so she poured water in his glass and made him drink.
“What happened Babe?” she concernedly asked.
After drinking the water he said, “Nasamid lang ako. I’m okay.”
They continued to eat with chatting on the side.
“Okay ba Babe? Pwede na ba?” Sarah asked him.
“Okay naman. Pwede na,” he said with a smile.
They continued to eat dinner. He helped her wash the dishes and clear out the dining table after they were done.
“Magpapalit lang ako Babe ha. Nood ka muna ng TV d’yan.”
She went inside her bedroom to get some clothes and then went to the bathroom. A few minutes later, she came out looking refreshed.
“Babe, gamitin mo na lang ito. Extra ‘yan,” she said as she handed him a toothbrush.
“Thanks. I have extra clothes in the car. I’ll just get them,” he said.
After both have freshened up, he in basketball shorts and round neck shirt while she in pajama shorts and tank top, they decided to have TV time.
They are now both sitting on the sofa – his one arm around her, her head resting on his shoulder and one hand on top of his abdomen.
“Okay lang ba sa ‘yo kung dito ka sa sofa matulog?” she softly asked.
“No problem Babe. Babantayan kita from here,” he proudly said.
A few minutes later he felt her head drop. He looked at her and found she had already dozed off.
“Babe?” he softly said trying to wake her up.
“Hmmm…”
“Babe lipat ka na sa kwarto mo.”
When he didn’t get any reaction from her, he slowly stood up and gathered her in his arms. He walked to her bedroom and carefully layed her down on the bed. He was about to get up when she pulled him beside her.
“Dito ka na lang matulog,” she sleepily said as rested her head on the nook of his neck.
He kissed her temple and closed his eyes.
Gerald woke up in the middle of the night feeling a bit chilly. With only the moonlight coming in from the window and the luminous stickers on the ceiling for light, he tried to look for a blanket. He saw that it was already on her, who was facing away from him. He slowly lifted the blanket and went under it. He then moved to her side and hugged her - he draped his arm on her belly. He suddenly felt as if his skin was touching hers. He abruptly removed his arm and sat up. She, on the other hand, was awoken by the commotion that she sat up as well.
“Aaaaaah!” she screamed as she turned on the lamp shade on her night stand. She was so shocked to see Gerald beside her that she immediately gathered the blanket and covered herself. “Anong ginagawa mo dito?”
Gerald, noticing that her clothes – underwear and all – was on the foot of the bed, stood up. “Sabi mo dito na ako matulog.”
“Sinabi ko ba ‘yon?”
“Oo Babe. Tapos sumandal ka pa nga sa akin eh. Hindi ko na rin namalayan na nakatulog na rin ako. Sorry… is.. is that what I think it is?” he naughtily asked.
“Oo sinabi ko naman sa ‘yo di ba! Labas! Labas ka muna!” she commanded him.
Smiling sheepishly, he obliged.
Some few minutes later she went out of the bedroom and found him looking uneasy sitting on the sofa.
“I’m sorry Babe. Hindi ko talaga sinasadya. Hindi ko alam,” he apologetically told her.
“Hindi mo kasalanan.”
“I swear I didn’t take off your clothes and I didn’t do anything to you.”
“Babe, you’ve just discovered and seen my deepest secret,” she said then smiled. She then sat down beside him. “Sa sobrang pagod ko hindi ko na namalayan na may katabi ako. It’s automatic for me to do that, I mean take off my clothes in the middle of the night. Minsan kahit ako hindi ko na naaalala kung paano ko nagagawa ‘yun. How much were you able to see?”
“Aahh… wala Babe.”
Sarah raised an eyebrow.
“Well… I saw a little.”
She kept looking at him still with the raised brow.
“Okay! Maybe just a little bit more.”
She smiled and bowed her head.
“And I don’t know how I’m gonna erase those thoughts in my head,” he seriously said.
When she raised her head, she saw him intently looking at him.
“Babe…” was all she could say.
“It’s taking me all my will power not to touch you right now. Sino ba naming hindi…. God Babe, you just don’t realize how beautiful you are. Kung pwede lang kitang iwanan ngayon para makalayo sa tukso, ginawa ko na. But don’t worry because I am not pressuring you. I can still wait. We have the rest of our lives ahead of us. But don’t blame me if that keeps popping in my head. ‘Pag magkasama tayo tapos nakatitig lang ako sa ‘yo at bigla akong ngumiti, most likely ‘yung kanina ang iniisip ko.” He smiled at her.
“Ayaw ko nang gan’yan. Hindi na ako titingin sa ‘yo,” she said as she covered her face.
He held her close to him. “I’m just kidding. Go back to your room. Matulog ka na ulit. Dito na lang ako sa sofa. ‘Wag mo na isipin ‘yon. Ako na lang ang mag-iisip. Ha… ha… ha!”
“Babe naman eh!” she whined like a baby.
“Biro lang. Sige na go inside. Tulog na tayo ulit.”
He watched her walk to her bedroom and layed down as soon as he heard the door close. “Lord, thank you po,” he said in prayer. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep again.
