It's been half a year since the whole Raf fiasco. Everything went on the same for me. Work, taking care of the kids, and seeing Leni every now and then. If you ask me what had changed, the answer would be absolutely nothing.
Needless to say, my life has never been more unexciting than it is now.
Leni decided to visit me in the office today. She didn't have any agenda though. When I asked what she was doing here, she said, "Bawal ba? Gusto lang kita puntahan."
Then she started telling me this story about work. Kaya naman pala pumunta dito. Gustong tsumismis. I laughed and asked her more about what happened. Turns out, she was annoyed — no, she was angry — that her name and her office once again was being tarnished and ruined.
"Nakakainis lang kasi nauna kami doon ng team ko. Gabi pa lang may mga tao na akong pinadala do'n, sumunod ako nang maagang-maaga tapos sasabihan kami na nakikisabay lang? Na sinabay daw namin 'yung goods namin sa goods na dala nila para magmukhang marami 'yung bigay namin. As if naman gusto ng opisina ko ng credit!" Leni frustratingly said.
"So what did you do?"
"Ininterview ako..."
"Leni," I said in a warning tone. "What did you do?"
"I had an outburst on national TV."
"Oh my god," I covered my mouth and tried to stop my laughter. Leni was never one to have outbursts. She rarely even got mad. Her, getting mad on TV with the whole country to see, was something I'd love to watch for my amusement every now and then.
"Risa, 'wag mo nga akong tawanan. Kita mong inis na inis ako dito eh."
"Kasi naman," I said in between my laughter. "Sana nagpunta ka muna dito para nalabas mo 'yung inis mo bago ka nainterview, ano?"
"Hindi ko naman inexpect na maiinis ako sa kalagitnaan ng interview."
"Ah, well. Andyan na 'yan, ano pa bang magagawa mo. Panoorin ko mamaya ha."
"Leche," Leni huffed in annoyance, crossing her arms on her chest. I giggled and stood up, walking over to her seat. I put ny hands on her shoulders and started massaging lightly.
"Okay lang 'yan. It was about time you put them to their place," I said, feeling her tensed muscles relax under my hands. I pressed my thumbs on the back of her shoulders and continued to ease the tension. "Masyado kang mabait. If you say things like that more often, hindi ka nila itatarget all the time."
"Masasabi naman nilang palaaway ako."
"May masasabi't masasabi naman sila. You should defend yourself more often. Minsan hindi sapat na iwasan na lang o itawa 'yang fake na mga news na 'yan."
She nodded, relaxing further on the seat as I continued massaging her shoulders. We stayed in silence like that.
A few minutes later, she grasped my hand, halting my movements. "What is it?" I asked. She chuckled and urged me to sit on the chair across from hers. Once I sat, she held my right hand in both her hands. "What are you doing?"
"Kanina ka pa nagsusulat tapos minasahe mo pa 'yung likod ko. Akin na," she whispered and brought her chair closer to mine. Then she began to press her thumb on the palm of my hand, applying pressure then doing a circular or a back-and-forth motion.
"Good, right?" She asked, a light grin on her face. I nodded and closed my eyes, relaxing as she continued to massage my hand. A little while later, she took the other one and did the same.
"Thank you," she whispered, making me open my eyes and sit up straighter.
"For what?" I asked.
She clasped both my hands in hers. "For everything."
—
We just finished attending a team party and Leni asked me if I could sleep at her condo tonight.
"Bakit? Ano meron?"
"The kids aren't home eh. Tapos diba nagtanong ka kanina if pwedeng driver ko na lang maghatid sa'yo pauwi? Edi sa condo ka na lang matulog."
"Oh, okay."
We arrived at her condo close to midnight. Luckily, we didn't have work tomorrow so we didn't need to worry about not waking up early. Leni tiredly plopped herself on the couch, hurrying to take her heels off. "Hindi talaga ako masasanay mag-heels kahit kailan," she sighed.
I sat down beside her and removed my own shoes. "Masakit paa mo?"
She nodded and laid her head on the back of the sofa. "Alam mo 'yung dapat sanay na ako na lagi akong nakaganyan pero hindi ko talaga kaya."
"Baka kasi 'di maganda 'yung heels mo. Bili tayo sa Sunday ng bago."
I tapped her leg then my lap, motioning for her to put her legs on my lap. "Ano?"
"Dali. Lagay mo hita mo dito."
She did as I said and sat on farther end of the sofa, extending her legs on my lap. I took the lotion from my bag, poured a little amount on my hand and spread it evenly. I placed my palms on either side of her right foot and gently pulled one side forward and the other back. I repeated this twisting motion, working from her ankle to her toes.
Leni moaned at the feeling and giggled. I raised my brows at her amusedly. "Sarap sa feeling 'no?"
"Yes," she breathed.
I continued massaging her foot, my nails raking every now and then which made her jerk her leg. "Ano ba, 'wag ka malikot. Hindi pa ako tapos."
"Nakikiliti kasi ako. Ayusin mo."
"May kiliti ka dito?"
"Bakit, ikaw wala?"
"Di ko alam," I shrugged then trailed my finger on her foot, using my nails to tickle her again. She jerked her leg back and smacked my arm.
"Sinabi na ngang nakikiliti ako eh."
I laughed and poked her side. "Oh diba dito rin may kiliti ka?"
"Risa, parang gago," she exclaimed, standing up from the couch to avoid me. "Isa pa, sige."
"Lika na dito, upo ka na ulit. Stop na, promise."
She eyed me warily but chose to sit back down the couch. I squeezed her side again, tickling her and she yelped, laughing. "Risaaaa," she whined.
Leni scooted closer to me and held my waist, tickling me like I did earlier. "Ano ha, ang kulit mo," she taunted.
The living room was filled with snarky remarks and squealing, laughter and teasing words, and the two of us running around both to avoid and to chase each other.
"Stop," I panted. "Tama na, ayoko na. Pagod na ako."
"So ikaw pa ang napagod?" She replied, sitting down on the couch.
"Aba oo, pagod talaga ako. Kasalanan mo."
"Huwag mo akong sisihin pwede ba. Ikaw nag-umpisa."
"Edi maghiwalay na lang tayo kung ganito lang din naman."
"Okay. Break na tayo."
We stared at each other in silence then burst out laughing. "Seryoso, tama na," I let out.
"Oo nga, last na 'yung kanina. Mauna ka na magshower sa taas. Sunod ako."
"Okay," I grabbed my bag from the coffee table and made my way to the stairs. "Tabi tayo matulog ha?"
She laughed and stood up, following me. "Oo na. Clingy mo ha. Sabihin mo lang kung gusto mo na rin ako jowain."
"Bakit, papayag ka?"
"Hindi. Kapag gusto mo ako jowain ibig sabihin pangit ako eh. Sa ganda kong 'to?"
I hit her arm and laughed, walking up to her room.
