Three to Tango

Three Words to Describe Their Ending

VENICE'S

***

I woke up earlier than usual. Siguro nasanay na sa hangin ng probinsya ang katawan ko o naging instant alarm ko na ang tilaok ng tandang tuwing madaling araw dito kaya automatic na dumidilat na ang mga mata ko kapag narinig ko na iyon.

I had breakfast at 5 AM, which by the way was already a miracle for me if you would consider how I was, back in the city.

Spending almost two and half weeks here in province really changed a lot about my life style. Bukod sa may sex ako tuwing gabi, forda kayod din ang katawan ko sa bukid. At ang masasabi ko lang, less stress nga kapag marami kang ginagawa. The more active you become, the lesser you'll entertain the stress hormones in your body.

“Huy.”

I blinked.

Chad was looking at me with a frown on his face. Then, he slowly smiled before shaking his head.

“What are you thinking?” He adjusted the cap I was wearing, curiously looking at me.

I pouted. Then I said, “Kailangan ko ba talagang tumulong kila Nay Lucia sa pag-harvest ngayon?”

“Don’t tell me mas gusto mong maglinis ng kulungan ng mga baboy kesa mag-harvest.” He chuckled, putting the gloves on my hands.

Naghahanda kami ngayong dalawa papunta ng hacienda. This became our morning routine every weekdays. Chad and I would go to the hacienda to work and attend to some hacienda-related activities. Kaming dalawa lang tuwing weekdays dahil may pasok si Stephen sa umaga.

It's 6:45 AM now, kaaalis lang ni Steph at by 7 AM, aalis na rin kaming dalawa papunta ng hacienda.

Pinanood ko si Chad na isuot sa akin ang mga gloves habang nakanguso pa rin. Pagkatapos maisuot sa akin ang mga gloves, sunod siyang pumunta sa likuran ko at itinali ang buhok ko. Inayos niya ulit ang cap ko.

I sighed, on the other hand.

Napahalakhak naman si Chad bago ko naramdaman ang mga kamay niyang pumatong sa mga balikat ko.

“Medyo mabigat iyong mga trabaho ngayon sa piggery kaya ‘di kita maisasama,” Chad explained to me with gentleness in his voice, like he always do. “Kaya doon ka muna sa may orchard. Aalalayan ka naman ni Nay Lucia dahil nasabihan ko na siya.”

I bit my bottom lip before I turned around and faced him. I gave him an ‘are-you-kidding-me-look’ and that made him laughed even more.

“Wag mo akong tinatawanan diyan! Walang nakakatawa!” I whined, rolling my eyes in the end.

“Sorry. Sorry.” Chad tried to stop laughing but he ended up pinching both of my cheeks to stop me from pouting like a brat. “Maniwala ka sa akin, gusto ka ni Nay Lucia. Mahigpit lang talaga siya kapag gumagawa na sa Hacienda pero sa labas ng trabaho, sobrang bait niya,” he assured me.

I sighed. “Wag ako, Chad. May galit sa akin si Nay Lucia,” I told him with wide eyes. “Sa tuwing ako ang napapansin niya, para bang inaway ko nang malala ang isa sa mga kamag-anak niya. I swear, wala akong minalditahan dito sa Quezon kaya imposibleng may gano’n akong atraso!”

Chad's smile turned apologetic. “Alam ni Nay Lucia ang meron sa ating tatlo ni Josh. She somehow thinks that you're kind of a third party in our relationship but I really tried to explain to her that you are the third party with a different and positive context.”

Natigilan ako dahil sa sinabi niya. Then, I smiled awkwardly. “Woah. Third party in a different and positive context?” I playfully punch his hard chest and then later on chuckled. “I wish you understand that Nay Lucia is older than boomers and there's no way she'll accept your definition of third party, Chad.”