Tragically Yours

| 32 |

I've been driving for just a minute before Gail turns her head at me. The way she turns to me is enough proof that she's about to say something she had realized. After years of hanging out with her, most of the things she realized are just the result of her boredom and usually aims to annoy every part of my body. It's nothing personal or hurtful, more like the little things that people don't notice at first glance. So, I brace myself and prepare for whatever she's about to tell me. In the corner of my eyes, I can see her leaning forward to meet my gaze, but sadly, I kept my head straight and stared down the road ahead of us.

"So, you really don't like listening to music while driving?" I could sense that she had pursed her lips in a pout, but instead of glancing at her to make sure I'm correct, I kept my attention on the road. "Usually when people drive, they like to listen to stuff they hear on their radio, or they connect their phone through Bluetooth." With a quick glance to my right, I see her fish out her phone. I love that I could sense that a person is about to connect their phone to my car to play some music. It's just funny thinking about that.

Also, I usually don't let them connect their phone to my car. Because one, I'm mostly not in the mood to listen to some music, and two, there's a tendency that the music they'll play is the one I'm not familiar with, or it's not my taste. But Gail is a living, breathing exception. So, I let her connect her phone to my car and give her the power to dictate what song she'll play for the duration of the drive back to the office.

Turning my head back to the road and letting out a sigh of relief. Relief that Gail will be the one playing the song and not some chance. A small smile forms on my face as the memory of us listening to the personal playlist we've created together that one night on the rooftop. Sadly, I don't have the same phone I had during that time, so in result, I've lost the playlist. It makes me wonder if Gail still has the playlist we've created that fateful day.

I was waiting for the song to play, but after another minute of pure silence, I quickly turned my head to the person sitting beside me. "What's the hold up, buttercup?" I don't understand why I added that "buttercup" part, it just came out of me so smoothly... Like butter. Damn, it's sad that Ethan wasn't here to witness my joke. He would have either laughed or snarl at me. Whichever the result will be, I'm always happy to blurt out that joke. But anyway, going back to the woman in the passenger's seat. "Don't tell me you're self-conscious about the music you've been listening to all these years?" A chuckle came out of me before facing back the road I'm driving on.

She snorted right after I said those words to her. "No, I'm just looking for something." My curiosity piqued at her mere mention of that something. Every second that passes, my brain keeps getting even more curious every time. I wonder what she's looking for, perhaps her favorite song. I still remember her favorite song, I just don't know if it's still her favorite. Usually, after a while, people change their favorite things when growing up. So, I wonder if Gail had changed her favorite song. A beat later, she finally spoke out loud. "Ah, there it is," I'm guessing she had found the thing she's looking for.

All of a sudden, the familiar guitar string came out of the radio from my phone. I'm guessing Gail is already playing some music. What surprises me is the music she's playing is her favorite song, Treacherous by Taylor Swift. "Is this still your favorite song?" I suddenly blurted out the question, even though I'm supposed to keep that to myself. But nope, my mouth has a life of its own and decided to ask out the question that flew through my mind.

Another snort came from her and I felt her delicate backhand swipe me on the shoulder. "Duh, it will always be my all-time favorite song." Right after announcing that news to me, she quickly sings the lyrics of the song. I can just stop the car and turn to my side just to admire her singing voice if I wasn't rushing to get back to the office. Instead, I lower the window at her side and let the breeze flow through her golden hair. She sounds surprised for a minute before giving her full effort to sing while the wind caresses her soft smooth hair. And when she'd reached the bridge of the song, she really went all-in just to sing that part of the song.