Fake It Till We Make It

06

"Sorry we're late," I said as I entered the meeting room, knowing that since the door was at the front, everyone's eyes would be on us. I flashed a peace sign before I scurried to the vacant seat beside Pia. Ian followed close at my heels, a bit less ashamed but a lot sorry, and went around the room to the other free seat.

We were at the Holy Family Missions head office, the central hub for all our community's activities. Pia, Ian, and I were there to attend a volunteer meeting for our upcoming area conference. The program heads, Kuya Jerome and Ate Cel acknowledged us with a smile and a nod and went on with the meeting as if our tardiness weren't a disruption.

Pia turned to me curiously. "Where were you two?" she whispered.

"Came from Tita Ester's for lunch," I replied in a low voice. "That took longer than expected, and we ran into traffic."

My best friend opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by Kuya Jerome's voice, so she just raised her eyebrows, and I responded with a helpless shrug before flipping my notebook open to focus on the meeting.

It was four months after Phoebe's wedding, and our fake boyfriend plan was a success. We were a viral sensation - at least within my extended family. All my relatives bought it completely, proven by the hype that followed in the next few days after the said wedding. Photos and videos kept popping up on social media. I was glad I had set it so all tagged media required my approval before they appeared on my profile because there were tons of photos of that kiss. From different angles. Ian also had the same settings, so he was also able to filter those out. No one else in the community knew of the plan except for our little group, and back when we were still "preparing" for it, we already had to answer some curious questions from our upper core heads and other friends in the community about the sudden increase of our photos online. If anyone else had seen the kiss, I knew we'd have a lot of explaining to do.

But part of that plan was our "breakup." It was supposed to happen quietly a month after my birthday, and the story was we realized that we didn't have much chemistry, so we decided to just be friends. It was pretty lame, but it was the safest and closest to the truth, so at least we wouldn't add to the pile of lies that we had already said. Sure, my family would be disappointed, but at least now I would have an ex, even if it was from a short-lived relationship. And there was no upcoming family event that would require a date, anyway, so I would be safe until the holidays. By then, I prayed that I'd be at least dating someone.

What we didn't factor into our plan was how much my relatives had fallen for Ian's charms. It started with Tita Ellen's surprise appearance at the office after work with a dinner invite that we couldn't refuse because she'd already made dinner reservations. Then there was that sixth birthday party for one of my nephews, followed by a Sunday brunch with the maternal grandparents, and several lunches at Tita Ester's, including the one we had earlier.

It wasn't just the invitations. Suddenly I saw relatives at some of my work events—that album launch where my cousins suddenly showed up, or that jazz concert where almost all my aunts bought tickets to when they found out that it was organized by our company. And let's not forget that fake surprise birthday party at my place. It was bogus because I went out of town for a retreat that weekend and got caught in traffic on my way back. I had planned to sleep over at Pia's because I was too tired to drive, but Ian called and told me everyone was at my place and they had called him to look for me, and we had to make an entrance together.

So that's why we were still "together." I couldn't find an opportunity to tell them because of all the family things. I knew relatives weren't deliberately being annoying; they were just very excited—to a fault.

And Ian never seemed to mind either.

"It feels like I'm using you for my convenience," I told him one time.