Kanina pa napapansin ni Sir Osmeña ang kakaibang ikinikilos ni Ralf. Kahit kasi abala ito sa winawastuhang mga papel, napapakanta ito habang nakangiti. He tilted his head and his suspicious stares narrowed into a squint.
“May nangyari ba?”
Napalingon si Ralf sa puwesto ni Sir Osmeña habang nakangiti. Nandoon pa rin ang sugat sa magkabilang dulo ng kaniyang labi. “Nangyari?”
Nanlaki ang mga mata niya. Kanina niya pa mapapansin ang galaw ni Ralf, pero ngayon lang niya nakita ang sugat sa labi nito. Maliliit lang ang mga iyon, ngunit mahahalata pa rin kung titingnan nang mabuti.
He snapped his fingers. “Tama! May nangyari nga!” He leaned forward to take a closer look at Ralf's face. “Sa resort mo ba nakuha ’yang mga sugat mo?”
Hinawakan ni Ralf ang maliliit na sugat saka mahinang tumawa. “Wala lang ’to.”
Sir Osmeña was completely unaware of everything after being smacked down to bed because of his drunkenness. Hindi nga rin nito maalala na si Drei at Ralf ang umalalay sa kaniya paakyat. Paggising niya, si Sir Ngalot na lang ang kasama niya sa may kuwarto.
Ralf went back to what he was doing and started humming again while smiling. His eyes were literally glowing, despite the fact that he was marking the paper with a series of x-marks.
“Ang saya mo ngayon,” komento ni Sir Osmeña na ngayon habang may tina-type sa kaniyang cellphone.
Napailing lang si Ralf. Ano mang oras ay tiyak na mangangalay ang kaniyang bibig at pisngi niya dahil hindi na matanggal ang pagkurba ng kaniyang labi. “And you seem energetic today.”
Sir Osmeña dragged his chair to Ralf's side. Bigla niya ring ipinakita kay Ralf ang cellphone niya.
“Nagkabalikan na kami!” Nakangisi ito habang nanlalaki ang mga mata at hinihintay na makita ang reaksyon ni Ralf.
Ralf's eyebrows hitched. “Agad?”
He asked, surprise and disbelief in his voice.
Sir Osmeña bobbed his eyebrows and didn't mind Ralf's reaction. “And actually, napapaisip ako kung ano ang ibibigay kong regalo.”
May pinagpipindot si Sir Osmeña sa kaniyang cellphone at saka ipinakita iyon ulit kay Ralf. “I'm considering a necklace, and I already saved some designs. Sa tingin mo, alin dito ang maganda?”
Napatingin naman si Ralf sa mga desinyo. He thought that one of these days he might need the reference as well. He took Sir Osmeña’s phone and zoomed in. The golden necklace alone was already beautiful. The only thing that made it hard to decide was the pendant that would perfectly fit on one’s neck. He had already met Sir Osmeña’s girlfriend, and he could vividly visualize how the necklace would look around her neck.
“What about this?” Itinuro niya ang hugis na parang luha. Kulay puti iyon. “This pear-shaped pendant looks perfect.”
Sir Osmeña chewed his lower lip. Inilapit niya ang mukha niya para makita nang maayos ang napili ni Ralf.
He huffed. “Pass.”
“Bakit?” Ibinalik sa kaniya ni Ralf ang cellphone.
Nakatitig lang siya sa kaniyang cellphone habang nagsasalita, “Parang luha. It might give us bad luck.”
Ralf couldn't contain his disbelief in Sir Osmeña's response. It was hilarious and old-fashioned. His shoulders shook as he laughed, but everything stopped, including his body movements, when the door opened.
Drei entered in a dark green polo with the Philippine Institute of Industrial Engineers logo on its upper right part. He was holding a book and a bunch of bond papers—a typical day for him.
BINABASA MO ANG
Limits and Heartbeats
General FictionAfter years of practicing his profession as an industrial engineer, Drei decided to take a rest and be a part-time instructor at Don Placido Institute of Technology, his alma mater. He thought that everything would be an easy ride, but he realized i...
