Sin City

32: Reconciliation

"Did you know that Yohan and Ruth aren't together anymore?"

Roux immediately confusedly looked at me nang makapasok ako sa loob ng bahay namin dahil sa tanong ko. He furrowed his brows when I raised a brow at him. "What happened to hi, hello?"

"Roux," I hissed. "Did you or did you not know?" naiinis kong tanong sa kanya.

He heaved a sigh and fixed his face. Lumapit agad siya sa akin at hinawakan ang magkabilang pisngi ko. "I did but I don't know what happened. That's their story to tell, mahal," malumanay nitong sabi sa akin.

"No, she's with..."

"I know but we can't do anything about that. Ruth's a grown woman," he immediately cut me off as he slightly squished my cheeks. Napabuntong hininga nalamang ako, hindi na ako nagsalita pa dahil tama naman siya. "Now can we please get ready so we can go out and celebrate your day with your cousins na?" he carefully asked. Tumango naman agad ako.

Bumungad agad ang maingay na tugtog at nakakasilaw na ilaw nang makapasok kami ni Roux sa Deus Sedah, ang club ng pinsan ko na si kuya Sid. My cousin from my mother's side.

"Finally, there they are!" masayang sigaw ni Andrea nang makita niya kami ni Roux na papalapit sa table nila. Kumpleto na naman kami, si Eumi nalang ang wala.

"Hey, guys! Ipapakilala ko nga pala ang artist na kwinekwento ko sainyo noon," nakangising sabi ni Roux at inakbayan ako. I giggled as I playfully flipped my hair, nagmamayabang sa kanila.

"Congratulations, Van Gogh ng Pilipinas!" Chanty said while giggling as she came up to me to hug and greet me.

"Thank you," I kissed her on the cheeks. Nabaling ang atensyon ko sa tiyan niya. "Yung anak niyo, baka nagbbreakdance na kaagad yan paglabas," I caressed her tummy, she looked like she's about to explode anytime soon.

"Ayaw nga lumabas eh," reklamo agad ni Chanty, she rolled her eyes before she went back to her seat.

"Congratulations, dan. Can't wait to see your gallery," si kuya Adrian naman ang lumapit sa akin at niyakap ako.

"Thanks, kuya," I kissed her cheeks hello as well. He switched his attention to his new favorite person, si Rouqil, at nagyakapan agad sila dalawa.

"Papinta agad ako pag may free time ka na ha," nakangising sabi naman ni kuya Eugene sa akin nang batiin niya ako. He smiled at me, but I could still see a little bit of sadness in his eyes.

I sweetly smiled at him. "Syempre naman, ikaw pa ba." Mahigpit agad namin na niyakap ang isa't isa. I feel for him, malungkot siya para sa kapatid niya and I am, too. Eumika has been more distant to us since the plane incident. Galit na galit siya kay kuya Adrian at kuya Aidan, and she's grieving and she's also in denial, ayaw niya kasi maniwala na wala na si Ezekiel kasi wala pa rin siyang nakikita na katawan.

We settled ourselves and ordered more drinks. Nang tamaan na kami ng alak, sumayaw kaagad kami ni Andrea sa dance floor, enjoying the music and the neon colored lights. My eyes were closed as I swayed my body in sync with the music, hindi ko mapigilan na mapangiti. Life has been so good to me lately and Deus Sedah is the perfect place to celebrate it.

"I love this place!" I exclaimed to Andrea out of nowhere, I happily wiggled her arms.

She laughed and nodded. "Me too, this is literally where we grew up!"

Beautiful and chaotic memories that we've had in this club from the moment Eumika, Chanty, and I turned eighteen immediately came back to me. Dito kami natutong sumayaw, this is where we learned how to boot and rally, this is where we cried our hearts out, dito kami nagbangayan magpipinsan, and this is where we always celebrated our successes.