Never Mine

Chapter 6

"You tried hard enough already. Did you really have to do that? And you really had to say that much," Lou stated in dismay. "Matagal lang tayong hindi nagkita kung ano-ano na ang mga pinanggagawa mo."

From staring at the cheesecake she ordered for me, I looked at my best friend. "You would have done that too if you were in my shoes."

"Oh, no. I will never, Amanda. No man will make me plead like that only to be rejected in the end. Kaya mas dapat lang na iwan mo na 'yang asawa mo pagkatapos niyang gawin sa iyo iyon."

"As if that's so simple, Lou. We'll have to deal with our parents. And it will cause so much scandal to the family."

"You just love him and you can't afford to leave him. That's that," prangkang sabi niya. "Bakit ba hulog na hulog ka sa lalaking 'yon? Sigurado kang wala kang nakain o nainom na kung ano noong una kayong nagkakilala? Saka baka may kung ano-ano siyang dinadagdag sa pagkain o inumin mo habang nagkakasama kayo..."

"Now you're talking nonsense, Angelou. Forget it. You wouldn't understand the feeling."

Umingos siya. "Hindi talaga. I'd rather die than have a man affect me that much."

Umiling ako. I couldn't blame her dahil maging ako ay dismayado sa nangyari. It was the first time that I humbled myself for a man and I just looked like a desperate woman. 'Di bale, hindi ko naman na uulitin iyon.

Kaysa makipagtalo pa kay Lou sa bagay na iyon ay pinili ko na lang pagtuunan ng pansin ang pagkain ko. I tried a spoonful of cheesecake. Masarap pero sa sobrang tamis niyon ay kinailangan ko kaagad ng tubig. We didn't have it in our table, so I raised my hand to call for a waitress.

"What's wrong? You didn't like it?" tanong ni Lou nang napansin ang galaw ko.

"It's good, but just too sweet. I need water," I said.

Bumaling ako sa waitress na lumalapit na. Saglit lang na nagtagal ang tingin ko sa kaniya dahil nakuha ang atensiyon ko ng taong nasa likod niya. I even had to squint my eyes to make sure.

When I confirmed it, I momentarily didn't know how to react. Czar's ex, Emma, was walking behind the waitress. It looked like she was also heading towards our table.

"You've got to be kidding me," I whispered under my breath.

Nag-angat ng kilay si Lou. "What?"

Hindi ko na nasagot iyon dahil tumigil na sa harap namin ang dalawang babae. Emma looked surprised seeing me in that table, but she still managed to keep her professionalism. She let the waitress talk to me first and when the latter left after I requested for water, she faced us.

"Hi! I'm Emma, owner of this café. I'm just greeting and checking around our customers for feedback and stuff like that. I hope you don't mind."

"You own this café? Wow! Wanted to try here since your opening," Lou said nicely.

"Yeah, well... Kakasimula pa lang kaya ginagawa ko 'to paminsan-minsan." Ngumiti si Emma at bumaling sa akin. "Is everything well with your order, Miss Amanda? Do you need anything else?"

"Uh, yeah! Masarap ang cheesecake. I'm not just into sweets that much so I needed water." I tried to smile at her after saying that.

"Wait, she knows you? You know each other?" nagtatakang tanong ni Lou.

"We met a couple of weeks ago, Lou," I said casually and turned to Emma. "This is my best friend, Angelou. Please, just call us by our names."

Mahinahong tumango si Emma pero mababanaag din sa mukha niya ang pag-aalinlangan. I could feel that the both of us were trying to keep it casual between us, but the awkwardness never left the air.