Chapter 76
I didn't know that preparing for a wedding could bring so many jitters—to think that I'm just the maid of honor. Well, I also didn't expect that it will be so much fun. Fine. It was bit exhausting, but I feel so needed. Pakiramdam ko ito ang highlight ng pagiging best friend ko in my whole existence. Involved ako sa lahat ng pre-wedding activities—which feels utterly cozy. Even two weeks ago, I have already made a beaut speech which I'm about to read on the wedding day.
"Please lang, Althea. Tigilan mo 'yung mga alienated words mo during my speech, ha. Limited lang 'yung tissue na ipamimigay. Alam mo naman, may bayad lahat," Mitch kidded while we're having our afternoon talk. We're currently on our bonding-over-coffee session here. Too much feels! Dati ay kapag nag-uusap kami ng ganito, wala siyang ibang ginagawa kung hindi manirang puri ng bawat taong dumadaan sa harap namin. Pero ngayon, we're talking about wedding stuff. And what more, her wedding! Madness. Akalain mo nga namang kung sino pa ang wired up ang perspective about love, siya pa ang unang maglalakad sa altar.
"Yeah, fine. Sure," I answered boringly. I can't promise that, though. Gusto ko pa namang mag-quote ng Shakespeare snippet on that day. How crude this girl could be? Nasa utak ko pa lang, sinusupalpal na niya agad. You know, sometimes I could get irksomely clever and smug. "Wit is my middle name," I added, sounding proud. But I was kidding. She gave me a round the world roll of an eye. I stopped myself from pushing it. I gave her a self-gratifying grin. "Uhmm, Mitch. Hindi mo ba talaga ako pakakantahin sa entourage mo?" I asked, wiggling my eyebrow.
She stuck her tongue to the side of her cheek and she banefully looked at me. "Ayaw!" she said with so much conviction. She crossed her arms and added, "Gusto ko nandoon ka sa sandaling maglakad ako papunta sa altar, para mamatay ka sa inggit at malaman mo ang ibig sabihin ng salitang sayang." Humalakhak siya nang malakas. Hindi ako nakasagot dahil sa sinabi niyang iyon. Natahimik ako. Pero hindi naman ako napikon. Nasanay na lang siguro ako sa ganitong scenario. She keeps on rubbing on my pain. And man, she loves it so much she could do it all her life. Hindi ko na alam kung saang spectrum ba siya pipirmi. Sometimes she's too sympathizing, but most of the times, she's downright insensitive.
Pinagmasdan ko na lamang ang babaeng inaayos ang flower arrangement ng shop sa kabilang street mula dito. Doon kasi kami tumingin kanina ng mga bulaklak na gagamitin for her wedding. Well, among the flower shops we've visited, this one happened to be her most liked. Nothing is really special about this place. Sure, it's huge and there's a swing inside the store. Naka-connect sa pinaka-ceiling nila. Parang doon sa Vanilla Cupcake Bakery sa BGC. Sort of that. So girly, girly, girly, girly . . . in short, gross. Girly stuff had never been my thing, anyway.
Actually, it's our second time to be here. The first one was when Mitch was properly introduced to the owners. Si Guian ang nagpakilala sa amin sa kanila—it happened that they are friends. I didn't know that Guian has other real time friends. May nag-consider pa talaga na kaibiganin siya, ha. Congratulations, their lives are doomed.
Medyo biased nga lang. Gustung-gusto kasi ni G dito dahil noong 18th birthday ng pinsan niya, sa store na 'yun din siya namili kaya ayaw na niyang tumingin sa iba. Trusted and tried na daw, eh. Plus, he's the one who's pushing the whole décor. I don't know what's the thing between him and the flowers, though. He told us that back in elementary, he used to have a green thumb. Kaya nga madami daw siyang napatubo na calamansi. Pinagmalaki pa niya na nagkaroon din daw siya ng alagang cactus noong first year high school siya, pero tinapon niya nang makita siya ng classmate niya na kinakausap ito habang nasa terrace siya ng bahay nila. I shouldn't have laughed with that story, but boy, it was comical. Who talks to a cactus, anyway?
