Rafaelle's
HINDI naman kami nakapag – usap ni Felipe noong araw na pumunta siya rito sa office ni Pan. We were so busy and even though I wanted to take him at the food tasting, I didn't have the right to invite him dahil wala namang permission ni Pan ang pagpunta niya rito. I respect Pan as my business partner, dahil partner kami ay 50/50 kami sa lahat ng bagay. Of course, Atlantis stayed because his sister is the owner of the shop that will be supplying food for our event.
Their food tastes good. Ang gusto ni Pan ay may bread bar sa side so people can enjoy the food after our show. Hindi lang iyon, she also requested a three – course meal for the VIPs, iba rin ang pagkain para sa mga pamilya namin. Hindi naman ako nakialam sa kanya dahil alam kong mas maalam siya sa mga bagay na ito. She's been doing a fashion launch since I was in high school – college naman siya noon – I've been following her that long and working beside her now makes me feel like all my dreams are starting to come true.
"So, how do you find Atlantis?" It was the day of the event when Pan suddenly asked me that question. I was busy making last minute adjustments on the dresses that the models will wear. Nagulat na lang ako nang magsalita siya sa tabi ko. I had to look at her and my jaw dropped seeing how beautiful Panpan is tonight. She had her hair down, but she's wearing an impeccable Greek cut – white dress. Ang ganda ni Pan! She's wearing a pink lipstick but her eye – make up is gorgeous! Wala akong masabi kundi: WOW!
"You're so pretty, Pan!"
"Of course! This is also my night! Ikaw nga, you should suot a beautiful dress too! Not just some black shirt and black pants! Like duh! Designer ka, not namatayan!" Umiikot – ikot pa ang mata niya habang sinasabi iyon sa akin. Tawang – tawa naman ako – muntik ko pa ngang matusok ng pin iyong model ko. I apologetically looked at her, she doesn't seem to mind.
"But hey! Rafa! I asked you a question ha! How do you find Atlantis?!" Halos itulak na niya ako. Tumawa na naman ako. Atlantis is great! He's fun to be with. Sa nakaaraang dalawang araw ay lagi ko siyang nakikita sa office dahil fina-finalize nila ni Pan ang menu for tonight. Pagkatapos nil ani Pan ng work ay dumadaan siya sa work room para kausapin ako. We talked; about everything -hindi naman personal, pero natutuwa akong kausapin siya. He's fun and he's really good at talking. I am more of a listener tapos iyong iba kapag napapansin nilang tahimik na ako, they would want me to talk. Isang bagay na hindi ko basta magawa. Felipe knows this about me. It took a while before I finally opened up to him and he listened to me well. May mga times na gusto langn naming magkatabing dalawa, walang usap, but the comfort of silence that's surrounding us is more than enough.
"Atlantis is fine. I think he's a good person." Sabi ko sa kanya. Pan smiled so wide, muntik na akong masilaw sa ganda ng ngipin niya.
"So, alam you ba? He's asking for your phone number! Like sabi ko, why not ask you himself no! Pero sabi niya he's shy daw! Sabi ko dapat di siya shy! Parang Itzy!" Napatingin ako kay Pan, madalas kong gustong itanong sa kanya kung anong pinagsasabi niya, most of the times kasi hindi ko talaga siya naiintindihan but she's nice to me. People might think other wise because of her resting bitch face, but she's actually so nice to people that she's close with. Kaya nga noong malaman ko na dati silang hindi okay ng hipag niyang si Mary Jane – Jufran's wife – ay hindi ako makapaniwala. Sobrang close kasi nila ngayon, at nang masabi ko kay Pan iyon, she calmly told me that she's making bawi for all the things she has done to MJ and I really think that having accountability is more important than anything else.
"So, can I give him your number?" Tanong niyang muli. Nanlalaki ang mga mata ko.
"Why is he asking you my number?"
"Duh! Isn't it obvious? It's because he like you! He kept on asking me about you the day when I talked to Alasana!"
"Sino si Alasana?"