Chapter 17
Ten months later, the Chester Town University senior college students had just graduated.
"Did you get to talk to Cameron?" I asked as she met me back in the shop. Hindi na ako sumama sa kanya as I thought to give her the space and opportunity to talk with Cameron today. She has been wanting to do that ever since, but she got no chance to do so when every time she was about to do it, palaging may mangyayaring ibang bagay.
"Yes, I did," tipid nitong sagot sa akin habang sinusuot ang apron na kinuha niya galing sa loob ng staff room. She was smiling when she came closer to me, putting her hand over my shoulder. "And it was nice. . . I've been wanting to do it and I thought I would freak out, but hey, it went so well. Hindi ko inaasahan 'yon, ha?"
"Oooh," I swooned, more interested in what she told me. "Care to share what did you guys talk about?"
"Babe, there are customers around, we can't talk about it for now," aniya.
"Okay lang naman," sabi ko pa. "Wala pa namang bagong customer."
"Alright," she said, preparing cookies and breads inside the display cases. "Obviously, I couldn't come inside the venue. Nasa labas lang ako naghihintay matapos ang event. There were a lot of people and took me a while before I could find him. Honestly, I was about to back off when I saw him with his girlfriend and thought talking to him was nonsense as we've got our own lives right now."
"But you did, right?" pagkompirma ko pa.
Tumango naman siya sa akin. "Yes, as I told you earlier, I did talk to him."
***
Synestine stood outside the venue, waiting for the graduation to end. Halo-halo ang nararamdaman nito sa dibdib at hindi alam kung anong gagawin. Nagtatalo rin ang puso't isip niya kung itutuloy pa ba niya ang gagawing pakikipag-usap kay Cameron dahil ito na rin ang posibleng huling pagkakataon na magkikita silang dalawa.
She knew that he would go to Dubai and live with his parents there, and somehow would take him too long to go back to the Philippines, and she didn't have the luxury to wait that long. Naisipan na niya itong gawin para na rin kahit papaano ay maayos kung ano man ang namagitan sa kanilang dalawa.
Maraming tumatakbo sa isipan niya at kung anong sasabihin. She knew that once she faced him, she would be out of words. She tried composing questions in her head, but she was scared of forgetting them all at once.
Pinagpapawisan din ang kamay niya at hindi na 'to mapakali sa kinauupuan niya. Sinubukan niyang maglakad nang pabalik-balik habang iniisip ang mga sasabihin sa ex-boyfriend. Alam niya na hindi naman dapat ganito ang maramdaman niya dahil wala dapat siyang ipag-alala dahil no'ng nakwento ni Cholo sa kanya noon kung anong naging usapan nila ay maayos naman. Kinakabahan lang din ito sa magiging resulta ng pag-uusap nila at kung ito ay magtatapos on a good note.
Walang may sigurado, but she was hoping for it.
Nang may makitang ice cream vendor si Synestine ay bumili siya ng nasa apa. Habang kinakain nito ang ice cream ay mayamaya lang din ay napansin niyang nagsisimula nang magsilabasan ang mga tao sa loob hudyat na tapos na ang graduation. Mabilis niyang inubos ang kinakain na ice cream at pumwesto kung saan mabilis niyang makikita ang mga lalabas ng venue.
Synestine watched every student walked out of the venue. May ilan pa na nakakilala sa kanya at umawag ng atensyon niya dahil nagtataka sila kung anong ginagawa niya ro'n. Hindi naman niya sinagot ang totoong dahilan. Lumipat na lamang siya ng pwesto hangga't sa ilang saglit lang din ay nataw niya si Cameron.
