The Public Stunt

Episode 33: Jarren's Truth

The next day, it was the cold breeze of the morning that woke me up. Nang bumangon ako at tumingin sa wall clock sa itaas ng pintuan ay nakita kong alas-tres palang pala ng umaga. I was so early... But I just heaved a deep sigh. I walked outside of the room. I grabbed my phone and check all of my social media account. I thanked all of the Gods in heaven when I learned that Mama Cece did not bother messaging me. Mukhang busy na naman si bakla sa mga ekalal niyang afam. I scrolled more to my social media accounts up until I found myself dwelling to what happened last night. There, I stood up from the sofa and stretched my arms. I shook my head and mumbled, "self, hindi ka mag-iisip ng kung ano-ano na naman! We are changing the channel on our head!"

I heaved a deep sigh once more. I crossed my arms and decided to just head towards the kitchen to cook for something. I have to distract my mind. The last thing that I want to happen is to overthink again from last night's incident.

Nag-search na ako sa Youtube kung papaano magluto ng adobong baboy. It's a good thing na nag-grocery si Jarren kahapon habang natutulog ako. And in all fairness, puro filipino products ang mga condiments nila dito kaya hindi na ako nahirapan nang magsimula na akong sundin ang mga sinasabi nung mataba at singkit na chef sa Youtube. Sa bawat pagbagsak ko ng mga sahog sa kawali ay feeling ko, winner ako sa MasterChef! May paghinga pa ako ng malalim na tila ba kay hirap-hirap ng ginagawa ko.

The ray of sunlight is hitting the window of the kitchen when I was done cooking my own version of pork adobo. When I checked the time from my wris watch, it was almost seven thirty in the morning, I can't believe that it took me two hours to cook this one. I don't know if this is normal or what.

I walked towards Jarren's room, the darkness of the room is what welcomed me and his soft snores. Kinapa ko ang switch ng ilaw, the lights turned on and I got the visibility to see Jarren. He is still asleep, his blanket is covering his body. Umupo ako sa tabi niya. Inabot ko ang kanyang mukha. Then I sighed. Stress is what I am seeing on his face. I never seen him to be this haggard ever before. But despite that, he still looks good. Nothing can ever beat his looks, not even a stress. Tao pa ba 'to?

I ran my thumb into his smooth facial skin. His eyes started to open the moment I reached for his lips. It was prominent that he is tired just by staring at the black circle below his eyes.

“Good morning,” I smiled at him.

He smiled back. Naupo siya at saka ako hinawakan sa kamay. Then he pulled me towards his body. Niyakap niya ako nang mahigpit. I felt the warmth of his body, the kind of warthm that can only defeat the cold weather of Notting Hill.

“Nagluto ako ng breakfast,” I said while my head is resting on his chest. Tumingala ako sa kanyang mukha, “tara, kain na tayo?”

He just smiled at me and nodded his head. Tumayo na kaming dalawa at saka naglakad patungo sa kitchen. The kitchen is clean now because I made sure to clean everything while cooking. It’s that one thing that I learned from Mama Cece. Na kapag may kalat, linisin na agad. But thinking about yesterday… ang kalat sa bahay, kaya kong linisin agad. Pero paano kung malala ang kalat ng nakaraan ni Jarren dito sa Notting Hill? Magagawa ko kayang linisin iyon sa isip ko at hayaang manaig lang ang desisyon ng puso ko?

But I shook all the thoughts away the moment Jarren held my hand while we are walking towards the kitchen. Pinaupo niya ako sa table at siya na ang nag-obliga na maghanda ng pagkain sa aming dalawa. Nang magsimula na kaming kumain ay katahimikan lang ang namayani sa pagitan namin. Idagdag pa diyan ang malaking agwat naming dalawa. I was sitting at the end of this slightly long kitchen table while he is sitting at the opposite end of mine.

“I am so sorry for what happened last night,” thanks, God. He broke the torturing silence.

I sighed. I stood up and brought my plate on the space near him. Naupo ako sa tabi niya at saka hinawakan ang kanyang kamay. I stared right into his eyes with all of my sincerity on my system.