How I Lost Her

003

Naging maingay ang dinner namin.

Trace and Jake never liked each other ever since. Lagi na lang silang may mga bagay na pinagtatalunan, kung wala naman, gagawa at gagawa sila ng paraan para mag-away. Si Grace naman, she gets along well with Jake, habang ako, tahimik lang.

Nakinig lang ako sa mga kwento ni Jake tungkol sa embarrassing childhood memories ni Trace, and Trace will always end up messing her face with her billion dollar pout.

"Tapos si Bryan naman..." Bigla akong napatigil sa pagtunganga nang marinig ang pangalan ko. I just give Jake a threatening look, but he didn't even budge.

"What?" tanong ko. Ngumisi naman ng nakakaloko si Jake and I don't have to ask twice kung bakit. Knowing him, nalabas lang ang ngising 'yon kapag may balak siyang mala-demonyo.

"Grace, alam mo ba kung ano ang favorite food ni Bryan?"

"Oh no, not that one, Jake. Nakain tayo," sabi ko pero nang makitang nagliligpit na pala si Manang ay napabuntong-hininga na lang ako. It's always his favorite story.

"Ano?" tanong ni Grace habang nakangiting tumingin sa akin. Tumingin lang din ako sa kanya, but I didn't smile. But despite, hindi man lang siya natinag at nanatili lang nakangiti.

"Poop."

Kitang-kita kung paano nagbago ang expression ng mukha ni Grace, at hindi ko napigilang huwag ngumiti. Jake's story of mine is no big deal to me, anyway. Siguro ay dahil sanay na ako. Lagi niya kasing baon ang kwentong 'yon sa tuwing may makikilala kaming bagong tao. Noong umpisa s'yempre hiyang-hiya ako lagi, pero nung tumagal, wala na lang.

Pero 'yung mukha talaga ni Grace, e. Iba!

Jake clears his throat, akala mo sasabak sa isang oratorical contest, pagti-tripan lang naman ako. "No'ng bata pa kasi si Bryan, iniwan siya ni Manang na maglaro sa sala to pick up a call. E back then, walang suot si Bryan na diaper dahil maliligo na siya."

Nakatingin lang ako kay Grace na nakatingin lang kay Jake na aliw na aliw sa pinagsasabi niya. Hindi ko maiwasan ang huwag na mapatawa nang bahagya habang kitang-kita ko ang windang sa mukha ni Grace. Si Trace naman, parang nasa ibang mundo dahil hawak na naman ang phone niya.

"Tapos dumating si Tita, mama ni Bryan and she was like..." Jake clears his throat and begins imitating mom's voice, "'Manang, ano'ng kinakain ni Bryan?', and then Manang was like, 'wala naman po kong pinapakain kay---', I think they both realized that Bryan was just playing Diner Dash with his own poop."

"Oh my god." Napahawak si Grace sa bibig niya habang tawa lang nang tawa si Jake. Kahit si Trace ay nasulyapan kong nakangisi katulad ko. The story was old. But when Jake's the one who tells it, the humour is always there.

"Dessert, anyone?" Manang's smiling facade, along with the other two maids, appear with a platter of chocolate cake and a pitcher of juice.

Katakam-takam pero...

"Uhm, I don't think we can still eat at times like this," sabi ko at mukhang sang-ayon naman sina Trace at Grace. Pero si Jake, being the pig he is, still got himself a huge slice of sweet.

Trace is talking to Grace about random thoughts she intently reads as she scrolls down her news feed. That's Trace. Lagi niyang hawak ang phone niya, hindi na siya makakatulog kapag wala 'to. But Grace is just nodding her head as if she doesn't really care about what Trace has to say.

Napipilitan lang yata siya.

Hindi ko na tuloy napigilan ang sarili ko na magtanong tungkol sa kanya. Tumikhim muna ako bago nagsalita, "So, Grace..." Tumingin siya sa akin na para bang gulat na gulat, "How did you and Trace meet?"