To Love Again

Liv

It's been a week since Wallace's farewell party. Pero di ko parin makalimutan si Lander. There was something about him that I couldn't get off my mind.

After Kuya Wyatt suggested that he ask help from me, he willingly and gladly obliged. He asked for my phone number so he can contact me daw. I gave it to him din, nakakahiya naman kung tumanggi ako.

Lander was a very special person in Wesley's life--and I wanted to get to know him better tulad ng pagkakakilala ko sa mga ibang kaibigan ng asawa ko.

I was awakened from my trance by my phone's ringing. I looked at the caller ID, pero Unknown number. Sino kaya 'to? I contemplated before answering, baka kasi it's one of those prank callers. Pero I chose to answer in the end.

"Hello, who's this?" I greeted.

"Hey, umm, is this Liv?" tanong ng isang pamilyar na boses.

"Yes, this is Vivienne Liv Villaver Zamora. How may I help you?" I asked formally.

"Hey Liv! This si Lander. Do you still remember me? From a week ago sa party ni Wallace?" he enthusiastically answered.

Si Lander. The man running in my mind just a few minutes ago. What a coincidence.

I eased up, "Uy Lander. Yeah, of course how could I forget. Napatawag ka?"

"I just wanted to follow up on Kuya Wyatt's suggestion. Maybe we could meet up so we could go to your business office together. Di ko kasi alam kung nasaan eh," sagot nya,

"Uh sure. I'm free after 2 pm. I'll just text you where we can meet up." I suggested,

"Okay, thanks Liv. See you later." he replied before he ended the call.

Lander dela Vega. There's something about him.

We met up at a coffee shop in Quezon City, close to the Villaver Estates main building. I was ten minutes late, traffic kasi eh. I didn't bring my car din so kinailangan kong mag-taxi.

I entered the coffee shop and scanned for Lander. Then I saw him, his back actually. Pero alam kong sya yun. Matangkad at macho. Yung tamang tamang kamachohan. Di yung OA. Ano bang pinagiisip mo Liv! Maghunus-dili ka nga!

I approached him and pat his shoulders. "Hey, Lander. Sorry I was late. Traffic." paliwanag ko. He looked up and gave me a smile.

"It's okay. Kakadating ko nga lang din, so don't worry about it." he replied. Tumayo sya at inalalayan ako sa upuan ko. Gentleman.

We gave our orders to the waiter, Caramel Macchiato for him and Cafe Latte with a slice of Tiramisu for me. After a couple of minutes, our orders finally arrived.

"Thank you Liv, ha. This means a lot to me." makahulugang sabi nya,

"No problem. And plus, kaibigan ka ng asawa ko, so I consider you as a friend as well." paliwanag ko,

"How have you been? After what happened to Wesley, I mean." tanong nya,

I took a sip of my coffee before I answered. "I've been good. Mahirap nung una, gumuho ang mundo ko nung nalaman ko ang nangyari. But I had to stay strong, para sa mga bata. It was hard, but we got through it. My kids served as my strength these past few years."

"I could only imagine how hard it was for you and the kids. Nung nalaman ko nga from Wallace eh di ako makapaniwala. Si Wesley? Eh masamang damo yun eh!" biro nya,

I smiled. "Ano bang nangyari sa inyong dalawa?" tanong ko. I've been curious.

"We had a petty feud that eventually led to the destruction of our friendship. Kasalanan ko actually. Kasi naman, there was this girl." simula nya.