I Found Love at Thirty Two

XI: Wiliam (Part 2)

I waited for Lucy to leave before I left our unit. Hindi na rin siya nagtagal kasi narinig kong she still has a business meeting to attend to. Gusto ko sanang umepal at i-offer na ipag-drive siya since I guess she is annulled at maaring may pag-asa pa ako pero wala naman akong kotse.

I mean I have the car with me, but I don't have the key. Aaron and I had an agreement that I would only drive my car if I'd be able to control myself for one year or else, I have to surrender completely my car to him. Wala namang kaso sa akin yun dahil mas gusto ko nga yung ganun para consistent ako sa pagbabago ko pero iba na ngayon.

Mas gwapo sana ang dating ko kung may kotse ako di ba?

I just wore my plain light navy blue shirt with cargo pants kasi mainit magcommute kapag naka-corporate attire. Isa pa, kayang kaya naman ni Aaron na makipag-usap sa mga clients at business partners dahil magaling siya.

Bumili muna ako ng fishball at squid balls bago pumunta sa MRT station. Honestly, eating street foods is very new to me. I just started eating this when I commuted. Hindi naman pala pangit ang lasa.

Masarap din lalo kapag yung sauce may sili. Yung mga simpleng bagay mas na-eenjoy ko na ngayon. Masaya ang mabuhay at kapag nagcocommute ka, mas nakikita mo ang kagandahan ng buhay na puno ng pagsubok pero kapag nakaya mo naman, sulit ang lahat ng pinagdaanan. At sa huli, makikita mong may magandang plano ang Diyos.
Papunta na sana ako sa cashier para magbayad at makasakay na ng tren when I felt my phone vibrated.

"Where are you William? The president of Sweet Mem'ries is here."

"I'll be there in 15 minutes bro. Medyo traffic kanina eh."

Pagbaba kasi ng MRT eh walking distance na lang at office namin.

"Good. I think 15 minutes is not that long. Dumaan ka na rin ng KFC at umorder ng bucket meal. Its almost 6pm. Baka dito na rin tayo magdinner."

"Are you serious about that bro? Sabi mo president yung ka-meeting natin? Bakit fastfood ang dinner? Dapat fine dining."

"I don't have time anymore later William. Alam mo na, may family gathering ang loves ko. If you want ikaw na lang ang magdala sa kanya sa restaurant."

"Me?"

"Yeah! Mag-ingat ka lang kasi baka maging akin na tuluyan ang kotse mo."

"Are you really testing me Aaron? I wont be that weak anymore. I have God with me."

"I know. So are you buying KFC or youll bring her to a dinner?"

***

I got in the office in less than 15 minutes. Walang aberya ngayon sa MRT at mabilis din naman akong maglakad. Naabutan ko si Aaron na may kausap na babae na may familiar na damit. I can only see her back pero she is really familiar.

"You're here bro. Ms. Lucy, please meet my co-owner, William Joseph Robinson."

Tumayo si Aaron at humarap naman ang babae at di ako nagkamali kanina sa akala ko. Siya nga. Si Lucy.

"Hi!"

"Hello."

I extended my hand for a shake at I wont deny it. I felt electricity went down to my every nerve. Kanina kausap ko lang siya, ngayon, our body has touched at nag-init ang katawan ko. Bumalik yung memories ng kiss that we shared.  Bakit ba ganito ang effect niya sa akin? Lord, I need a way out.

"Okay. As we were talking about earlier, Ms. Lucy here has a lot of connections. Medyo matagal na rin siya sa industry kaya she will really be able to link us to clients and in return, we will also recommend her studio to people who'd be needing our services to
organize their events, right Ms. Lucy?"

"Yes, that's right. Whether its wedding or birthdays, concerts, business functions, surprise parties, proposals, baptisms, anything under the sun, we can capture the moment. Kaya nga our company is SWEET MEM'RIES."

Lucy was all smiling while explaining. Kung magsalita siya, parang wala siyang pinagdadaanan sa buhay may asawa niya. She is a pretty good actress huh.

"What can you say William?"

"Ahmmm. I guess its okay for me. It's a mutual relationship."

"That's good then. So Ms. Lucy, here's the draft of our Memorandum of Understanding, you can go over it and get back to us once you want it signed."

Inabot ni Aaron yung documents kay Lucy at pareho pa kaming nagulat ni Aaron when she signed right away the documents without even reading every details of it. What if we are just a fly by night company di ba?

"Dont worry guys. I trust you both at alam niyo naman siguro ang mangyayari kapag niloko niyo ko? I mean, Ive been in this business for quite some time at kaya ko kayong ireport sa association at ipa-ban if ever you keep your hands dirty."

Pareho kaming natawa ni Aaron sa sinabi ni Lucy. This woman is fierce.

"Of course Ms. Lucy, you don't have to worry about anything. We stand by our words, by our company motto---COMMITTED TO EXCEL."

Ang sabi ni Aaron at tumayo na, inayos ang coat na suot at parang paalis na. Iba na talaga kapag in love, laging nagmamadali, parang ngayon, si Aaron.

"William here Ms. Lucy will bring you to a dinner to celebrate the start of our partnership. I really apologize because I wont be able to make it but William is a good company. He knows great places around."

Natulala ako sa sinabi ni Aaron. Excited ako sa dinner pero paano ko makokontrol ang sarili ko nito? Sana tumanggi si Lucy. Sana sabihin niya busog siya at ayaw niyang kumain, gaya kanina. Para mas safe. Pakiramdam ko kasi, di ko pa kayang maiwang mag-isa ng kasama siya. With other girls, I can control my thoughts but with her, ewan. Di ko alam kung gaano katagal ako makatatagal. Kahit na simple lang ang suot niya, sapat nay un para magwala yung kaibigan ko sa baba.

"That sounds a wonderful idea! Medyo gutom na rin ako"

A wonderful idea? Anong wonderful idea? Yung di ko makontrol ang sarili ko?

"So that's good. I'll leave you both then. Your car key bro, you'd be needing this."

"Be a good boy."---Bumulong pa si Aaron bago umalis. Sira ulo talaga tong kaibigan ko.

"Where do you want to eat?"

Tanong ko. Mabuti na lang di ako nag stutter kung hindi mararamdaman niyang para akong teen-ager na kabado at kasama ang crush niya.

***
Our Daily reflection for today