Lena's head was somewhere else. Cyrus was telling her this great story about something but her head was focused on that little project of hers for Martin's birthday. He's turning twenty-six tomorrow and her gift is still halfway done.
Iniwan niya iyon sa bahay para makipag-meet kina Cyrus at Julie. Pag-uusapan sana nila iyong tungkol sa shoot pero hindi nakarating si Julie. May emergency raw. Cyrus didn't seem pleased. Kahit naman siya. Si Julie ang ikakasal pero pinsan nito ang todo asikaso.
"You're not listening to me," puna ni Cyrus.
"Sorry." She took a sip of her milkshake. "You were saying?"
Cyrus shook his head. "Never mind."
"Sorry," pag-uulit niya. She has this habit of drifting away whenever she's not interested in the conversation.
"Pupunta ka ba bukas?"
"Saan?"
Blangko ang utak niya. Wala siyang ibang maisip kundi iyong regalong pagpupuyatan niya mamaya pag-uwi. They all reminded her that she could just buy Martin a gift. Pero syempre, papayag ba naman siyang hindi paghirapan ang regalo niya rito?
"Birthday ni Martin, di ba?"
Ah. Right. "Yeah."
"Sabay na tayo?"
"Pupunta ka?"
His eyebrows furrowed, as if she just asked him a stupid question. Kaibigan nga pala ito ni Martin. Hindi pa kasi niya nakikita ang dalawa nang magkasama sa isang lugar. Martin mentioned Cyrus a few times though.
"Sige, daan ka na lang sa bahay," bawi niya. "You have a car, right?"
Cyrus nodded. "You won't bring yours?"
Umiling siya. "I don't have a car."
She found it useless to learn how to drive considering na pwede namang mag-commute. Gastos pa sa gas at maintenance.
"Okay, then. I'll pick you up at six."
Alas seis y media ng gabi sila magkikita-kita sa isang restaurant. Lacey chose the venue, so she's pretty sure that she'll be required to wear something fancy. Mabuti na lamang at may isa siyang black dress na long-sleeved. It was body hugging and a bit short, but she has no other dress.
Si Lacey ang marami noon. Napakarami nitong damit kaya hindi na sila bumibili. Ibinibigay naman nito sa kanila kung ano ang kakasya. Kenna loves Lacey's dresses. Kaya ito ang tagasalo ng mga damit ng kapatid niya.
Iyong nag-iisang black dress lang (which is shorter for Lacey because she's taller) ang nagustuhan niya. The other dresses are too girly for her taste.
--
Nang makauwi si Lena ay agad niyang trinabaho ang regalo. It's a sculpture made of tiny nails that she twisted and assembled together. Ihuhulma niya iyon sa isang sikat na figure, iyong lalaking nakaupo habang nakapangalumbaba. The Thinker.
Nagustuhan ni Martin iyong una niyang gawa. But it was life-sized and was already sold to a rich man. Kaya ginagawan nya si Martin ng mini-version noon.
Masyado yata siyang naging tutok sa ginagawa kaya hindi niya namalayang pasado alas dos na pala ng madaling-araw. There's still more than a hundred nails to twist and assemble.
Bailey was already asleep on her bed. She got up from the floor and stretched. Hindi niya maalala kung kumain na ba siya, but she wasn't really feeling hungry. Itinabi na lamang muna niya ang ginagawa at saka siya naglinis ng katawan.
Then she crawled next to Bailey, na nagising naman agad. Sumiksik ito sa kanya saka umungot. She kissed the top of his head.
"Night, Bai."
