I'm feeling better ever since you know me
I was a lonely soul but that's the old me
-Feel Again by One Republic
--
Pakiramdam ni Lena ay nabalanseng muli ang mga bagay-bagay nang hindi magpakita si Cyrus sa kanya nang mag-Lunes. He'd usually come over to cook dinner for her at night. O kung tinatamad itong magluto, aayain naman siya nitong lumabas.
That Monday though, neither of those things happened. Naturally, she's worried. This was something that she was expecting to happen. So the very next day, she called Martin to check on Cyrus.
"Yeah, he's here," he told her. "Bakit?"
"Uhm, wala naman. Sige, thanks."
"Teka lang naman. Tumawag ka lang para do'n?"
She thought of something else to ask. "Busy ba sya?"
"Oo. May special project sya ngayon, e. Tinatapos nya 'yong design. Sabi ko kasi, before Friday, dapat gawa na."
"Ah. Okay."
"Ako, 'di mo kukumustahin? Ganyan ka, ha. Kinakalimutan mo na 'ko," kunwari ay nagtatampo nitong sabi. She could tell if he's just teasing. Rinig niya sa boses nito.
"Tigilan mo nga ako."
"Iba na talaga kapag may boyfriend, 'no?"
"Shut up."
Martin laughed. "Hey, listen, why don't you come over? Para rin ma-check mo 'yong folding table na pinapagawa mo. And I'm sure he'd like it if you visit."
"Sige. Try ko," she said half-heartedly. Gusto niyang makita si Cyrus. Ayaw niyang makita si Martin.
"Punta ka na. O-order akong pizza."
"Suhol ba 'yan?"
"Oo. Para pumunta ka. Kapag nandito ka kasi, gaganahan 'yong magtrabaho."
She sighed. "Fine. Pepperoni ang order-in mo, ha."
--
It was Lena's second time at Martin's shop slash office. Ayaw kasi niyang pumunta roon dahil puro lalaki ang trabahador nito. Martin doesn't really like to have them there, dahil nagkakagulo ang mga nandoon. Lalo na noong minsang dumalaw doon si Lacey. Muntik nang may masuntok si Martin dahil sa selos.
True to his word, Martin ordered pizza. Dalawang box pa ang in-order nito. He gave the box of pepperoni pizza to her.
"He's downstairs," he told her.
Kakaunti lamang ang empleyado ni Martin, wala pa yatang bente. Furniture-making ang pinakang-ginagawa roon, pero hindi mga ordinaryong pagkakarpintero ang trabaho. Hindi kasi simpleng furniture ang ginagawa nila. Some needs some serious engineering.
They spend their time designing furniture and building prototypes. Usually, iyong mga multi-functional o komplikadong gawin ang dinidisenyohan nila. Tapos kapag sobrang dami nang kailangang gawin, kumakausap si Martin ng isang furniture-making company para mag-mass produce. Iyong maraming tauhan. They can only take so much pieces, anyway.
The guys also build the furniture. Kapag iilang piraso lamang ang gagawin, sila-sila na rin ang gumagawa. Kaso, mas mahal.
She went downstairs, to the workroom. She immediately saw him. He's cutting some wood with a mobile circular saw, with his earphones on kaya hindi siya nito narinig na dumating. Tutok din ito sa ginagawa kaya hindi siya nito kaagad nakita.
He's a bit sweaty. Basa ang likod ng sando nito. The sight of his bare arms made her very uncomfortable. She suddenly had the urge to get back upstairs and just go home. Pero napako ang mga paa niya sa sahig nang patayin nito ang makina. He removed his earphones and picked up a bottle of water next to him. Saka ito sumandal sa lamesa at uminom.
