She was at the kitchen when she heard the door to her condo unit open. Alden has a copy of the key, entrusted to him by her parents when they needed him to check on her one night when she was running a very high fever. They let him keep it since then.
It's almost midnight and she just came back from Bulacan. Good thing his rehearsals ran late and she made it just in time to cook him dinner.
"Hi," she wiped her hands on her apron and met him halfway. He gave her a long, tight hug and then kissed her on the cheek.
"Ang bango ah. Ano niluluto mo?"
"Chicken and vegetable carbonara lang yan. I had to whip up something quick. Natagalan ako sa Bulacan eh."
"Carbonara, it is. I'm sure it will be perfect. Gutom na'ko eh so I'll set the table."
And so they went through the mundane chores like a normal couple. They talked about what happened that day and their laughter echoed throughout the condo unit.
When it was time to eat, she laid a steaming plate of pasta in-between their plates and put some on his plate. Alden was right behind her, carrying a basket of toasted French bread.
The first few minutes, Alden couldn't talk. He was literally shoving food into his mouth, prompting Maine to laugh and say, "Hindi ko alam kung sarap na sarap ka sa luto ko or gutom na gutom ka lang talaga." And because his mouth was full, he just gave her a thumbs up and continued eating.
They spent the next hour eating interspersed with back and forth banters and then more laughter. When they were finally done, Alden carried their plates to the sink, put on Maine's apron, and washed the dishes.
Maine was on the couch with her feet curled beneath her. After he put the clean dishes away, he sat beside her. As if on instinct, she immediately rested her head on his shoulder. They stayed that way for a full minute. Silence filled the room but not the awkward kind. They love nights like this.
Alden took off his shoes and put his feet up on the table. Maine adjusted herself and laid her head down on Alden's lap.
"Maine," Alden began, "I have something for you. I think you should know na I had to pull strings, forego sleep, and skip rest days just to be able to give you this. I'm telling you this, not because you should appreciate the effort behind the gift, but I'm still hoping that you would."
Alden was holding a white envelope and gave it to Maine. She expected to see yet another letter because he has been fond of writing her letters lately. But what she saw instead was a plane ticket. Manila-New York-Manila. She immediately sat up and looked at Alden, surprise evident on her beautiful face.
"Alden, ano 'to?"
"That's the N, Nicomaine.
But no, it's not what you think. It does not stand for New York. It stands for New Beginnings.
I know you love New York. But I know that you have associated New York with someone from your past and I wouldn't have any of that. Oo, nagseselos ako. I want you to be able to think of New York and think of me while you're at it.
So I cleared our schedules for the first two weeks of April. Nakapagpaalam na ako sa parents mo, kay Mr. T, sa TVJ, sa GMA. They'll survive without us, at least for 2 weeks.
I want us to make new memories inNew York- together. We'll jog, stroll, and dance at Central Park; kiss at the Empire State Building; and get lost in Times Square. Kahit si Liberty papatulan ko. As long as I'm with you.
I want you to think of Spring and associate it with us. New beginnings, Maine. OURS."
