Those Three Words

February 11

                 

My shoot is over at 7. Pick you up after. Be ready.

Nadine read the text. And then she read it again. Then once more. Each time she read it her blood boiled even more.

Jelly came over to retouch her makeup. "O bakit nakasimangot ka, ateng? Ang frown lines...hindi maganda. At usually nakangiti ka diyan sa cell phone mo, minsan nga mag-isa ka tumatawa o kinikilig diyan parang baliw. May ginawa ba si James? Huwag mo sabihin nasa FP nanaman..."

"Tingnan mo nga 'tong text niya." Nadine shoved the phone in Jelly's face.

"Uy, may date pala kayo mamaya." Jelly grinned. "Ano problema?"

"Ito lang ang text niya buong araw, simula na naghiwalay kami kaninang umaga tapos ganito? Wala man lang 'Hello' or 'How are you?' Parang ako utusan lang. Paano kung may plans ako mamayang gabi? Hindi man lang siya nagtanong."

"Meron ba?"

"Wala! Pero pwede naman ako umuwi sa bahay, makita ko naman ang pamilya ko. Kung magsalita siya, parang hindi ako..."

"Hindi ka ano? Girlfriend? Diba hindi naman?"

"Parang hindi ako tao," Nadine corrected. "Parang akong aso na kukunin niya kung kailan gusto niya. Sino ako? Si Clarky Boy?"

Jelly laughed as he brushed the foundation on her face. "Ikaw naman kasi ateng. Naghahanap ka pa ng lambing. Eh alam mo naman si James, matipid sa words. Kapag nag-text nga 'yon sa 'kin minsan one word lang. 'Okay' or 'Thanks,' ganon. Baka sobrang busy lang sa shoot kaya siya ganyan."

"Busy talking to Maja..." Nadine muttered. It didn't escape Jelly's ears though and he laughed even harder.

"Ayan! Lumabas ang totoo. Nagseselos ka!"

"Hindi no! Hindi ako nagseselos. Naiinis lang talaga ako."

"Ay sus! Dali na. Ayusin ko lipstick mo at kailangan ka na sa set."

Hello to you too. Might go home to the house later. Next time ask if I have plans, kay?

Nadine waited for a reply but none came. So she texted Caryl, who immediately replied back with a picture.

Busy pa si Kuya, Ateng. Shooting now.

Beneath the text was a picture of James sitting on the ground playing a guitar with Maja sitting next to him and smiling. Nadine's hand balled into a fist.

She wasn't jealous. She wasn't. It was just part of the job and she knew that James was faithful to her. Even if she didn't have an official claim to him, Nadine knew that James would never do anything to hurt her. But she was just human afterall and it still left a sour taste in her mouth to see gorgeous Maja Salvador sitting next to her...not-boyfriend.

Caryl sent a video next. James was intently playing the guitar while Maja was talking to someone that Nadine couldn't see because he was standing so only his legs were in the frame. Maja laughed loudly, her body rocking back and her hand landing on James' shoulder to steady herself.

Nadine took a deep breath. No, she wasn't jealous but it didn't mean that she liked seeing another woman's hands on her...her James. Because he was hers. The labels don't matter. Their relationship was emotionally and physically intimate enough that Nadine knows that they have legitimate claims on one another, even if they couldn't go public with it yet.

"Nadine!"

She was frantically waved towards the set and Nadine let herself forget about James for the moment as she went into work mode.