moirai

wheelchair

Maine tried to ignore this "Ching" issue for a while.  But after almost 2 weeks of her hearing the name regularly, she decided to ask Rj.

"Who is this Ching I keep hearing about?"

"Ahh....wala...." was his answer. Although to Maine, Rj sounded hesitant..."What do you want to do today?" he continued.

It was their lazy day so they were lounging by the pool at Rj's house.  They decided to just take a dip since it was too hot to move or do anything.

Maine tried to keep her mind away from what she has now coined as the "Ching Issue."  This was her free day; a day where she didn't need to think about work or anything else for that matter.  She wanted to spend time with her Rj.

Rj, too, wanted to spend this free day to relax.  He was at his happiest when his Maine was with him and he really enjoyed their time together – be it the short trip they had when he would pick her up from work to take her home or the coffee dates they had on random evenings.

The following Saturday however, their schedules changed a little bit.  Rj seemed to be quite busy with other things.  When they spoke on the phone, he seemed distracted and wanted to end the call immediately. Rj said. "...kay maabot na si Ching..." and then, "....goodbye anay, Pangga...I love you..." This particular call ended  in about 20minutes, their shortest ever since they became a couple.

This made Maine confused and annoyed.  She didn't like the feeling particularly because she didn't know the exact reason behind her annoyance.  Sure, there was this "Ching Issue" but she wanted to know more than that.

Late in the afternoon she received a message from Rj...

"I'll be there at 4pm...see you..."

She hesitantly got dressed and prepared.  She was obviously not in the mood while she sat on her bed brushing her hair.  Yaya Maring was there fixing her clothes in the cabinets.

"O, Tata, ano natabo sa imo?" (What's wrong?) Yaya Maring asked as she turned to pick up more clothes from the laundry basket on the floor.

"Wala..." Maine replied dryly...

"Hmm...anong wala....indi na maglaba ang imo nga guya kung wala...." (What do you mean nothing? Your face wouldn't be that long if there's nothing....) Yaya Maring said as she approached and sat on the bed beside Maine.  "May problema kamo ni Rj?....nag-away kamo?"

"Indi....wa-ay kami nag-away...." (no, we didn't fight...) she spoke softly

"So, ano ang problema?"

Maine told Yaya Maring of the "Ching" she heard a few weekends ago.

"Hmmm....pamangkuta sya liwat....or istoryaha ang iya manghud....indi na manami na akig ka sa iya pero indi sya kabalo...." (Hmmm....ask him again....or talk to his sister....that's not good that you're mad at him and he doesn't know...) Yaya Maring advised

Maine could only nod.  She remained silent.  Just then, Rose, the house girl, knocked on Maine's door and announced that Rj was downstairs.

Yaya Maring reminded Maine to ask him nicely and be sincere. Maine nodded, sighed deeply then went out the door.

They kissed as soon as Maine approached Rj in the living room.  He noticed her indifference so he asked if she was okay.  She just nodded and took his hand to say that she was ready to go.

They drove out of her village in silence.  Rj was a bit bothered by this because Maine wasn't normally this quiet when they were together.  The only time she was generally silent was when she was in pain due to her monthly visitor.