Okay, so marami nang nagtatanong sa min, kelan nga ba kami na-engage? Nung 21st birthday niya? Sa Italy?
Yes, I gave her an engagement ring for her 21st birthday. A lot of people were doubtful because the package daw didn't seem like the correct shape for a box or that it was impossible for me to give it there in front of everyone.
Ako na mismo nagsasabi, I gave her the ring that day. I said in one EB episode that I would propose to her during a normal day. Eh, normal lang sa min yung nasa TV eh and it was her birthday so ... do I really need to continue?
Anyway, she wasn't ready then. That's why I said I would wait. Because of everything we were going through, there was still a part of her that was doubtful that I was in this for the long run.
We were lucky to have Italy. There we got to know each other better, talk about things from morning 'til the next morning and still have more to talk about the following days and nights. I was pretty sure, sasagutin na niya ako.
But then that "Kuya" incident. I dismissed it as nothing but there were people bothered. Sam also brought it up, "Hala ka, friend-zoned ka!" He teased. I didn't want to show it but I was worried.
"Anong problema mo?" she commented after one dinner.
"Wala." I said, a bit grumpy. "May request lang ako."
"What?"
"Kung basted ako, sana sabihin mo na agad. Kasi umaasa din ako. Kung friends lang tayo, okay lang. Pero sana sabihin mo na agad, para makapag-move on din ako."
"ANO?"
"I want to know. Friends lang ba tayo? I want to know already. Gusto ko ng malinaw na sagot."
She didn't reply.
The next day was a Sunday and we were going to hear mass together like we normally do there. I didn't make conversation because I wasn't sure what to say. I kept praying, Lord, okay, I accept na she doesn't love me the same way I feel about her. Please give me the strength to accept this. Ang sakit kasi. And I don't know how to teach my heart to move on, when all I want is to spend the rest of my life loving her.
The Lord's Prayer. She placed her left hand on mine, like we normally do.
I did a double take. She was wearing a ring.
THE ring.
After the prayer, she whispered, "Clear na?"
