For Carla and Jowee, my lifelines;
For the 52 AMAZING people inside the chat room.
*****
I would have loved to rip that board shorts off of him but given the circumstances, hindi pwede-naghihintay ang Hagibis. Buti na lang na-convince ko siya to let me fix his punit na shorts while he's still wearing it. And so I settled between his legs. Damn, those thighs. Ang sarap sakyan, eh. But I chose to be pabebe and I calmly sat cross legged on the floor.Sewing was never one of my talents, hindi ko siya pwedeng ilagay sa resumé ko. Hirap akong ipasok yung thread sa maliit na butas eh. Ilang beses ko nang dinilaan ang thread, mas madali daw ipasok pag basa. I didn't know I was already biting my lip in concentration, not until naramdaman ko na medyo masakit na. After 24 years, naipasok rin. And so I started-push, ipit, pull; push, ipit, pull. Habang pinapanood ko yung needle and thread going in and out of the tela, iba yung nasa isip ko.
You can't blame me. Alam ko nakatingin siya sa'kin eh. I could feel his eyes tapos yung higpit ng hawak niya sa blankets. And most of all, I was in between Alden's legs. I can see the bulge eh, nagpaparamdam si Butch. Hello, eye-to-eye kami, o! How do I take my mind off the gutter, please.
So, yun. Nasa ganung state of mind ako when I heard the door open. Na-shock ako kay Tatay, pero natakot ako sa itsura niya-ay shet, mali. Hindi nakakatakot ang itsura ng tatay ko kahit hindi Alden levels ang kagwapuhan niya. Natakot ako sa reaction niya ng makita niyang nakaluhod ako sa harap ni Alden. Nagulat lang talaga siya to find us in such a, erm, compromising situation (but I consider it a 'promising' situation, huwag kang maingay).
Medyo nag-hang kami ng konti. Oo, as in tatlo kami, wala kaming nasabi. Napatayo na rin si Alden eh, tapos yung mata ni tatay pumunta sa shorts, akala ko chine-check kung bukas or something (eh hindi ko pa naman talaga nabubuksan, well not that I had plans of doing so pero still), yun pala itatanong lang niya kung tapos ko na tahiin. Nope, hindi naman siya nagalit. Kalmado pa nga eh. Sabi ko malapit nang matapos and he said labas na daw kami agad para makapag-start na yung program.
While all these was happening, I could hear Alden muttering something under his breath. May sinasabi siya eh, hindi ko lang marinig talaga while kausap ko si tatay. Tapos nung nag pause, narinig ko something na parang "okra ban, okra ban, okra ban" as in paulit-ulit. Pero it doesn't make sense. May problema ba sa okra? Ano, may okra ba na made in China at kelangan i-ban? Ano ba pinagsasabi nito? Para siyang sinapian eh.
Paglabas ni Tatay, grabe yung mukha ni Alden! As in, wala nang kulay yung lips niya tapos nanginginig pa siya. Hmmm... I think hindi lang ako ang nagbigay ng malisya. Pero gusto ko na kasi matapos yung pagtahi ng shorts niya kaya back to work agad ako. While doing so, na-recall ko yung sinasabi niyang okra ban. So tinanong ko siya, "Alden, ano yung sinasabi mong okra ban kanina? Meron ba?"
Medyo nagulat siya tapos sabi, "Sinabi ko ba yan?" tas sabi ko, Oo. Ang tagal niyang sumagot. After a while, sabi niya, "Maine, umurong si Butch nung pumasok si tatay." Nag loading pa ako ng slight, tapos naalala ko si Butch the Slayer. Yung tawa ko, friend. Si Alden wala din filter eh. I can't believe he just told me that.
Sinakyan ko siya, I mean, yung trip niya. Sabi ko, "O, umurong si Butch, eh di wala nang labalong." Tapos sabi niya, "Oo, pinalitan ni Okraban."
Shet lang, sabi ko, "Sinong okraban?"
Sumagot siya, "Si Okraban, ang okrang palaban. Kasi alam ko naman na di hamak na mas maliit yung okra sa talong, pero itong si Okraban ko, walang uurungan."
Gago rin eh, noh? Feeling ko pinag-uusapan namin si Shaider, Power Rangers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, ganun.
Tapos sabi ko na lang, "Patingin nga ng okraban."
Aba, tumayo. Shet, shet, shet, maghuhubad ba? Maghuhubad? Sa harap ko? As in now na? Anong gagawin ko? Shet.
Ay, false alarm. Kukunin lang pala cellphone niya, nasa dresser kasi. Tapos may kinalikot siya sandali, then pinasa sa'kin yung phone.
Ang gago. Eto pinakita niya, o:
Shet. Yung okra. Naka-costume. Green.
Medyo naging green din ako.
Pero hindi ko yata keri makipag one-on-one kay Okraban.
*****
Author's Note:
I know a lot of you are enjoying HSSS and I enjoy writing the stories for you. If we can convert our happiness to school supplies, andaming pwede nating matulungan. Today, we officially launch Team Butchikik's back-to-school drive in support of Eat Bulaga's Isang Lapis, Isang Papel Project. The donation form is found on this link http://goo.gl/forms/oU2KAaEPU72S1Ast1.
Minsan lang naman ako humingi, I hope you find it in your heart to give.
If you can't access the link, please send me a DM. I'm @yowsapsap on Twitter.
Credits to @yapsyturvy on Twitter for the Okraban edit.