Tipping Point

Memory Keepers

Pia sat down beside Loren and fixated herself on the pink box right in front of her. Part of her wanted to open it and get it done with, but the anticipation made it all the more sweeter.

Loren then faced her asked."Ready ka na?"

Once Pia nodded in reply, she took the top off the box, revealing assorted papers, tokens and trinkets amassed over many years, judging from the yellowing edges on some of them. Pia's eyes became as big as saucers not just over seeing how full the box was, but also how everything was filed by date. "You kept every single thing?"

"Everything I associated with you, I kept it inside this box. Lahat ng resibo ng dates natin, lahat ng movie tickets, all of them. Oddly, the last time I opened this after this year was a year and a half ago

She took out one of the notes from 2008, way back in the 14th Congress when they first really got to know each other since she wasn't holding any public office when Pia first arrived in the Senate. The note wrote "Lunch tayo?"

Having both been separated from their husbands by that point, and Loren on the closing stages of the annullment process, the two of them bonded over lunch over the woes of separation, the many antics done by their male colleagues, and shared bonds over single motherhood and losing children. Both of them shared a laugh over how oblivious they were about what's coming up ahead of them.

"Ang clueless natin, grabe." Pia remarked before giving her a high five. "Sige, medyo move forward tayo ng kaunti. Mga 2010?"

"Ikaw naman pumili."

Pia then took out a small envelope in the 2010 tab, unearthing a picture of them during the opening of the 15th Congress smack in the middle of their short hair days. Loren screamed in shock upon seeing the photo. "Oh my God! Nalimutan ko na ngang naging ganyang ka-ikli ung hair ko noon eh."

"Gwapo mo nga nun, eh." Pia admitted.

Loren playfully slapped her shoulder. "Anong gwapo ka diyan? Sampalin kita diyan eh."

"Eh ano gusto mong sabihin ko? 'Labyu, panget'?"

Instead of another side comment, she found herself facing a now speechless Loren attempting not to crack her poker-faced facade with a smile. She covered her mouth and fanned herself so Pia couldn't see her smile, but the nose crinkle proved to be a dead giveaway.

Pia happily sighed upon seeing that again."Cute ng nose crinkle niya." 

"What?"

"Wala. Sige kuha ka na lang ulit."

Loren took another one from the 2013 portion, when the 16th Congress started. It was a letter Pia wrote a little after her annulment from her now ex-husband was finalised. She then read the letter again and the memories came flooding back to her - all those stolen moments and sneaky moves to keep things under wraps away from public view, or how they always sat beside each other during committee hearings and held hands under the table when no one else was there.

"All things considered, I will always be your partner in crime." Loren read from the letter.

A single tear fell on her cheek after reading it. She turned away so Pia couldn't see her already wanting to cry and then took the latest addition to the memory box out. It was the note that Pia left her when she took out her clothes and snuck out of Loren's house after their big fight.

All it said: Doing this was the most difficult thing I ever had to do, but I'm sorry I had to do it kasi tayo lang ang masasaktan if we stayed. -Pia

Loren huffed a sigh upon reading the latest note and shook her head. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

"You know? Sinabi ko nga na it's going to take time to really rebuild things, pero naisip ko: I swept so many things under the rug before. Ung mga maliliit na bagay pinalaki natin kaya na-uwi sa ganyan."

"Kasalanan ko rin un, Pia. Dapat di ko na pinilit na tama ako kahit buking na buking na na nagkamali ako."

Pia brushed off the hair on Loren's face and looked intently at her. Her face looked like the glow of the full moon at night and her eyes sparkled like the starts in the sky. "Moonie..."

Her use of a childhood nickname hit Loren's kilig factor like a ton of bricks. Then Pia did the one thing she never let anyone else do - stroke and play with her hair. As hard as she may try to stifle it, the blush forming on her cheeks and the butterflies in her stomach won over her willpower. 

The agony proved to be too much that Loren wanted to scream at her face,"Shut up and kiss me already."

Then Pia looked into her lips and planted a soft, yet powerful kiss on her lips that sent a shockwave to her spine, as if she heard that silent scream. Loren cupped her cheeks and tentatively brushed her tongue on Pia's lower lip as if sending feelers to her if she's alright with returning with a deeper one, to which she happily obliged.

As much as they would've wanted to go on forever, they let go of each other. Lest that one of them dies from forgetting how to breathe.

"Huwag mong sabihin hindi mo na-miss un, ha? Sasakalin kita." Pia said, unable to wipe the smile off her face.

"Ay hindi nga talaga." Loren remarked with her signature serious expression.

Pia rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Hindi ka na talaga nag-bago, no?"

Loren then held her hands in a prayer position. "Ay anghel na ako. Bagong buhay na."

"Gaga ka talaga." Pia said in a fit of laughter,

A moment of silence followed after. The two of them looked into each other's eyes as they held hands. Noticing the size difference, Pia couldn't help but comment on it. "Ang weird naman nito. Para akong humahawak ng kamay ng bata."

Loren's eyes narrowed and her finger pointed at her. "Ikaw, ha? Namumuro ka na sa akin."

Pia simply giggled at her before pecking her on the forehead. "Love you,  pangit."

At this point, Loren didn't bother hiding the kilig anymore. She's way too deep in her euphoric high from being with her partner-in-crime, and now partner-in-life again.