13

letting go / holding on

The following day, Maine was preparing all her suitcases for her flight back to Rome. She waited to see if Antonio would communicate with her, but he ignored her calls and text messages the whole day. Today, he replied around 1am, agreeing to meet up for lunch.

Richard was equally antsy the night before. Maine texted him about Antonio ignoring her, then at around 2am, she finally said she could now sleep. She will see him tomorrow before she will leave in the evening.

He did not know what will happen, nor that he expected anything would happen. All he cared about is Maine - that she was happy. So this is what it feels like to love unconditionally, Richard thought. He did not feel the same way with Ysa : that kind was an infatuation that blossomed into what he thought was love at that time. This was different. If Maine took Antonio back, he would remain steadfast in his love for her, even from afar. And as painful as it would be to stand by and just be a friend, Richard would not make the same mistake of letting her out of his life.

At 3pm, Maine texted him to meet up in the airport at around 7pm since she was still out. Richard was slightly disconcerted. This could only mean that Maine was still with Antonio. Reluctantly, he got up his bed to get ready.

When Richard got to the airport, he saw Tita and Tito. She was nowhere close to them.

"Hello po, Tito and Tita."

"O, Richard, nakita mo na ba si Maine? ."

"Hindi po. Sabi lang nya na dito na magkita. Si Yaya po, bakit wala?"

"Eh naiiyak lang daw sya na aalis na naman si Maine, so nagpaiwan. Ay eto na pala sya."

Richard turned to where her parents were looking. Indeed, Maine was there, and she was smiling. Her eyes looked tired but not unhappy, which made Richard quite glad.

"Richard, you came." Maine came up to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Oo naman, sabi ko sa iyo di ba na I'd like to see you before you leave."

"O magkwentuhan na muna kayo, anak. Naghahanap ng kape si Tatay." Nanay turned to Tatay and hooked her arm in his as they walked into the coffee shop.

"Tara upo din tayo sa labas since me carry-on ka pa dito." Richard grabbed her luggage and sat them down at the nearest table. As soon as they sat, a waiter appeared and Richard asked for two iced teas, a club sandwich and a slice of chocolate cake as he knew it was one of Maine's favorites. He also remembered that she liked sharing food, and it somehow warmed her heart.

Maine sat back and let Richard order for them. She was impressed that Richard remembered what she likes. "Ano ba to, date?" she laughed.

"Gusto mo ba?" Richard jested.

"Ay." Maine blushed.

"Pero Maine, walang lokohan. Gusto mo ba? Joke lang po." He pauses. "Seriously, are you okay?"

How this guy switches from flirty to serious from 0 to 2 seconds, Maine will never know.

"Yes, uhm. Paguusapan na ba natin?"

"I just want to know if you are okay, after talking to Antonio."

Maine was quiet for several heartbeats. "Yes. I am okay. I think....hindi na namin kaya masustain yung long distance relationship. Hindi din siguro ok na simula kami na ganun na agad, so parang wala kaming foundation masyado na kami na even if we've been friends for awhile." She paused then continued.