When Day 32 Starts...

Chapter 5 - Common Ground

Ano pa ba ang wala sa kanya na pwede kong iregalo? Hindi ako mapakali sa mga suggestions ni Gale e.

"Wear pink lingerie. We'll put you inside a cake-shaped box and then you'll come out of it and do a lap dance for kuya. He'll love it!"

Walangya! Di kaya ng kahihiyan ko 'yun! Walang practice-practice? Bigla na lang sasabak ng ganun? Ni hindi man lang nai-prepare ang confidence ko? No way. Pagtatawanan nya lang ako, for sure.

And speaking of Kent, hindi pa rin sya nagpaparamdam. Tanghali na pero ni hoy wala pa rin akong naririnig mula sa kanya. I sent him a message asking where he was without implying that I knew it's his birthday today. Maya-maya'y tumawag sya.

"Hello, Kent?"

"Na kina mama ako," he told me.

"A... okay."

"Jazz..."

"Yes?"

He paused for a moment. "Never mind. Is that all?"

"Yep. Enjoy your day! Bye!" I hung up. Magtampo kaya sya kapag hindi ko sya binati ngayon? I know he's not really into events like this. Pero kahit naman siguro sinong tao sa mundo, malulungkot kapag hindi naalala ng taong mahalaga sa kanila 'yung birthday nila, di ba?

Having said that... mahalaga ba naman ako kay Kent? Siguro? Kasi mag-e-effort ba sya ng sobra para sa 'kin kung hindi ako mahalaga sa kanya?

I sighed. I guess there's really no guarantee. I just have to trust him and in the meantime, maghahanap ako ng regalo.

'Do you want to go out?' was the message I got from him after our talk. I said sure and told him to pick me up by 6pm. Nagpunta muna ako ng mall para maghanap ng pwedeng iregalo sa kanya.

I bought him a miniature figure of a guy na naka-toque at apron tapos may hawak na egg beater. It was butt naked. Naalala ko kung gaano sya kahalay kaya binili ko 'yun. I had no time to wrap it up dahil nag-ayos pa 'ko so pinaglagay ko na lang sa isang magandang paper bag.

Nagpakulot pa ako sa tiyahin ko para maayos ang buhok ko. Ang sama na naman ng tingin sa 'kin ni tatay. Nagmakaawa kasi ako sa kanya na pagbigyan ako kahit ngayon lang kasi birthday naman ni Kent. Pina-extend ko na rin ang curfew ko ng alas dose. Ang lakas ko lang maka-Cinderella.

I heard his car honk from outside so nagmadali ako paglabas. Pinaalalahanan pa ako ni tatay na umuwi bago mag-alas dose at baka raw maging kalabasa ang karwahe ko ng wala sa oras. I'm not sure if he just pulled out a fairy tale reference or if he meant something else.

Kent was leaning on his car, waiting. His arms were crossed and he was looking down, as if in deep thought. I hurried towards him, careful not to trip on my heels. Naka-dress ako ngayon. Red dress. Empire cut at may maluwag na skirt. Sana hindi ako lamigin. Tube pa naman 'yung itaas. Hindi na ako nagdala ng jacket kasi wala namang bagay. Kapag nag-cardigan ako na kulay black, hindi na sya magandang tingnan.

"Kent!" Tumunghay sya sa tawag ko. Kumawit ako sa batok nya and then I gave him a peck on the lips. "Happy birthday!" I said with a beam.

"Akala ko hindi mo alam e."

"I didn't know. Gale told me last night," pag-amin ko. "San tayo ngayon?"

He shrugged. "Where do you want to go?"

"Aba, ikaw ang birthday boy ngayon. We'll go wherever you want."

That made him smile. "Okay. Let's go to my house."

Nagtanggal ako ng heels para makaupo ng maayos sa carpeted floor nya. Pinatay namin ang ilaw sa sala, replacing them with inverted wall lamps na nakapagpa-cool ng ambiance. He poured champagne on my glass.