The Bae

5 years (Part 2)

As I guided Mika outside the house, I told her to put on the blindfold. At first she was hesitant but I was able to convince her.

"Ay! Bakit kailangan ng blindfold, Manong? Ang arte ha. Gutom na ko. Like super kulo na ng tyan ko!!" Sabi nya habang nilalagay ko yung blindfold sa mga mata nya.

"Sige na, B. Para kunyari pa sweet. Dba? Wag na manira ng diskarte. " sabi ko naman sa kany habang tumatawa.

"Okay, fine. Sige na. Pasalamat ka mahal kita kahit na ang jitim jitim mo at ang arte arte mo. Hahahaha."

"Grabe, B, ha. Salamat sa pagmamahal na ipinaramdam mo sabay ng masasakit na salitang sinabi mo. Pero pasalamat ka talaga, mahal na mahal kita kahit sobrang bully at takaw mo. "
Bawi ko habang papalabas na kami ng pinto.

I can see our families holding their laughs sa bullyhan naming dalawa. Sanay naman na sila, ganayan kaming dalawa mag mahalan, hindi matatapos ang araw na walang "I love you kahit... (insert any nega words but sweet)" namin para sa isa't isa. Siguro, sabay ng pagtanda namin, nag mature at naka sanayan na naming dalawa na lait laitan ng pasweet ang isa't isa. Nung dating mga bata pa kami, noong college to be exact, madali kaming magkasakitan dahil sa mga gantuhan namin kaya siguro hindi kami nag tagal noon, aside from nawalan kaming ng oras for each other, we were young and immature back then. I admit, kahit sobrang pa cool and jolly ako on the outside, konting lait lang as in sobrang petty na lait lang, sobrang sakit na sa akin noon. Pero ngayon, bago mag tampo o masaktan iniisip ko, siguro biro lang yun. I am mature enough to know that some people will always try to bring you down with negative words, but those people who love you will use those words to encourage you, and sa case namin ni Mika, we use it para mag lambing. Yun siguro yung mali noon, para sa kanya lambing lang pala pero ang dating sakin lait na.

As we make our way near the candle lit dinner they prepared, our families immediately went to their "hiding spots" where, I know, they can capture every moment of this day. We did not hire any professional photographers because we want it to private as possible, kasi kahit naman gaano na kami ka tagal hindi pa rin mawala wala ang bashers. Nabawasan, oo. Pero hindi nag extinct.

Ang ganda ng pagkakaprepare nila Mama at Tita Bhaby, they prepared our favorite dishes, both Mik's and Mine's, as in lahat ng favorite naman. From carbonara to sinagang na hipon to walang kamatayang cheesecake. Pero ang pinaka hindi mawawala sa lahat, ang BBQ. Hahaha. Syempre dba, anong saysay na nasa tabing dagat ka at wala kang barbeque.  Sobrang timing ng panahon kasi ang ganda ng sky, makikita mong nakikiayon ang lahat.

Maybe this is fate. Our fate.

As i guided Mika to sit down, I gave her a kiss on the cheek and sat down across her.
"Pwede mo ng tanggalin yung blindfold, B. "
She looked surprised with the set up, and I saw tears trying to escape her eyes.

"Wow, B! Sobrang tagal ko bang naligo at nakapag prepare ka ng ganito ka bongga?! Thank you thank you!" She said as she approaches me and giving me 2 pecks on the lips.

"Sarap naman nun, B, parang nabusog na ko. Ikaw nalang kumain. Hahahaha. Pero kidding aside, of course, I had help from very special people." sabi ko as I glance behind Mika where I can see Mama and Tita Bhaby ducking nearby, both teary eyed.
Tsk. Mga nanay talaga, iyakin. Joke lang!
As she goes back to her seat, I can see Thirds and Dani as well as Miko and Mikole holding DSLR cameras and their phone documenting every minute of this special occasion.

"Kain na tayo, B, lalo akong ginutom sa mga nakahanda. Pero, B, thank you thank you ulit. I really needed this kind of vacation. And I wish to have more of this with you." Sabi nya as she serve herself with rice and sinigang, first, dahil sigurado later nya pa kakainin yung carbonara.

"Of course,B, anything for you. We both needed this. I know how hard you have been working for the past months and we seldom see each other na since before our game."
By this time alam kong pag nagsalita ako hindi nya din maiintindihan kasi, she's very hungry na nga. So, i plan to wait until she starts eating her carbonara.
10 minutes into her food, she notices na parang mabagal akong kumain and i was staring at her intently.

"Busog ka na, B? Ayy. Nag dadiet ka ba? Parang hindi ikaw. Di ka ba ginutom?"

"Sabi ko na sayo diba, makita lang kitang masaya, nabubusog na ang aking mga mata. "

"Wala maman mais na nakahain, bakit ang korni mo po?!"

"Basag trip naman, Miks eh. May speech pa dapat yun. 😞😞 "

"Joke lang naman, Manong ko, sige na go on na sa speech mo at makikinig ako habang kumakain. Pero promise you have my full attention.   😘😊"

"Promise ha?" She nods.
"B, we both know that from the very beginning many will be against us, but we fought for our love but we also knew that love was not enough to keep our relationship. Maraming may gusto sa Miefer pero marami din ang may ayaw. We grew apart because we did not have time for each other anymore due to our hectic schedules...."
She stopped eating and was listening to me intently, nodding from time to time, knowing that I was right. We already talked about this many times but I always tell her that it is to remind us of the things we should improve to make our relationship stronger and not like the first. Knowing that I have her full attention, I continued.

"We were just starting in our new worlds after college and I admit, kinain ako ng sistema. I never thought that I would want such attention before I had it, but I did. Then, I wanted more. I was so willing to do anything to please my fans. And I regret  to say, that it meant na mawawala ka sakin. Though, a big part was because of me, we can't deny you also needed to achieve things on your own. Make a name for yourself. Hindi yung sisikat ka dahil "girlfriend yan ni Kiefer Ravena", and I wanted you to follow your dream as well."
By now, we were both crying. But I know I need to stop myself or else I won't be able to finish this. Everything I am saying now is all from the heart. Walang practice, walang prepared speech. Lahat galing sa puso.

" And I will always be sorry for my stupidity and the pain I brought you all those years. I know, as you have said before that you have forgiven me. But Miks, I would not have forgiven myself if I did not do anything to make it all better knowing that I had the chance. So, thank you, B, for giving me the chance and for trusting me again. "
I was crying so hard this time, and so is Miks.

"Kief, naman, ano ba? Makikipag break ka ba? Bat naman ang drama natin ngayon?" Tanong nya sabay tawa ng mapakla.

"No, B, I will not make the same mistake of letting you go again. This is the opposite. I will not let you go ever again. " I can see na parang naguguluhan siya sa sins sabi ko, and that was my cue.

And since I already approached her while giving my speech, I knelt down on one knee.
Held her free hand as the other way covering her mouth. Maybe she now has a clue of what I was about to do. I looked around at first, and saw that all of our family members present were crying already, including Papa and Tito Manuel.

I got the ring out of my pocket. Kissed her hand and asked,

"Mika Aereen Reyes, will you make me the happiest Manong in the world by being My Manang for the rest of our lives?"

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Finally po, after years na update bam I know parang wala ng chance pero kahit naman 1% or more kakapit pa rin ako.

Kung germs nga 0.01% nalang hindi pa mapatay patay, pag asa pa kaya?

Thank you po sa mga nag babasa! God bless. ✌🏼