FRAGMENTS: Scenes

TWO: His birthday

Instead of his usual "salubong" -- an all-boys booze night with his friends -- Richard decided to take advantage of his birthday weekend to invite Dawn on a proper date.

Excited about the prospects, he asked her one night as they sat watching the staff pack up. He took her hand and whispered, "Will you be my date on my birthday?"

She smiled. "What do you have in mind?"

"Dinner then movie, or movie then dinner -- you choose," he said, playing with her fingers. "I already asked Tita Midz and Direk Carlos for an early weekend for us, so we'll drive back to Manila tomorrow then --" 

"L... luluwas tayo to Manila?"

He looked up and saw that slight panic in her eyes, as if the concept of going home together was a possibility that she wasn't ready to entertain.  

"What's wrong?"

"Are you sure you want to be seen with me?"

And then, he understood. They haven't talked about how they were going to "come out" with their relationship, but she was, of course, conscious that his break-up with Sharon was still fresh in the minds of the press and the fans (of which she admitted to be one).

She was conscious about what people would say. He knew that she had a point, but he wanted -- no, needed, more than anything in the world -- to be able to spend his birthday with her.

Even with her fears, she said yes, picturing the worst (Fans running after them at the mall, yelling, "Mas maganda si Sharon sa'yo!"; the press bombarding them with questions; the blind items that would appear on the tabloids).

But she could tell by the smile on his face when she agreed that it was really important to him. It will make him happy, she kept telling herself. Focus on that.

They arrived in Manila on Friday night and went their separate ways. He said he would pick her up on Sunday afternoon, so they could go to Mass before their date.

In this time alone, Dawn ran a few errands and went shopping for gifts (Richard broke his sunglasses during their shoot in Batanes, so she bought him one, and a white gold bracelet that she could just imagine him wearing) and a new dress for the date, hoping to shrug her nervousness off.

But the feeling remained with her as she got ready for the date, and when she opened the door of her apartment and found him standing there with a smile, the first thing she managed to say was, "'Wag na kaya tayong tumuloy?"

"Hindi ako magpapapigil, Dawn," he simply said, letting himself in. He took her purse and the two boxes on the coffee table. "Gifts!"

"Birthday mo, 'di ba?"

"Alam mo what would be the best gift? Taking you out on that date."

He walked over to where she was and looked her dead in the eyes. "I won't let anyone hurt you, I promise."

Then his lips fell on hers. "I missed you, ganda," he whispered.

How could you say no after that?

After stopping by the church to pray at the adoration chapel (Richard already went to Mass before picking her up), they got inside the car and she had accepted that they were headed to the mall.

That was until he took a right and they were in front of a subdivision. He took a left, then another right, and stopped in front of a bungalow.

"Tara," he said, taking her purse and the gifts from her. For such a talkative girl, she couldn't find the words to ask why they were there, whose house was it. She just had enough sense to take his hand and get out of the car when he opened the door for her.

He led her inside the house. "Feel at home," he said, as he put her things on the table and headed to the kitchen. She looked around, as if in slow motion, and saw the array of framed photos at the living room -- her instant favorite was the photo of a young Richard and who she assumed to be his mother.

"Upo ka lang dito," she heard him say and she almost dropped the picture frame. He was tying the back ribbon of the apron he had put on.

"Ano 'yan?"

He approached, took the frame from her hand, and put it back on the table. "That was me at nine years old... and my mom. And this? Apron!"

"B... bakit --"

He pulled her closer and kissed her forehead. "You asked me nu'ng Thursday if I was ready to be seen with you... As usual, hindi mo ako pinasagot." He smiled. "Yes, I'm ready, and I'll be proud to have you by my side. But if you're not ready yet, ayaw naman kitang pilitin... kaya dito na lang ang dinner. I'll cook for you."

"C... cook?"

"Spaghetti and roast chicken sound good? Although 'yung chicken, I ordered na lang ha."

She didn't answer and he kissed her lips. "May VHS doon sa tabi ng TV, pili ka ng movie ha? Food should be ready in an hour, unless gutom ka na."

"I... I'm fine."

"You're beautiful. I love you."

She smiled, partly in relief, but mostly in love. "Mahal din kita."

Her mood did pick up after that. She chose Top Gun (which surprised him, since he had a number of romance dramas in his collection), and leafed through photo albums as she waited for the food.

At dinner, she was chatty again, appreciative of the food he had prepared -- so much that she went for a second helping of the spaghetti. He didn't know if she noticed, but he had a smile on his face, even when she wasn't looking.

"Wala tayong cake!" she suddenly remembered.

"'Di bale, sweet naman tayo, 'di ba?" He winked.

"Ang corny mo!" But she was blushing. "Teka nga..." He listened to the clicking of her heels as she walked back to the living room to retrieve her gifts. She returned in a flash, bent to hug him from behind, and kissed his cheek. "Happy birthday, babe!"

"Babe?" He looked up at her. "'yun na ba ang tawagan natin?"

She blushed, her smile lost this time. "Ayaw mo?"

"Halika nga dito..." He reached for her waist and pulled her to his lap. He took the boxes from her hands, placed them on the table, and held her tight. "Gusto... but the thing is, I've already thought of what I would like to call you."

"Ano?" she asked, her eyebrows meeting in that curious way he found so cute.

"Ano bang nararamdaman ko para sa'yo?" He smiled as she blushed even more, resting his chin on her shoulder. "I want to call you 'Love'. Okay lang ba 'yon?"

He felt her nod.

"And you know what the best gift is today?" He turned her face to him, his fingers on her chin. "Ikaw."