Faithfully Yours

chapter 1

Catherine is dragging her traveling bag from the airport to the street to hail a taxi. Of all the times her bag may malfunction, it has to be now that she is in a hurry. She checks the wheels once more and is dismayed to find that one of the wheels has loosened. She has to half carry the bag. Luckily, a taxi stops in front of her, and she thanks her lucky star. She hastily gets inside. 

She gave the address of her hotel, then relaxed her fraught nerves, and closed her eyes. The travel was taxing and long. She has to endure her fears, all through the duration of the flight. The moment they were up in the sky, she couldn't sleep and eat the meals. She was gripped with unexplained anxiety, she's afraid of riding planes. 

She looked at her phone, googled the time difference between the two countries, and adjusted her wristwatch. She gasped as she read the current time. 

She is late very late. She just wished her cousin wouldn't be mad at her for being late. She crossed her fingers and prayed to all the saints in heaven that the couple's first dance, which she has to sing is not happening yet.

The driver stopped in front of the hotel. She counted her money and paid him. She entered the lobby and asked one of the staff to direct her to the Dominguez and Bryant wedding. 

Breathing deeply, she entered the reception hall and spotted the couple, Michelle and Dave, on the dais. Michelle has seen her when she opened the door. And her face lit up with a smile when she recognized her. She waved her hand to the emcee and pointed at her. 

The emcee looked towards her and she was glad to see it was her cousin Simon. He announced her arrival and all heads turned towards her. She doesn't like this kind of attention. But it was expected, Simon loved to tease her. She glanced at the familiar faces of her cousins and saw their relieved faces when they spotted her. It was obvious that they were waiting for her arrival. Michelle wouldn't let anyone else sing the song for her first dance. 

''Ladies and gentlemen, finally, we have come to the moment for our couple's first dance. And to serenade our couple on their first dance together as husband and wife we have Catherine Garcia to do the honor." her cousin announced.

One of her cousins helped her with her luggage. And one ushered her to the stage. She was nervous, as she saw the expectant faces of the people. On the stage was the band. She had practiced with them through Skype, and if only she arrived earlier, they could have practiced most of the songs live.

''By the way, Kat had just come from the airport, enduring a thirteen-hour-long flight from the Philippines just to serenade our couple on their momentous first dance. Her, being late can be forgiven. Michelle adored her." Simon said. 

She got the mic from Simon, taming the usual flutters of apprehension in her stomach whenever she has to perform.

''Good afternoon everyone. My cousin and I are very close, and she has always wanted me to sing her favorite songs ever since I can remember. She was always and will be my number one fan. For their first dance as a couple, she requested the song IKAW. It is a Filpino song. 

"It is hard really hard to translate each line of the song because by doing so it will lose its meaning. But the gist of the song is this." 

You are God's gift to me, you are the light of my world, You are the other half of my heart, I look forward to the future because there is you, and each moment of my life will be spent on loving you and no one else, and that even forever is not enough to love you."

Then she sang the song as Michelle and her husband danced. She sang two more of the love songs she requested and encouraged the other couples to join the newlyweds. 

When she was done with the serenade, she gave the microphone back to the band who are preparing an upbeat dance number.

''Simon, thank you for telling them I'm late,'' she complained as she sat down and joined them at their table.

''Well, it was the truth.'' Simon retorted. ''You better make a move to the buffet table, or risk getting hungry for the rest of the night.'' He suggested. She glanced at the table, where the waitress is clearing the empty serving dishes. 

''We expected you to be with us during the wedding ceremony, Kate,'' one of her cousins said. 

''I thought so too. But my flight was delayed three times because Mt. Taal decided to share his ashes to the air." She explained.

''Why didn't you book an earlier flight like two weeks before? If you did you could have joined us. We were bar hopping like crazy.'' Piped in another cousin. 

''I wasn't cleared from work until the last moment. My boss made sure I finished my work before he released me.'' She responded.

"That is usually what happened, they believed that once you fly to the US, you are not coming back so they make sure your work is all done," said one cousin. 

''Stop with the chitchat. Go get your food now so you can eat and rest as I know you haven't slept a wink during the flight.'' Simon said as he gave her a push. 

"You haven't slept the entire flight? My God, it runs in the family!" Said one of her cousins who were just like her afraid of going up in the sky. 

"I managed to get a nap but I can't sleep when I'm up on the air." She replied.

By the time she had eaten and rested the dance floor was already packed. The band did a good number of disco music and Latin dances to the merriment of the guests. Michelle's family has all invited their relatives living in the US and a lot have shown up. The dance floor is packed to the brim. 

"Here drink some more so you can relax and enjoy the festivities," her cousin giggled, obviously drunk as she poured her a glass. At least it was only wine and not the hard stuff her cousin was drinking. 

Simon joined the dancing bodies on the floor, he led the group to a Zumba dance number. Everyone was happy to follow his steps. He ditched the floor and got the bottle of wine from the passing waiter. He returned to their table with the champagne bottle. 

"I thought you have stayed clear away from it?'' she asked him. 

He filled her glass, and responded, ''Only occasionally now. And I stay away from the hard stuff. This is only champagne my dear.'' he explained as he refilled his glass.

"Excuses, excuses, excuses..." quipped one of the cousins. 

"A tall dark and handsome guy is staring this way. Exciting, exciting, exciting...'' one of her cousins exclaimed. 

She looked beyond her shoulder and see the same guy who has smiled at her a while ago. Her heart skip a beat as she recognized him. Then her heart did a pounding as he stood up and walked towards them. Her parent's words repeatedly came back to her mind, "Don't get drunk and fall in love".