All This Time

Everything Has Changed

She probably thought I was still teasing her and was just jamming to the song, but I made a turn opposite to where we lived.

"Uh, where are we going? This is not the way home?" She asked, like she was trying not to offend me for questioning my sense of direction.

"We're going somewhere only we know." I winked.

"What?"

"Relax. Gutom ka na diba? Kain muna tayo. Okay lang ba sa'yo?"

"May magagawa pa ba ako?"

My laugh boomed in the car that even I surprised myself. It's been a long time since I got excited about something. It's hard to remember when was the last time I felt this carefree... this happy. I quickly glanced at her and her face was glowing, like for the first time in a long time, she was excited not knowing where she's headed.

A few minutes later, we stopped at a security check.

"Faulkerson," I mentioned to the guard. Immediately, the barrier gate arm went up and we drove through. I did not miss how MengMeng raised her eyebrow the moment the guard nodded at me after just mentioning my last name. But she quickly got over whatever she wanted to comment when she began to realize where we were.

"Wait. I know this place." She said in awe.

I turned my gaze quickly at her, and I was sure I was smiling like a kid, exactly like she was at that moment.

I pulled in front of the lavish entrance hall, and immediately stepped out to hand my keys to the valet. She was already opening her door when I got to her side, so I just reached for her hand to help her out. With eyes wide and mouth slightly open, she looked like she couldn't believe we were there... like this was her first time in this place.

All I could do was watch her go from a stressed out heiress of an empire earlier to a little girl at that moment.

She smiled wildly at the sight of the familiar shiny marble floors and intricate archways of the lobby. We both knew our way around, but I still made sure to lead her straight to the other side of the lobby, almost ignoring all the greetings from the staff we passed by. When we reached the end, we stopped to marvel at the vast golf course and the manmade lake at the very end of it, illuminated by the moon and the strategically placed lamp posts all around the country club. Then she gazed at me with a smile that reminded me of our childhood.

"It's just as magical at night as how I remembered it." She said.

I could only nod, smiling from ear to ear, while her eyes wander around the green landscape and the serene lake on the other side.

When her eyes darted to the hallway on our right, she turned back to me and giggled. I knew what she was thinking.

Before I could say anything else, she took her black pumps off, lifted the hem of her dress a couple inches and started running to the right, giggling all the way down the hall to the clubhouse doors. I shook my head laughing, then immediately followed. I easily caught on, even almost tripping twice on my own two feet, but I let her reach the clubhouse entrance steps by a second. We were out of breath laughing and holding our stomachs when we stopped. A couple of staff stared at us but just smiled and walked away. She held onto one of the pillars and started putting her shoes back on, then walked inside and crashed onto one of the plush sofa chairs. I followed and sat right next to her, still gasping for air.

"Pano ba yan? Talo ka pa rin. Pero wala kang Chocolait na pambayad sakin ngayon." She teased, reminding me of how Yaya Virgie would always bring extra Chocolait when we were kids because I knew I'd never win this race with her. Truth was, I didn't have the heart to let her lose. But I shall take that secret with me to the grave.