The Proposal (JiBea - Completed)

1 Week Before

- BEA'S POV -

It's been a week since that day na pumunta sina Jia sa bahay to talk to my parents. Isang linggo ko na ring pinapakiramdaman si Jia.

Magpo-propose na ba talaga siya saken?
Kelan?
Saan?
Paano?

Hindi ko alam 'yung mga sagot sa mga sarili kong tanong. Pero alam na alam ko ang isasagot if ever itanong ni Jia 'yung question na 'yun. Ilang araw ko nang pina-practice eh.

Yes. Simple and sincere?
Yes! Excited and jolly?
Yes. Yes. Yes. Mga 100 times na ulit?

O kaya...

"Yessssssssssssssssss!"

Oh crap. I said that out loud, didn't I?

"Hon?" narinig kong tawag ni Jia mula sa kwarto. Andito ako sa living room ng condo ni Jia. Sinundo ko siya kasi may dinner with our former ALE teammates in Ate Aly's new restaurant.

"Ah, wala hon. 'Yung GSW, lamang na kasi," palusot ko. Whew! Buti nalang basketball talaga pinapanood ko.

Lumabas si Jia sa kwarto na nakakunot ang noo. Tumingin siya sa TV then smirks. "Eh replay na 'yan eh. Awwww, umaasa ba ang BeiBei ko na baka manalo team niya dito sa replay?"

I roll my eyes then I throw a towel at Jia. "Tse! Maligo ka na nga!"

Jia walks towards me and leans down to peck on my lips. I smile into the kiss. I was about to kiss her back more deeply pero she puts a finger on my lips. "Hep! Tama na! San na naman tayo mapunta. Naka-ilan ka na saken kanina!"

I smile smugly. Yup, you heard that right. Naka-ilan ako kay Jia kanina. 3 points, de Leon!

***

When I'm sure that Jia is already in the bathroom, nilabas ko sa bag ko 'yung sticky notes ko. I like leaving notes on Jia's things. Or minsan sa car. Short messages lang naman and minsan random doodles. Or punny jokes. Like one time, 'yung menthol candies niya nilagyan ko ng: "We are MINT to be."

Ngayon, I write something simple:
FYI - Forever You & I.

In Jia's room, merong isang glass jar kung san niya iniipon 'yung notes ko for her. Sobrang funny lang din, kasi minsan may mga notes na after ilang months pa niya nakukuha. Or minsan may makikita siyang note habang magkatampuhan kami so bigla nalang kaming magbabati.

I opened one of her drawers kasi dun ko sana ididikit. Ako 'yung mang-su-surprise sana pero I was the one caught off-guard.

I noticed a blue box. A ring box, to be exact.

I touched the box, as if trying to figure out if it's real. There's a gold inscription at the corner of the box that spells my initial: BDL.

My heart races.

My hands tremble.

I'm now 100% sure that Jia's going to propose to me.

We are going to get married.

We will build a family.

We're going to spend the rest of our lives together.

I can't explain what I'm feeling. Gusto kong tumalon sa tuwa. Gusto kong umiyak sa saya.