diminutives

photograph

maine

she suddenly turned. i saw the surprised look on her face then uneasiness.

ahm... rj... i mean sir.... nandyan po pala kayo

it's rj. uhh— i... uhh— i... it's been a while i just wanted to... ahh... to ask how have you been

ok naman. ahm ikaw? kamusta?

mabuti naman. uhhmmm... how... ahh how long long has it been?

ahm i think i lost track 5 years na yata.

ahm maine, pwede ba ta—

"hey M... ay sorry po sir pinapatawag po kasi ni sir dave si M, ahh M sunod ka na lang"

ah yeah! ahmm sige po sir rj i'll go ahead

yeah. i uhhh... i guess you should go...

so she left... i was lost... yung araw na kinatatakutan ko nangyari na. yung araw na hindi ko pinangarap dumating na. tapos na. kunsabagay, wala namang ibang dapat sisihin kundi sarili ko. i let her slip away. i missed my chance. and now where does all my sacrifices go? i felt so angry. to myself. but that's all i could do now. be angry to myself for the chance i ruined and the battle i lost. i went back only to see her fixing her things and saying her goodbyes.

"basta pag may free time ka ha. drop by ka naman"

oo naman. sideline din pandagdag gastos. depende sa schedule ko ng work.

"wag kang masyadong magpayaman. pero sabihin mo sa kin kung gusto mo na bumili ng shares ha para maging co-owner ka na rin ng Trident Bottle malay mo magkaroon na tayo ng ibang branch" i heard dave tell maine

naku boss malayo pa yun. magsisimula pa nga lang ako sa monday.

"anong firm na nga ulit yung papasukan mo? baka sakaling within the area lang mapasyalan ka namin"

hahaha sa BGC po, Lines & Parallels Design Ltd.

then i heard it. i'm not sure if god is playing tricks on me or faith is clearly giving me a reason for something.

"what a co-incidence... talaga lang ha... LPD Ltd."

bakit po sir?

i saw dave look at me and gave me a smile. then maine turned to my direction with a questioning look.

"meet your boss then"

po?

"pare magpakilala ka na. mukhang ikaw na ang magiging boss ni maine starting monday."

ano pong ibig nyong sabihin?

dave made his way to my direction. he gave me a smug look after he passed maine clearly teasing me.

"architect mendoza, meet the newly appointed Senior Vice President of LPD Ltd., mr. richard faulkerson jr."

and for the third time i saw the surprise look on her face. then follows her confusion and then i'm not sure what anymore. uncertainty perhaps?

ahmm maine.

ah sir rj... i... ahm—

and as if dave saw the awkwardness of the situation. he butted in

"huy ano ka ba M, wag kang kabahan. he's a nicer boss than i am and more generous i should say"

ahm sir... ahh... mauna na po muna ko. i... i mean... ah sige po sir dave, sir rj see you on monday na lang po

she turned towards the door. it's  hard to take in what happened tonight. and i'm clearly dumbfounded of the events that transpired and the things i've learned.

"pare limang taon. wag kang tumunganga dyan. kilos na. ma-traffic sa edsa"

from what dave said, it's like i was doused with a bucket of ice. nandito na. kung anuman ang dapat ginawa ko five years ago dapat gawin ko na ngayon. i have to let her know. kahit huli na. kahit tapos na. kahit game over na. so i ran after her. something i wanted to do in the past that i wasn't able to. it's now or never.

i saw her walking briskly to her car. so she drives now. she opened her trunk to place her guitar.

let me help you

shit! awwww!!!

hey! sorry. nasaktan ka ba? san masakit?

i looked at her while she's massaging her head.

ahmm... ok lang sir... awww... nagulat lang po. ako na sir medyo mabigat yan

it's rj.

she tried to get the guitar but i held her hand

maine ako na. please?

ahmm. sige po thank you

i placed her guitar carefully and noticed it's the same guitar i gave her 7 years ago on our second year anniversary.

you're still using this guitar

ahhmm... yeah... kelangan ko bang isoli?

what? NO! of course not. i'm happy to see you're still using dos.

oo naman. ang mahal kasi nyang si dos kaya di ko mapalitan. alam mo naman ang ekonomiya hindi steady.

eh ako? napalitan na ba?

i'm really not sure what gotten into me to ask her the question abruptly. siguro naisip ko lang yung sinabi ni dave. limang taon. ayoko na rin sigurong magpaligoy-ligoy pa. although she was not able to answer. she stood there looking at me with a questioning look on her face.

i know it's my fault. and i can't... i don't... shit! sorry... i didn't mean to curse... i... maine...

ahm sir, uuwi na po ako. ingat po kayo.

maine... sandali lang... ahm.... pwede ba kitang ihatid?

rj, nakainom ka na. get some rest. besides i need to go home. marami pang requiremnts ang kumpanya mo na kailangan kong tapusin.... SIR

i'm not your boss

not if you're not the SVP of the company i'm going to work for on monday

i... it's.... STILL i'm not your boss.

and then she smiled at me.

it's nice to see you again rj. looking forward for monday.

as if i can still read how her mind works five years ago. i gave in. this is her cue on saying stop, coz it's not gonna go anywhere. and i know i have to respect that.... for now.

see you on monday, architect mendoza. goodnight. drive safely

and with that she simply nodded and made her way to the driver's seat. still can't believe she's now driving. five freakin' years. i've lost five years of her life.

while i watch her drive away. something caught my eye... her car's registration plate. it was a personalized one RJM 1024. i am a person who does not assume but for now, i want to. at least. her car was a mirage hatchback GLS 2017 model which was just a few months back. although i'm not sure of the numbers i wanted to guess on the letters. rj and maine. could it be? i want it to be. it had to be. that should be what is supposed to be.

i picked up my phone and dialed a number.

hey! it's rj
—
i know it's late and it's practically sunday morning, but it's really urgent.
—
i need you to meet me in my office in half an hour.
—
make sure to bring the keys to our HRD
—
thanks bro. i owe you one.

five years. come hell or high water. i promised i'd get you back. and i'm keeping my word maine. i don't give up easily.

******* itutuloy