Quickies

actually

***F I C T I O N***

she enjoyed the day, though she missed him terribly. quite understandably so, of course, and the dabarkads could tell. she's more or less gone back to her usual playful self whenever she's at the studio, but more so when her kuyas are there with her. and him.

but for the past two saturdays he's been out of the country, and though she's been joking with the other hosts, exchanging banter and doing her part (sometimes losing it over the contestants they have at the barangay), at the end of the segments she will retreat to her corner and check for messages from him. she knows he's bound back home in the coming days, and if she could only speed through the hours til she sees him again, she would. they're not yet back to where their relationship used to be, but they're getting there. they talk everyday, even if time difference is a bitch. while she's still energized to tell him about her day, he would be struggling to keep himself awake. he insisted on knowing about her day everytime, even when she tells him to just watch replays of the show. he tells her that it's always better hearing it from her. so even when she sees him dozing off while she's babbling about what she did for the day, she keeps talking. oh if she could just tuck him back to sleep, snuggle close to him and...

***facetime ringing

"hey you!"

"hi ma, how're you?"

"eto, miss na miss ka na."

"sarap naman madinig nun!"

"pauwi ka naman na di ba?"

"sino nanalo sa actually? nabasa ko sa tweets yung blue na naman ah."

"oo, sila, tapos nakuha pa nila yung tag-one thou na envelope! samantalang kami last week tag-20 lang."

"aww. sayang, di bale, next week kasali na ako ulit."

"oo nga. kailan na nga ang flight mo?"

"dapat isinali na lang din si mama ten, baka may beginner's luck."

"haha, oo nga ano? sige suggest ko kina bossing yan. huy, anong oras ang flight mo?"

"ma, ang galing ng acting workshop ko with Sir Bova, ibang klase!"

"so happy you enjoyed it! you deserve that opportunity, mahal."

"ha? ano ulit? ano sabi mo?"

"ha?! ano...ma... ano ba, iniiba mo usapan ha, nahahalata na kita, kailan ka na ba uuwi talaga? ha?"

"..."

"hello? huy. rj! ano to, nagfreeze? rj! huy!"

***facetime ended

"hala. ano yun? nagfreeze tapos..."

"ano yung sinabi mo kanina?"

she jumped at hearing his voice behind her. As she turned around, it only took him two steps to close the gap between them, and he took her in his arms, hugging her tightly. she was still recovering from the surprise of seeing him there, yet she allowed herself to sink into him, burying her head into his chest and hearing the beat of his heart matching hers. she slowly wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him back. they stayed in that position for a full minute before she spoke.

"so kailan nga ang flight mo?"

she heard him chuckle softly then planted a kiss on her head.

"kaninang umaga."

she looked up at him, slapping his behind a bit hard.

"aray! alam kong namiss mo puwet ko ma pero huwag naman ganun kalakas!"

"kanina ka pa andito?! bakit hindi mo sinabi?! ni hindi ka nagparamdam!"

she attempted to free herself from his arms but he held her tightly. she made no more attempt to escape because she really missed being held by him, being enclosed by those arms.

"surprise nga eh."

"natalo kami sa actually. kung andun ka baka nanalo pa tayo."

"sus, pagbigyan nyo na si kuya jose. para hindi na magreklamo."

"hmp. sayang yung one thousand."

"talagang yung actually ang pag-uusapan natin? sabi mo kanina miss na miss mo ako ah."

"actually, joke lang yun."

"ganun?!"

"actually, joke lang din yun pagkasabi ko na joke yun."

"ang gulo mo mahal ha."

"actually..."

she held his face in her hands like she always does whenever she wants to tell him something more intimately, something that only they ever understood even without words. he held his breath, because it's been quite some time since she last did this.

"...mahal... welcome back."