Kick-Start

The Talk

Note: I move from present day to flashbacks. Pasensya na kung magulo but I hope you are able to keep up.

--

Ella Santamaria
Okay na eh. Tapos makikita mo na namimigay ng discount coupons sa side ko ng street.

James del Rosario
Sabi nga sa akin dati, "Ikaw ba may-ari ng kalsada?"
Trabaho lang, walang personalan. Sa work, laban kung laban. Yung sa personal, alam mo naman na tiklop ako sayo.

JeanJeanJeanJean
May landian nga sa Twitter. Eh kung umuwi kaya ako ng Pilipinas para mas marami akong masagap na balita?

Ella Santamaria
Replying to JeanJeanJeanJean
Come home! I miss you!

James del Rosario
Bakit sa kanya may I miss you? Sa akin wala.

Ella Santamaria
Wala kang pake.

James del Rosario
Dies of a broken heart.

JeanJeanJeanJean
Ay potah. Naghaharutan nga. Ano to? May dapat ba akong malaman <tag>jamesdelrosario and <tag>EllaSantamaria ?

Ella Santamaria
Replying to JeanJeanJeanJean and jamesdelrosario
Wala.

James del Rosario
Replying to JeanJeanJeanJean and EllaSantamaria
Wala... pa.

They were scheduled to meet that night and as soon as she arrived, she started hitting him lightly. "Ikaw. Ikaw! Nakakainis ka talaga!"

"Bakit? Aray! Stop. Wag mo akong kurutin. Huy may kiliti pa din ako... aray!"

"That's for distributing coupons on our side of the street," Ella said and then pinched his other side. "That's for posting those comments on Twitter!"

"Why? Wala naman akong sinabing mali! Umaasa lang naman ako. Alam ko naman na pwede pa din akong ma-reject," James said to Ella.

"Hay nako. Feed me. I'm starving," Ella was about to step in when she realized this was not her place. "Oh, sorry."

"Why?"

"Masyado akong comfortable, hindi ko bahay."

"Okay lang, ano ba. Pasok ka. Feel at home."

She went in and settled at the sofa, while James got her some refreshments. She looked at a framed photos on the side table. On one, it was his family; another had his lola; and the last one was of her as Maria Clara.

"You still have this!"

"Oo naman. Favorite ko yan eh," he said. Handing her a glass of juice, he said, "Ito yung first ever orange juice na kaya natin bilhin sa grocery. Do you remember? Pero pala meron din akong fresh kung gusto mo."

She took a sip and sighed happily. "Remember dati, hati pa tayo sa isang glass kasi tinitipid natin para hindi maubos agad?"

"Oo," James agreed laughing. "You know what always crosses my mind when I cook?"

"What?"

"Yung sumubok ka magluto ng fried chicken? Tapos nasunog..."

*

James arrived at their small home to find her crying. Rushing to hug her, he asked, "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"No. Pero... pero kasi... naaksaya ko yung binili natin..." she started crying again.

He looked around to see two burnt pieces of drumstick, from the pack of six they bought at the grocery.

A few days before, it was the first time they had enough saved up to take a trip to the grocery to buy more items than they needed. Before that, they bought cooked meals from the canteen on a daily basis and didn't have food to spare for the following week. But, after taking jobs and orders of cookies, they would be able to have some extra snacks so they happily took a trip to the nearby supermarket.

Options were limited for their budget so they took time to choose well. Knowing this, Ella wanted to be careful with preparing their dinner that weekend and didn't want to waste anything.

At first, the chicken was undercooked so she put it in again, only to burn it this time.

"I'm sorry nasayang," she apologized.

"Shhhh it's okay. May apat pa o. You want me to help you? Ikaw nalang sa veggies natin, mas magaling ka dun eh."

*

"Galit ka nun 'no? Ayaw mo lang ipakita?" Ella asked.

James rubbed his neck. "Oo. Pero kasi kahit magalit ako, wala na namang magbabago. Ano pang point na pasamain ko lalo yung loob mo?"

"Alam mo, it was one of the things I admired about you. You were really patient with me kahit ang dami kong bloopers," Ella shared.

"Pareho lang tayo. We had a lot of growing up to do and I decided na as much as possible, susubukan ko maging supportive kaysa magalit. Partner kita, dapat magtulungan di ba? Besides, have you forgotten ilang beses ko namiss magbayad ng electricity bill, ayan naputulan tayo?"

She laughed. "Hay nako, oo. I was so annoyed at you kasi nahirapan tuloy tayo mag-aral. Tapos napupuyat ka pa kasi pina-paypay-an mo ako para makatulog."

"Eh kasi init na init ka na, tapos maraming lamok. Lagi ka pa naman kinakagat," he explained.

She stared at him. "Sobra yung alaga mo sa akin. Did... was I ever... did I do anything na naramdaman mo how important you were to me?"

"Marami! Alam mo ano favorite ko?"

*

"Ella! Anak!"

Aling Meding, their elderly next door neighbor, called her. "Ano po yun? May problema po ba?"

"Naku, sinabihan kami ng barangay na mawawalan tayo ng tubig. May ipon ba kayo sa bahay niyo?"

"Naku. Wala po... sige po uuwi na ho ako. Ako na bahala."

Ella sent a message to James that she would leave before him and they should just meet at home.

They only had two small buckets so Ella passed by his grandmother's house to check if they could borrow another one. She also borrowed pitchers, plastic containers... anything that could hold water.

"Hija, lalagyan ng ulam yan," his lola said, confused.

"Pwede pong pahiram? Ibabalik ko po. Ayaw ko lang po sana maubusan si James ng panligo? Yun nalang po bisyo niya paguwi galing work eh."

She got to work filling up everything with water before they lost supply. And when James arrived, he saw all those containers she had filled just so he could have his bath.

Ella, exhausted from it, was already asleep.

*

"My mom hates seeing that bucket sa banyo ko. Sobrang off daw. Pero I still keep it kasi naaalala ko yung ginawa mo para lang sa akin."

"Talaga? You kept our timba?!"

James nodded. "Nasa bathroom ko."

"Hindi ka pa ba naka-move on? Halos five years na din tayong hiwalay."

He smiled sadly. "Hindi eh."

"Pero iniwan mo ako..."

"Ella, please listen. Don't you remember what happened in the weeks leading up to it?"

Ella frowned. "We were preparing na for graduation."

To be continued.