The Groom's One True Bride

Chapter 14

"Hey...," Luigi greeted him.  He turned for a bit, and took a drink from his shot glass.

Luigi examined him from head to toe, "I really expected you to be in happy spirits given the good news-"

"How much do you know?!?" he stood up, and collared Luigi.  "Easy," Luigi said, removing Kiefer's grip from his shirt, "Just enough to make one believe in miracles."

"Fuck," he murmured, and Luigi signaled the bartender for a drink. "Actually, wala namang nagkwento sa akin. I just pieced two and two together, and with the monologue of Ella..."

Kiefer had his full attention again. "Easy!" Luigi chuckled, "It wasn't her intention. Or so I think. She was too tensed, as if-"

"What did she tell you? What did you hear from her?!?" he demanded, and Luigi shook his head. "Well, just enough to know what a bastard you are," he chuckled again, "and that was the exact word she used."

Kiefer slumped on the bar table, messing his own hair, and Luigi tapped him on the back, "You know, bro, it isn't right that you make her feel bad-"

"You know how bad it was for me?!? Yung magtiwala ako sa kanya, then iiwanan niya ako! Over that stupid, idiotic notion she has of me and Sarah and Zitti, who by the way," he paused and took a gulp of his shot glass," happens to be someone else's child!"

Luigi was silent for a moment. "Well," he suddenly cleared his throat, "that makes it less complicated. More convenient for you and Alyssa to get back together."

"There is no way in hell we are going back together," he murmured, and Luigi detected something in his tone. "What do you mean by not going back together?" he prodded, and Kiefer covered his face with his palms.

"It's hard... Very hard to bring back what was buried and lost...," his voice muffled by his palms, "it's not that easy to forget that she left me without talking to me..." He uncovered his face, and looked at the bright lights hanging on a lamp above them. He squinted, "Hindi ko alam bakit ang sakit-sakit pa rin isipin..."

"You know," Luigi started slowly, "Hindi sa pangingialam, but since you seem to want her back in your life, and don't tell me you don't, kase narinig ko lahat ng mura na lumabas sa bunganga ni Ella when you were in Batangas... Well, why don't you give yourselves a chance?"

"A chance for what? For love?" Kiefer sneered, "Wala na nga, di ba?"

"Sabihin natin wala na," Luigi argued, "Then why the hell is she with you?"

"Ayoko kaseng ma-blackmail ako sa huli," Kiefer adjusted his neckline with his index finger, "and paano mo nalaman na nasa bahay ulit si Alyssa?"

"Ella," he responded and took a gulp of his on drink, "So paano yun? You think you can just go on and build a platonic relationship over your child? Considering na merong kayong past? At meron kayong bridge ngayon?"

"What is your point?" Kiefer challenged him, and Luigi shrugged. "You may say all you want, but obviously, you can't make her stay out of your life, " Luigi pointed out.

Kiefer was silent. "Ano ba talaga gusto mo?" Luigi asked, and Kiefer looked at him. He sighed. "I just want to have a peaceful life, katulad ng dati," he murmured, "I want my old life back."

"Your old life," Luigi murmured, and he finished off his drink. He then tapped Kiefer on the back, "Your old life had Alyssa in it." He then bade him goodbye.

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He knows she will be in the kitchen, making her milk. He tried to put a semblance of order in his hair, after all the pulling and the raking he did earlier. He tried to rearrange his shirt, when his phone rang.