The couple fell into a routine as the days passed. Gerald was given a month off by management to recuperate. He begged off interviews from the media as he wanted to rest and focus on his relationship with Sarah.
Both of them felt like husband and wife. Sarah would usually wake up early at 6am to prepare his breakfast (she begged Manang Mosa to let her cook), and after eating with Gerald, she would assist him with his meds and leave for community service. By noontime, Sarah would come home and eat lunch with Gerald. Then, they would spend the rest of the day either watching DVDs, or singing while watching YouTube videos with lyrics (Gerald didn’t own a videoke). Almost always, they would make love and afterwards, just cuddle in bed and whisper sweet nothings. They were on their honeymoon stage and couldn’t imagine that things can go wrong.
It was one afternoon when Gerald was taking a nap and Sarah decided to settle in the lanai to study. They were alone in the house at that time. The landline rang and she answered it..
“Hello? Anderson residence...”
“Who’s this?”
“May I know who’s calling please?”
“Girlfriend ni Gerald bakit? Eh ikaw, sino ka?”
“Do you want to speak with him?”
“Obvious ba? Kaya nga ako tumatawag eh. Sino ka ba? Kanina pa kita tinatanong eh..”
“This is Sarah and you might want to ask Gerald why I’m here...”
“Well, if it isn’t Sarah the saint. Nawala lang ako sandali, pumapapel ka na! For your information, ‘di pa kami tapos...and that makes you what? Kabit ka lang niya.”
“Last time I checked, ‘di naman siya kasal. Binata siya, dalaga ako. I didn’t break any laws nor did I step on anybody. And I’m assuming you know all about me so I’m pretty sure all the vile coming from you is because you know my rightful place in Gerald’s life. “
“You whore!”
“I’m afraid I will not allow anyone to speak to me this way. Good bye!” and with that, binaba ni Sarah ang telepono na nagngingitngit. She then went up seething in anger for having to encounter Gerald’s ex. “Heraldoooooooooooooooooo!”
Pumasok si Sarah ng bigla sa kwarto ni Gerald sabay pasigaw na naglabas ng sama ng loob. She shook Gerald to wake up “Naku, naku, naku...’yung mga babae mo ha! Lakas mang insulto! Sa’n mo ba pinagpupupulot yang mga ‘yan?!”
“Sandali lang, sino bang kaaway mo babe?”
“Yung girlfriend mo, tumawag! Tinawag lang naman akong kabit at whore...Nakuuuuu! Ang sarap kutusin!”
Gerald shook his head in exasperation, “ I never imagined she’d stoop down to this level. Kung ano-anong gimik na ginagawa niya just to get back together. I hope you don’t believe her?!”
“Of course I don’t! Nakakainis lang na I had to encounter her.”
“Don’t worry about her, kausapin ko siya sometime...Sa akin ka lang makinig okay? Halika nga dito..” Gerald said sweetly, inviting her to bed.
“Hay naku babe, kailangan ko mag-aral and wala na ‘ko sa mood...bumaba ka na, sabay na lang tayo mag-merienda. “ Sarah told him while pulling him out of bed.
_____________________________________________________________________
Sarah was talking to a patient in a health center in Payatas. It was nearing lunch and she was explaining the directions on how to take the meds prescribed for the patient. John, who finished early, was stealing glances at Sarah. After he heard her finish up, he approached her...
“Sarah, pwede ka makausap?”
Sarah was fixing her things and absently answered, “Hmmmm...ano?”
“The other day kase, naisip ko yayain ka mag-aral sa labas. So, dumaan ako sa condo unit mo. Ang sabi ng receptionist, ‘di ka daw umuuwi doon ng 2 weeks na. Lumipat ka ba?”
Sarah was caught off guard. She knew someone would find out that she had been staying over at Gerald’s sometime but she wasn’t expecting to explain herself to John. It wasn’t as if she was keeping her relationship a secret but she just wanted to savour their time now without worrying about the complications. Gerald knew that this was her stand for now.
“Ah...ummmm, yeah, ‘di na muna ako umuuwi doon. I have a cousin near here so while Community Med tayo, sa kanila muna ako..”
“Oh I see, so, sa’n ba ‘yun? Para naman pag niyaya kita lumabas, alam ko where to fetch you.” John had a nagging feeling she wasn’t telling the truth.
“Ha? Ano, ‘wag na siguro. Medyo strict ‘yung auntie ko eh. Nakakahiya sa kanila to bring in friends. Just text me tapos ‘pag may time ako, pwede naman siguro. “ Sarah avoided looking at him. She knew she was a bad liar.
“Are you keeping something from me?” John pursued...
“Okay, okay...walang kinalaman ‘to sa pag stay ko kay auntie pero...siguro it’s time na din na malaman mo. John, please naman, ako na ang nakikiusap sa ‘yo, ‘wag mo na akong pangunahan kay dad. Ako ang magsasabi sa kanya. Nagkabalikan kami ni Gerald. Ayan nasabi ko na...”
“Akala ko ba tapos na ‘yan?”
“Akala ko din eh pero he forgave me. He wants to try and I do too. I love him John. Sana maintindihan mo..”
John looked away. He never knew it would be this painful hearing it from her.
“Sana lang ‘di ka padalos dalos...sana lang kaya mo ‘yang panindigan..” John said and walked away.
Nagulat si Sarah sa naging reaction ni John. ‘Di niya inakala na magiging ganoon katindi ang pakiramdam nito. Oo, nanligaw ang binata sa kanya but he wasn’t able to sustain it and wait for her. She never took him seriously after and always thought it was just harmless flirting coming from him. Ang dami naman kasi din umaaligid aligid kay John and he always entertained them. He even had a short lived relationship after he told Sarah he liked her. Kaya ‘di siya umasa. ‘Di niya tinatanggi na naging crush niya ito pero it never went beyond that feeling. While she was a bit bothered, her thoughts turned to Gerald who just BBMd her about waiting for her so they can have lunch na sabay. She hurriedly drove home excited to see her boyfriend.
Hindi napansin ni Sarah na may kotseng sumunod sa kanya. John intended to know as much about what was going on with Sarah. ‘Di niya alam kung may magagawa pa siya para umiba ang ihip ng hangin pero kailangan niyang masabi sa sarili niya na ginawa niya ang lahat at ‘di basta basta sumuko. He scolded himself for the time he wasted when all he really wanted was to be with her. Napangunahan kasi siya nang maramdamang parang she didn’t feel as much as how he felt for her. And so he was inconsistent and gave more attention to other girls who were more open to him. But it never lasted long with them. And almost always, si Sarah ang naiisip niya after each fling, each affair. That made him think real hard about starting to be serious with her this time. And then Gerald came back. Kung ‘di ba naman malas at kalahati ang buhay ko! Nasabi niya sa sarili.
Pumasok ang kotse ni Sarah sa isang subdivision. Tamang tama, naalala niya na may high school friend siya na nakatira dito. Ibinigay niya ang pangalan nito sa gwardiya at sinabing isosorpresa niya ang kaibigan. Nang napatuloy na si John, sinundan niyang muli ang sasakyan ni Sarah. After several turns, it stopped at a modest two-storey house. Lumabas ang isang babae na mukhang kasambahay upang buksan ang gate. Nang maiparada ni Sarah ang kanyang sasakyan, napansin ni John ang paglabas sa front door ni Gerald. Nakangiti itong sinalubong si Sarah sa sasakyan. He leaned down and gave her a long kiss. Napuno ng selos at pait si John and promised himself he won’t go down without a fight.
