Chasing Pavements

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"Maine?"

"...Y-yes?"

"You kind of spaced out on me for a minute there." Dr. Villa says

"Sorry... I... where were we?"

"You were telling me about your recent encounter with Alden."

"...right. Well, we last met up 6 months ago, and we... talked."

Maine suddenly felt a little shy discussing what really happened that night, you know, intimately.

"What did you talk about?"

Maine starts to tell her therapist what happened that night...

It was 6:00pm on a Friday night and Maine was shaking as she found more evidence to her husband's infidelity.

She couldn't think of anyone else to call, because she herself could not believe what she saw.

Emails, and more email threads of her husband's... correspondences... with other men. Some were hook ups, some he had brief relationships with. But nobody she ever knew about.

Her brain goes haywire and the next thing she knew she was driving to a gas station to meet up with Alden, after not talking for almost 4 years.

Her phone rings, and it was him. "H-Hello?"

"Hey... I'm here. Where are you exactly?"

"I'm parked, near the tire area. Black car. 290." She said.

She saw a tall man under an umbrella, approaching her car. She opened her doorlock and let him in.

Alden closed his umbrella and sat on the passenger seat, then looked at her quietly.

"Hi." She said to him

"Hi... What happened?" He asks.

"Can we go somewhere?"

"Of course... Where do you wanna go?"

"I don't know.. Anywhere. Anywhere but here."

"Okay... I'll drive. Let me drive, okay?"

"Let's take your car..." Then Maine swiftly goes down the car. Alden hurriedly catches up with her, unable to open the umbrella under the pouring rain which got them both drenched.

"Wait!" Alden called out but Maine was already beside his car.

Alden opens the door for her and immediately enters the driver's seat.

Maine stares on the floor, all wet and shaking. But she doesn't feel anything.

Alden takes some tissue and dries Maine.

"Maine.. Are you okay? Teka..." Alden reaches for his extra shirts from the backseat and gives one to her.

"Here... Palit ka muna."

"...I'm okay."

"Sige na, baka magkasakit ka... Please?"

Maine takes the shirt from him, and takes off her blouse which surprises Alden.

He tries to look away to give her some privacy, and tries to ignore the fact that she's wearing a black bra based on the straps he accidentally saw.

Alden changes his shirt as well and throws their wet clothes at the back.

"So... Bab... Where to?"

Maine chuckles. It's been years since she heard him call her that.

"The Pearl."

Alden drives off without a word.