Borrowed Time (completed)

40. habits

Meng had always been a homebody. Because of her work as a shuttle driver, she rarely had time to hang out with her friends for overnight stays at a friend's house or even to travel to nearby provinces on a roadtrip. However, when she and Rj became a couple, she considered their almost regular weekend trips to the hacienda something to restore the lost opportunities in the past. It also became her first time to sleep in another place.

When she met Rj and he was still living with his Ninong Sam, Meng always went home after spending time with Rj. When he moved to his own unit, she had spent one or two nights (on separate occasions) there because Rj was sick or she had fallen asleep because of work and she said she was just going to nap but ended up sleeping through the night. On these occasions though, Rj rarely slept beside her. He would sleep on the couch or the floor. Even at the hacienda, Meng would always stay in the guest room while Rj slept in his room.

It was only when he moved to the penthouse unit where Meng became more comfortable and slept with him on the bed. And of course, they shared the bed in the master's bedroom of Meng's hideaway in the hacienda.

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Meng's hideaway became Rj and Meng's 'home' when they visited the hacienda. Rj made it a point though, to have at least a meal with Papa and Mama in the family home while he and Meng spent the weekend there. If they didn't have their meal at the family home, they'd sure have it within the hacienda property; sometimes, even at Meng's hideaway. Alternately, Meng and Rj would have a meal at Meng's home at least once a week. They both wanted to establish this routine even before they got married. Rj wanted Meng to be close to her family as Meng wanted Rj to re-establish ties with his parents.

It was in these times that they soon discovered more quirks about each other. Meng liked seeing Rj sleep like an infant with his hands forming a soft fist on the sides of his ears as he sprawled out on the bed. In the beginning, she found this a little annoying since Rj's position left little space for her on the bed. However, she soon adjusted and would rest her head on his shoulder or chest while putting her leg over his leg like she was hugging a pillow. Rj would unconsciously move and end up hugging Meng as they slept in an embrace.

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Another habit of Rj which Meng found annoying was when he'd fart or burp as if he was the only person in the room (zero shame). He'd do this, though, when they were 'alone' or with more 'familiar' people like Yaya Beth or Nanay Teresa in the cottage.

"Ano ba?!" Meng would whine.

"What?" Rj would say, unaffected. Unless he would eventually smell his fart, he didn't care and shamelessly tooted even more loudly.

Meng would either hit him on the arm or storm out of the room.

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If Rj had his 'bad habits' that made him annoying yet endearing to Meng, she too had quirks that Rj learned to appreciate over time. They lived on opposite ends of the social strata. At a young age, Meng was quite independent and would normally do chores even without being asked or reminded to. Of all the chores Meng 'enjoyed' doing were washing the dishes and folding clothes (she wasn't too keen on ironing, though). Being a self-confessed OC person, she liked things organized.

"Ako na po ang magtutupi ng mga yan..." Meng would volunteer and help Nanay with the clothes she washed. Aside from folding clothes (sans ironing, a chore she didn't particularly like), Meng also like organizing things. She always liked to keep things in order. "Para madaling hanapin..." she would say.

On the other hand, Rj had Yaya Beth to depend on. Mama Rose believed that it was stress and tiredness that triggered Rj's arrhythmia episodes although Dr. Migs kept on telling her that his condition was congenital. As Rj matured, he slowly tried to learn to become a little more independent. This independence was put to the test when he ran away from home.