Yuan
Wala na. Hulog na.
Hulog na hulog na hulog na ... yung lola ko.
Joke lang!
Oo na ako na.
Kasi naman di ba? Para gawin nila yung for Inay? Lumambot talaga yung puso ko and there was no way words could express how thankful I was to her family, especially to Missy.
Ang problema ngayon ako naging torpe.
Yung mga text ko, ampapanget na. "Good morning, Missy! Wala lang. Gusto ko lang mag-hi. Hihihi!"
Hihihi? Ano yun?
Kung hindi ganyan, walang kwenta naman. May text ako na "Hi." Yun lang. Labo di ba?
But Missy was nice. She'd always reply to my messages and didn't make me feel awkward. "Hi Yuan!"
I asked her out a few times as well. "Ano yung gusto mo sa guy?" I inquired over one dinner.
"Physically?"
"Yes and pati na din traits and all."
She thought for a moment. "Physically... I tend to have crushes on guys who are moreno, pero yung ex ko naman and yung taga office, mestizohin."
"Aray, pang-crush lang pala ako."
She stuck her tongue out. "Heh. Anyway, sa ugali... I guess gusto ko pa din ng maalaga. I know I can take care of myself and I pride myself in that, but... alam mo yun? Minsan gusto mo lang talaga yung feeling na may taong concerned sa'yo."
"Ah. Dapat sa'yo mag-boyfriend ng nurse."
Missy rolled her eyes again and then laughed. "Or caregiver."
I laughed out loud. "Oo nga! Eh paano yan? May pag-asa pa ba ako?"
She blushed prettily and then said, "Hmmm siguro papapasukin na lang kita sa Nanny school. Pwede na yun."
I brought her home that night, making sure I paid respects to her parents as well. "Good evening po. Sorry po, nadelay kami. Natraffic po kasi."
"Walang problema, hijo. Kamusta si Inay?" asked Missy's mother.
"Okay na po! Cleared na din po ng doctor. Huwag na lang daw magpapaka-pagod pero wala naman daw dapat ipagalala." Then, I remembered we had something for them. "May pinabibigay nga po pala."
Heading to the back of my car, I took 3 small potted plants. "Ito po. Calamansi po yung magiging bunga niyan." I mentioned the other instructions Inay told me and then bid them good night.
Happily, Missy called out before I left. "Text mo ako paguwi mo ha?"
"Papasahan mo na ako ng load?"
"Heh."
*
The next few weeks were more of that. Dinners, movies, spending some weekends going out or staying with Inay... masaya lang. Favorite namin is when we come up with random questions then we discuss it.
One time, she asked, "What if... you were able to make enough sa US? Yung hindi ka magiging homeless. You think you would have stayed there?"
"Probably. Kasi that time ang goal ko lang talaga is to stay with her. Hindi ko naisip yung family ko, yung studies ko... yung sarili ko. So, yes. Baka nagstay pa din ako. Ma-realize ko man na mali, baka later mangyari. So, maybe okay na din yung nangyari."
"Yes. Buti na lang. I can't imagine how sad Inay would be kung wala ka dito."
I smiled.
As we headed out, we saw a group of women on the next table chatting. One of them called me, "Yuan! Hi!"
It was Kathy.
The one I gave everything up for.
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Note: Hi! Malapit na malapit na talaga yung ebook. May laptop issues lang ako hahaha! Ang daming challenges I swear. Anyway, sa giveaway naman, like I said its up for my readers who got and will get the Ice Cream Shop Series. Please see my Twitter account for the list of items. I've decided to have two winners and will post there how I'll split the items 😊 thanks again!
